Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[bruceha2000]

OK, I give up, no inviting Shad to the house

 

[MaryJanet]

I'm FAR from a chicken expert but we can ALL guess if you post several pictures.

Hey folks, does anyone want to do this?

I'm don't mind either way. I don't care what her breeding is, but if other people want to share their opinions, I'll happily paste a few links to posts in my thread that show Peggy in greater detail.

 

[townchicks]

I'm game. I know diddly about breeds, but my guesses might be good for a laugh, at least.

 

[no fly zone]

Do you think humans do, or is just a biological trick to get males and females to stay together long enough to mate and then raise their young?
Yes, I think some chickens fall in love, if that's what it is.
Harold loved Bluespot. I have absolutely no doubt about it. Major loved the hen that he was with before I knew him. He never recovered from her death.
I think Treacle had the chicken equivalent of a crush on Moon. Moon had her eyes on Cillin while he was still the senior rooster. There were others.
What explanation is there for roosters having favourites?

Mr. Bumble absolutely fell in love with Skeksis the first time he saw her.

 

[micstrachan]

I do herd. I used to use an old fishing rod but here it's a plastic rake. It helps mine are used to it & know it only comes out when I need them in bed so they know where they are supposed to be going. And they have a terrible habit of congregating around my feet which makes it easy to start the whole process off.

Terrible habit? Terrible would not be my word of choice here. I kind of love it.

 

[NatJ]

Yes, fishing rods are perfect. They give some stability while having a nice long reach to poke that one chicken.

I've never used a fishing rod, but I see what you mean!

I've usually used long, slender tree branches, wood dowels, pieces of bamboo, and occasionally a sword (it's the kind of sword meant for fencing, with a long slender blade and no sharp edges.)

I think the dowels, the bamboo, and certain tree branches work equally well. The sword wasn't as long as I prefer.

Something like a broom or rake doesn't work for me, because it's too big and heavy. I like something long, slender, and lightweight (like your fishing pole).

 

[Ribh]

Terrible habit? Terrible would not be my word of chiice here. I kind of love it.

As I've got older it's become highly dangerous. Ditto the cats. It may be sweet but if I trip over any of them the outcome won't be good so I'd rather they kept their distance.

 

[Ribh]

I've never used a fishing rod, but I see what you mean!

I've usually used long, slender tree branches, wood dowels, pieces of bamboo, and occasionally a sword (it's the kind of sword meant for fencing, with a long slender blade and no sharp edges.)

I think the dowels, the bamboo, and certain tree branches work equally well. The sword wasn't as long as I prefer.

Something like a broom or rake doesn't work for me, because it's too big and heavy. I like something long, slender, and lightweight (like your fishing pole).

Yes, I've used tree branches & bamboo before but sadly a rake is the handiest thing around here. Wouldn't be my 1st choice. Too short & too cumbersome.

 

[MaryJanet]

I'm game. I know diddly about breeds, but my guesses might be good for a laugh, at least.

Ok, well I'll put something together when I get a little time, probably tomorrow.

 

[Solanacae]

Fair enough! I had a feeling you'd say that. I've been working on something I think you'll like, to pay my taxes the only way I currently can.



Meh. That probably wasn't even the third worst blow I've been in at sea. It was a gale, but it helps to have been on a boat that was built for that kind of thing. She was kind of a tub in light winds, but all of us were surprised what a mover she was when things got rough.

Ribh will appreciate that the second worst storm I've rode out was when I was cruising the South Pacific. We had been in New Zealand for quite a number of months and decided to head over to Australia. Found out that the Tasman Sea richly deserves its reputation as one of the most snotty seas on the planet. Kicked our butts, so we decided to head to Fiji, Tonga and Samoa instead. I regret that I was that close but have never been to Australia.

And to bring all this sailor talk back around to the subject of this thread...

Sailors probably have the dubious distinction of keeping the first "battery hens." During the golden age of sail, landlubber chickens were likely kept in a similar fashion to how Shad's Catalonia tribes were kept, since incubators and large commercial egg/meat production didn't exist at the time.

But sailors kept a surprising number of livestock aboard the great sailing ships. Hens were the most common, since a battery like coop was easier to find room for than, say, a cow. In all fairness, one could say the humans aboard were also housed in something like a battery, if you've ever visited the HMS Victory and seen the crew quarters.

This pic shows a shipboard "coop" on the far right, with turkeys below and chickens above.
View attachment 3082486

About the only good thing to say about sailors and chickens is that this is how many of the Asian breeds like Cochins (Pekins) and Malays made it to Britain. I would have to assume that the Polynesians also confined their chickens similarly aboard their proas as they spread chickens all over

Seafaring chickens! I wonder how well they laid while on a rocking boat. I guess they got used to it?