Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

They used olive oil. I have to admit I didn't dare to try it !
Up to the 50s olive trees could be found lower in the valley 20 km away ; when my partner was a young child they grew in the lower part of our village (650 meters high). We planted one at 1060 m high 6 years ago, that is doing quite well (on the photo on the post above, you can see it on the right of the scarecrow). Because the land is so steep, rusticity zones change in a lifetime here!

is that climate change in action? That apart, how long will you have to wait for a harvest from the olive?

 

[ManueB]

is that climate change in action? That apart, how long will you have to wait for a harvest from the olive?

I think so. Our olive tree's limit temperature is -8 c. On very cold winter mornings we will get those temperature for 10 days, whereas it used to be quite a common temperature in the winter morning, now it's usually -3/-4 c.
I don't know for the harvest , last year it had a few olives, and here because we have olive moth there is a harvest only once every two year without treatment.

I'm not that eager to pick a few olives off a young tree as my parent's house is built on an old olive grove .

I do have high hopes that this new generation (and the next) will make the change we need so badly.

I hope you are right and I believe people have a very different attitude in your country. I admit I have been really disgusted by human behaviour and more especially since I moved in the south of France.

 

[Shadrach]

Whenever milk 'goes off' here, i.e. turns into curds and whey, I give it to the chickens and they love it. Some go for the curds first, some the whey. I haven't looked it up but both have got to be a good source of protein and lactobacilli.

She may be a rescue but she's my kind of chicken
Is she modifying your view of rescues as a whole? She is mine.

My view on rescue chickens swings one way and then the other.
Some days I'm just so angry that such a creature exists and other days I love them dearly for what they are.
I keep hoping that observation and one day the evidence from such observations regarding their ability to recover from the horrors we've inflicted on them will provide me with a more stable view. Not likely to happen in my lifetime though.
I'm still holding the view that it is my responsibility to do what I can for them while I can and hope that what I do makes a positive impact on their lives.
The only conclusion I have come to is that the current method of rescue needs reviewing and if necessary regulation to prevent further exploitation.

 

[Perris]

I am going to be changing computers this afternoon, so if I don't see you all for a while, don't worry - it'll just be IT issues

 

[RoyalChick]

1 I had a chicken who did so too (on and off). She probably got into trouble and died after about 6 months. I thought there was nothing you could do about it. Until I read about giving a high dosis of calcium (tablet) to such a chicken to heal her. It seems to work most of the time. But I don’t have any experience with giving a high dosis of calcium myself.

2 interesting

3 wow. What a choice. But imo its okay to have 2 kids, and teach them about the the environment when they grow up. I work for an organisation that makes a difference for the environment (advising on building with natural , mostly biobased materials) . Now my adult children are trying to contribute in a possitive way too. I do have high hopes that this new generation (and the next) will make the change we need so badly.

The calcium can work and people have used it and if you get human calcium pills it is easy enough to give.
It can be for acute issues if they are having trouble passing the egg (aids in muscle contraction) or chronically to rebuild calcium stores.
But I have concluded that some hens just have an issue in the shell creating department and no amount of calcium will fix that.
Diana stopped laying for months over the winter and she still ate layer feed so I don’t believe she was calcium deficient. Her first egg of spring (and all her eggs) are without shells. I don’t believe that is fixable.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

79 and mostly cloudy.

In talking about predators, I looked out the kitchen window to see a large hawk sitting on the top rail of the run right at the entrance gate.

I did notice that my hens were not visible.

Have a great day!

 

[Shadrach]

The calcium can work and people have used it and if you get human calcium pills it is easy enough to give.
It can be for acute issues if they are having trouble passing the egg (aids in muscle contraction) or chronically to rebuild calcium stores.
But I have concluded that some hens just have an issue in the shell creating department and no amount of calcium will fix that.
Diana stopped laying for months over the winter and she still ate layer feed so I don’t believe she was calcium deficient. Her first egg of spring (and all her eggs) are without shells. I don’t believe that is fixable.

Apparently Calcium Citrate rather than Calcium Carbonate works fastest and best.

 

[Shadrach]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

79 and mostly cloudy.

In talking about predators, I looked out the kitchen window to see a large hawk sitting on the top rail of the run right at the entrance gate.

I did notice that my hens were not visible.

Have a great day!

I hope the hens didn't get attacked.

 

[Shadrach]

Lovely sunny afternoon. Guess who trotted down the path to greet me on my arrival.

One and ahlf kilos of feed and a bit of pasta later.

Ideal dustbathing conditions for hens it seems.

A bit of foraging for the more adventurous.

Look! Brown ones having a go. This dust bathing is catching on. The two on the edges of the hole haven't quite got the hang of it yet.

 

[pennyJo1960]

First hot day here like 67. Been in the garden most the day.
This is another old photo for tax.
I have never treated my birds for anything at this point ..
Should I need to I have everything I would want.
That need has not arisen.