Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[bruceha2000]

One weighed 100 kgs, heaviest we ever had. We managed to lift it from the van to the wheelbarrow and from the wheelbarrow to the apiary.

Just had an idea: I need chaps!

DW needs cat chaps. Her now ~16 Y/O cat has always half jumped, half pulled herself up with her front legs to whatever she wants to get on including DW's lap.

What does angst mean??

"a feeling of deep anxiety or dread, typically an unfocused one about the human condition or the state of the world in general."
DD1 did Theatre on Ice (Ballet sur glace in France) and the French teams often had angst as their theme. They do it very well.

If I haven't been able to get two volunteers to pick up one end of a chicken coop and pass it through a gate

That is SO SAD!!!! I would hope even random strangers passing by would offer to help if they saw someone struggling with a large object.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Lots seems possible until one has to do it.

True. Triple true when it comes to chicken coops.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Relaxing in my chair watching the chickens. About the only worthwhile thing I've done today.
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Lima was first in. She stepped over the edge and then came back out.
I put a handfull of layers pellets on the floor inside. A couple of the Ex Battery hens sort of hovered by the opening, took a step in to reach the pellets and came out again. Henry arrived and I went and got on with cleaning out the small coop.
Henry did go in but didn't stay.
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Matilda was the first one to go in and explore properly. She was in there for a while and made quite a lot of calls which I didn't understand. Henry answered but didn't go to meet her. One, then two and three Ex Battery hens went in while Matilda was exploring.
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Then something really strange happened. I can grab Matilda and take her off the roost bar with no drama but she has never attempted to make any contact of her own initiation. This evening when she came out of the new coop she came straight over to me, pecked my boot and then pecked my overall trouser leg a number of times making soft clucking sounds.
I think Matilda knows its another coop.
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That they're willing to not only orbit but tour Scary New Thing seems like a huge win.

That's cool about Matilda. Some of our less human-affectionate chickens initiate contact after something stressful, e.g., when a pullet lays her first egg, or I've chased a big snake out of their yard, or they've recovered from an illness.

They could be seeking reassurance or increasing their alliance with the one who demonstrates power over scary things. My human brain still wants to see it as gratitude. Maybe it is.

Sometimes it's a one-off, but other times that chicken is affectionate from then on. Frida Bakawlo, the One-Wattle Wonder, was completely aloof until I nursed her back to health from an illness at 6 mos old. A couple years later, I can still pick her up in the daytime, and she always finds time to swing by to peck me hello.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

hello @ppruitt - welcome to BYC

Great place to be.

 

[Shadrach]

I kept chickens in the early 80s. Didn't know much about them. And people kept giving me more. I think I had 43 at one time. Didn't know breeds and they probably weren't any particular breed. I had a gorgeous BIG rooster that was mostly mahogany red with some black and green tail feathers. Another small rooster who couldn't get a lady to save his life, and assorted hens with a few bantys thrown in. I sold eggs, gave away eggs and ate eggs every day. My children don't care for eggs now, but they don't remember the years that I grew everything we had to eat. This was before it was fashionable to have a 'homestead'. LOL

I'm not a heritage breed fan unless I can go to their country of origin and pick from a farm preferably and if not a breeder with a very solid reputation.

 

[Shadrach]

That's a wonderful thought.

But part of me hopes she doesn't develop a habit of relying on bucket boy to carry her to the roost each night!

Any idea how old Matilda is?

I think she's around six years old.
If she wants carrying at dusk that's fine by me.
Not much point in being senior if one doesn't get a few special privileges.

 

[Shadrach]

Clearly, she went in & stayed long enough to try out the new dance floor. Then Waltzing Matilda came back our for some refreshments, and to say "thank you & nicely done," of course. Those little pecks & soft clucking sounds were very sweet to read about!

I think she might have been trying to draw my attention to a few matters that don't meet her expectations.

 

[Shadrach]

One of my birds recently started pecking my leg on the trouser seam; I assumed till now that she thought the thread was something tasty. Now I'm thinking it might be an affectionate peck, but I have to say I don't care for it - their beaks are sharp, and even a light peck registers through the fabric. Just had an idea: I need chaps!

I wear overalls and boots of course.

 

[Shadrach]

Please explain what this phrase means....?

Does take the Micky make any better sense to you?

 

[BDutch]

The little rooster is doing the so-called "classic marek's pose", with one leg forward and one leg back.

Wish you all the luck you need.

All my power tools are professional 110Volt which require a large transformer and electricity supply to run.
I live in a city flat. I can't see construction projects in the flat going down well with the other residents.
If I haven't been able to get two volunteers to pick up one end of a chicken coop and pass it through a gate, probably 15 minutes work, getting a team to do a full scale construction doesn't seem likely.
I think I've done well to get this far. Lots seems possible until one has to do it.

I'm still at the stage of just trying to get the chickens fed properly and basic health care seen to.

I mean an other volunteer group. Not the allotment group.
In my town there is a workshop in one of the elderly flats where volunteers can use machinery and space to work on things for a good cause. + There is a organisation with members that volunteer in helping elderly, people with 2 left hands at home . + And there is a repair club that helps people once a week in a community center with repair and reuse and all kind of things. From clothing - complicated machines. I thought that there might be someone in you’re town that has the right space and would like to coopereate with you to build a framework for a run and transport it to the allotment.

I wear overalls and boots of course.

nothing else?