Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

Oh gosh, must be the day for it. 2 of my pullets hopped the fence. As I was enjoying my fist cup of Joe I heard my roo repeatedly crowing so I went out to give him his morning snack and get the main flock back into the run.
My auntie yells to me that 2 of my pullets were out and trying to get back in. I look but gone. I check all neighbors yards calling with my can of treats and my heart starts sinking.... no where. I walk the hood, I drive the hood, I post a lost and found add, I'm feeling sick. They disappeared. 15 minutes later auntie yells she sees them across the street. They had been hiding under the neighbors house . Shortly after a long try getting them back in the yard, the neighbors hunting dog (not fenced and left to road the hood) was out sniffing my neighbors yard on on to their scent. so stressful.

That's a real roller coaster for you; but a happy ending yes?

 

[Perris]

Ditto. Théo got a huge splinter on his leg near his foot, when I pulled it out it bled so much we had to make a compression with a band. We put some betadin and a bandage on it, hope it doesn't get infected. And Caramel broke an egg inside her .

@Perris any sign of Venka ?

Your poor birds; I do hope both recover from their ordeals quickly.
No Venka hasn't returned. I just hope she's hiding and not trapped somewhere.

 

[Ribh]

why? has that changed the flavour or texture? I find French bread (sans sugar etc ) more variable than most other types of loaf I make, maybe because there are so few ingredients that each one really matters, and they vary in freshness, and the weather varies in temp and humidity during proving etc.

I'm not a fan of sandwich bread either, but apparently a good bacon sandwich really needs it.

I don't eat much bread as I'm not a bread fan but the best bread I've ever had was home made Hutterite bread. It weighed a ton (sorry Shad ) & was dense with grains. One slice was a meal but it was fantastic!

 

[Molpet]

Your poor birds; I do hope both recover from their ordeals quickly.
No Venka hasn't returned. I just hope she's hiding and not trapped somewhere.

Prayers she gets back soon.

 

[no fly zone]

Turns out Laserbeak decided none of the nesting boxes were suitable, and I just did not see her all snuggled in behind the roost bar ramp.

 

[Shadrach]

Any news about Venka @Perris ?
For everyone else who's had a stressfull day
I do not like having to cope with that I don't know if they are alive or dead feeling. I find it very upsetting when I can't find a body or piece together what happened.

I got asked if I could take in six Ex Battery hens today. Golden Comets I was told bought during covid lockdown. I had to say no. I did suggest a farm in the next county up where I know they've taken in Ex Battery hens before.
The hen I got brought with the eye and ear problem is much better I got told today. Her balance is coming back and now the lice are gone from her ear and with the eye cream her eye is fully open again.
She had a small cut just inside her ear that was infected. I gave her owner 5 days worth of antibiotic cream I have a small stock of.

Sun, rain, sun, rain. Everyone went to roost thirty minutes early when the last shower arrived. I caught an earlier train home and intend to take advantage of this by going to bed shortly.

Lima

Construction supervisor.

 

[Shadrach]

I don't eat much bread as I'm not a bread fan but the best bread I've ever had was home made Hutterite bread. It weighed a ton (sorry Shad ) & was dense with grains. One slice was a meal but it was fantastic!

I couln't possibly manage an Imperial ton of bread no matter how good it tasted.

 

[BDutch]

Another thought on BY chickens and eating eggs.

Most people eat eggs from the shop and therefore industrial farm eggs. Most chickens who live on a commercial farms have a very poor life. They have not much ‘coop’ space and often no outside space at all. The best commercial farms for chickens are the organic and the Demeter ones. In the Netherlands these farmers need to provide about 0,15m2 coop space and 4m2 space outside for at least 8 h a day.

If a person has chickens in his backyard and provides a little more space than required for the organic label it’s an improvement to the life of chickens as a whole. Because it means ‘we’ need less commercial chickens in cramped housing.
Assumption : the total amount of eggs humanity needs is the same.

I suppose the table speaks for itself even if you don’t speak Dutch or you have other labels in you’re country.

I like to give every BYC hobbyist that provides more space for their chickens than the average chicken has in the farms the benefit of the doubt. And like to see it as a positive contribution to the life of chickens.

 

[MaryJanet]

Another thought on BY chickens and eating eggs.

Most people eat eggs from the shop and therefore industrial farm eggs. Most chickens who live on a commercial farms have a very poor life. They have not much ‘coop’ space and often no outside space at all. The best commercial farms for chickens are the organic and the Demeter ones. In the Netherlands these farmers need to provide about 0,15m2 coop space and 4m2 space outside for at least 8 h a day.

If a person has chickens in his backyard and provides a little more space than required for the organic label it’s an improvement to the life of chickens as a whole. Because it means ‘we’ need less commercial chickens in cramped housing.
Assumption : the total amount of eggs humanity needs is the same.

I suppose the table speaks for itself even if you don’t speak Dutch or you have other labels in you’re country.
View attachment 3139425

I like to give every BYC hobbyist that provides more space for their chickens than the average chicken has in the farms the benefit of the doubt. And like to see it as a positive contribution to the life of chickens.

Where I live (South Australia) there's quite a large market for free range eggs. There are a number of egg farms with free range hens. It became so important the state government legislated for labelling egg boxes with information on hens per hectare of land. They call it stocking density.

When the hens at my house aren't laying and I need eggs for some reason, I buy them from this farm. They have quite good stocking density. There are videos on their website and my neighbour knows the family personally (kangaroo island has a small and friendly community and my neighbour's family have had a winery down there for decades) and vouches for their trustworthiness.

There's also an organisation called Choice which studies and publishes information to support consumers in making wise choices. Here is their free range egg report.

Anyway, I wanted to mention that there are some places in the world where average consumers buy expensive free range eggs because they care about hen welfare.

Of course, the hens are still plagued by the health problems caused by selective breeding and are culled too young by my preferences.

According to my neighbour, for any hens that aren't rehomed, the Fryar family go out at night when hens are roosting, pop their necks and return their remains to the soil. To my mind, this seems like an ethical way to carry out the unethical task of economically-driven culling. But Money will not be silenced.

 

[bruceha2000]

Because it means ‘we’ need less commercial chickens in cramped housing.
Assumption : the total amount of eggs humanity needs is the same.

Seems reasonable. I know that the stores are not selling any eggs to the people who buy from me when I have them.