Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[micstrachan]

Hi Shad. Just popping in. Love the coop you’re building. Not much to report here except I have a corneal abrasion from Lucky pecking me in the eye. I also took this the other day with your thread in mind… chickens practicing their chicken skills.

 

[micstrachan]

I always seem to owe tax on this thread.
Shuri looking guilty.
I know she can't fly up there but it's the first jump that has me puzzled. It's not like she's the most athletic chicken I own.​

View attachment 3140592

Haha! She DOES look guilty!

 

[ManueB]

Tax and a question:
Pic of Basil, my fave Barred Rock from above!
View attachment 3141581
She spread her wing out so the whole thing was open and I was able to get this pic! What causes chickens to do this, is it stretching? Relaxing? Cooling off? I thought it was cute!

This is called the chicken pose in Hatha Yoga .

I think it's stretching in the picture above.
When they do this lying on their sides (people tend to call it sunbathing) I believe it has something to do with drying out the oil on their feathers so it can be groomed off.
I'm not sure, but this is what I've been told and it makes sense.

I do it very rarely but when I bathe a hen she always take that pose to dry afterwards even if there is no sun.
I bathed Caramel yesterday and she laid like that for ten minutes.
I think sometimes they also do it to enjoy the sun because they make a pack and all lay like that next to one another.

 

[ManueB]

I have had chickens at various points over a period of 30+ years, in several different locations, in several different styles of coops. My introductory post on BYC was at a time when I did not have chickens.

Some people like to take photos frequently, and some people do not. I am one of the ones who do not.

Also, even though this forum may have many people who are comfortable posting lots of pictures of their chickens, homes, family, etc, I am not comfortable posting that kind of stuff. I have posted some anecdotes of personal experiences at various points, usually years after it happened.

Saying "personal preference and lack of photos" was the most concise way I could think of to express all that.



You missed quite a few, although they are probably a small percent of my total posts.
Examples:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ve-not-necessary.1508646/page-5#post-25389346
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/keeping-chickens-warm.1443573/page-3#post-23965845
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tractor-coop-in-the-winter.1367636/#post-22745403
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...terizing-my-coop.1416278/page-2#post-23265262
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/broody-hen-advice.1519979/page-6#post-25608416
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/meat-breeds-for-legs.1501390/page-2#post-25114215
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...to-roofless-run.1423877/page-31#post-23463797
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bonus-mystery-chicks.1507165/page-2#post-25283074
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...o-existing-flock.1504955/page-4#post-25235859
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-very-long-term.1433421/page-63#post-25331277
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/2021-chick-order.1448090/page-71#post-25248157
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-do-you-name-your-chickens.1382457/page-4#post-22709353
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...hickens-thread.1502267/page-628#post-25812839
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ad-hatchery-vs-breeder.1529021/#post-25773599



That does make sense, and I agree about the problems of re-posting wrong information. I generally try to be clear about whether I am making a guess, or repeating what other people have said, or I explain why I say something so people can check my logic, or I give sources for what I say. I recognize the value of personal experience, and some of what I say is based on that, but that is the easiest thing to fake online so I try to only give that when it seems especially relevant. There have been a few times in the past when I got very irritated by someone who basically said "I'm an expert, so you should take my word for it." I try not to do that to people.


I agree, and if I ever have a question where a picture will provide useful information, I will then go take a picture and post it. So far I have not had such a question. (I use the search function instead of posting a new thread about something that has been answered many times before, and I have never yet had a chicken problem that needed more specific help than I could find that way.)


Those are all good reasons, but I am still not willing to post photos.
If you prefer that I refrain from posting anything else in this thread, I can do that. (Your thread, your rules. Just tell me if that's what you want.)

I enjoy your advice though I don't always agree, but I'm not the one who gets to behead people on this thread.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Hey all been great on keeping the thread read have a respect built for Shadrach as a chicken keeper and a artist.
This pullet I rescued from 4 cockerel. She will go to bud's new place she has 4 others I raised for her.
This is my tax

 

[ManueB]

Cuteness tax. Remember the evil step father ? He came over yesterday to see them and tried to convince us they were baby ducks.

 

[micstrachan]

Wait… THIS is the video I meant for Shad’s thread.

 

[Perris]

Not much to report here except I have a corneal abrasion from Lucky pecking me in the eye

ouch! hope it heals quick and completely Love the group preening on the sunbed!

Some more back tax, this time on the dustbathing theme, and the birds of a feather theme. So these girls are bathing in damp ash (old bonfire ashes, after showers); Chirk might look like he's standing guard but actually he's just passing, leaving them to it; you can see his wattles and foot in motion . And this is the Penedesenca that hangs out with the other mature hens (Janeka here, a silver duckwing welsumer) more than she does with her 2 Penny sisters. She looks quite similar to Janeka, in colour if not in shape and size, but she and her sisters are spitting images of one another. Of course one counter-example doesn't negate a generalization, but I think it is important to note the exceptions to the general rule that birds of a feather flock together. They can and do make friends on other bases.

 

[no fly zone]

It is a lot of money, but money is only worth for paying things important to you and I think this is. I hope you didn't have to give away something as important to pay for it.

Keeping chickens does come with heartaches when one gets attached to them! I hope the test is negative. If not, they are doing good for now, they are adult birds so I guess all you can do is take it a day at a time. Living on borrowed time is certainly the way I feel about three of my six ex-batts.

Trying to sell some snake racks.

 

[RoyalChick]

This is called the chicken pose in Hatha Yoga .

I do it very rarely but when I bathe a hen she always take that pose to dry afterwards even if there is no sun.
I bathed Caramel yesterday and she laid like that for ten minutes.
I think sometimes they also do it to enjoy the sun because they make a pack and all lay like that next to one another.

My understanding is that the oil from the preen gland contains the precursors to vitamin D and those gets converted to vitamin D when exposed to the sun. The bird then ingests the vitamin D when they preen.
They can also make vitamin D in exposed skin (as we do) but there is only a little bit of that. I think unlike us their eyes can also make vitamin D.
I can probably dig up the reference to this, I came across it when researching vitamins in chickens because of Bernadette who I believe has a vitamin B2 issue.