Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[ManueB]

Two possiblities occur to me. Neither may be correct.
1) Theo and the rest of the flock know these are not home grown chicks so to speak and are therefor strangers.
2) Chipie hasn't allowed any male to imprint the chicks.

She's certainly very protective and unfriendly with all the others. She's got some nerves because even though she knows everyone hate her guts she takes the chicks right under their nose. Yesterday evening there was a small rain and she tried really hard to take the chicks inside the coop, but there is just no way they can reach a perch with the actual setting. I'll fix something up for them today and will check this evening how it goes.

Stealing the flock's perch

Stealing the adults layer food

 

[Perris]

Eve and her chicks are out - Dyffryn says wait for me mum!

then Eve began the process of showing them all her favourite places

 

[Perris]

And some tax for all the plastic trash : Phoenix overseeing matters while Eve's teaching foraging 102. His coronation comb is fully developed now.

 

[ManueB]

Eve and her chicks are out - Dyffryn says wait for me mum!
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then Eve began the process of showing them all her favourite places
View attachment 3154356

Freedom!

 

[Shadrach]

I was surprised how many people don't let their hens out to roam at all.

I'm surprised you're suprised.

 

[Shadrach]

I don't think I fully appreciated that the new coop is so much larger than the old coop.

It's about two thirds bigger in floor area not counting the nest boxes. Imo it's fit for 10 chickens. I've been thinking about painting branches and leaves on the inside. Don't worry, my daughter is coming to pick me up later to take me to the local nuthouse.

 

[Shadrach]

Tax from me... I'm not sure if I owe it but it can be credited for future transgressions.

View attachment 3154292

Wooden coops are ultimately still my favorite, but they have their downsides. The biggest downside being I'm no builder and neither is my husband, thus making the process either hideously expensive because I have to pay someone to build for me or hideously frustrating and time consuming if I do it myself. Plastic I can DIY myself with a drill and a saw. I have done some DIY with modifying prefab wooden coops, but they present a very real mite infestation risk. I had to dump a prefab due to mite infestation. Now I am much more onto it with prevention, but still, the risk remains. Also wooden prefabs have a lifespan of maybe 4 years in this climate.

Become a builder? Make friends with a builder? Might be the only solution!

Until this new plastic coop I've always build my own, but I build very basic coops and I use plywood supported on an outside frame.

 

[BDutch]

Love er this idea of yours @Shadrach. Once an artist always an artist!

But please do not sent more of you’re weather this way. Brr. Cold and rainy here today. > 10 C temp drop.

 

[Shadrach]

I have neither wood nor plastic so I can't really contribute, but I've noted that in France although wooden prefab coop are really the norm, they are very much criticized and now many people and sellers are using HPL, or sometimes OSB (although I don't see how it would be better than wood for mites!).

I'm not sure either are better than plastic regarding environmental issues though.

Edit : we have natural paints for the hives that could be used for coops I suppose. However you need to apply it every year and it is really expensive.

Less places for mites to hide and easier to clean.

 

[Shadrach]

If you care to share when you do, I'd be interested to see how it goes!

I said it before but I think it's amazing the solutions you're finding to make that little blind chick's life happy .

Hopefully Mathilda will show the way. I find if one of my hens lay in a new place the others will get really curious about it and eventually also lay there.

Were you looking for the keys or did you stumble on them by chance ?

I was looking for them.