Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Iluveggers]

Wow! It only happened twice that I had to catch one of mine and they cried to their momma like I was going to roast them.

The wet mash has been a wonderful bribe to get them to come to my hands! They now come running to my hands instead of away from them, to see if I have anything good.

We had a bad thunderstorm yesterday and it lasted until dinner. So Chipie decided in a panic that she was going to sleep in the coop.
It was a disaster.
I'm feeling pretty discouraged, the only positive aspect was that there were no casualty. I'm waiting to see if she will go back to her usual dog crate tonight or try the coop again.

Do you want her in the coop? You could put the dog crate inside if so…

 

[ManueB]

Oh no! What disaster? I assume she got attacked by the others? But if no casualties maybe that is OK?

They didn't get attacked but it was a long stressfull process. Chicken drama can be tedious.
When Chipie had made clear she was going to sleep in the coop we locked it up so the rest of the flock would stay outside and leave them in peace while they found where to roost. But she didn't find any place suitable and after a while started to panick and thrash against the door. We then thought if we brought the dog crate they usually sleep in inside the coop, she would accept to sleep in it. The chicks did get in but she absolutely refused to. She called them out and one chick got stuck trying to get out through the bars, we had to unstuck it.
She panicked more and got them outside under the pouring rain as we had opened the door to get the dog crate inside. So we took it back out in it's original place in the run, hoping she would make up her mind to sleep in it. Meanwhile she had decided on going back in the coop in one of the middle high nest box the most difficult to access. The chick with no feathered wings didn't make it, and started to panick. I picked it up as best and quick as I could to get it in there. Chipie attacked my hand and screamed at me, but they were all in at last. Then when the adults came to sleep about an hour after they saw that the family was up in the next box and they raised hell, made the alarm sound, Théo flew around the coop, but didn't go to attack them. One hen refused to go in the coop and I had to carry her up the ladder.

This morning I thought Chipie would wait until the coop was empty to get them out, so I opened the coop even more early than I usually do, but she panicked again and wanted to be out first. She flew out of the coop and called the chicks from the doorstep. Two of the chicks flew nicely outside but one didn't get it and flew to the window just as Théo came down his roost, so he was stuck. I had to hold back the adults until that chick got out and the last one that doesn't fly stumbled out and didn't fly, so basically it fell two meters high. It didn't seem to be hurt. But I'm worried that it doesn't even try to fly.
Now I'm sure you're sorry you asked .

 

[RoyalChick]

They didn't get attacked but it was a long stressfull process. Chicken drama can be tedious.
When Chipie had made clear she was going to sleep in the coop we locked it up so the rest of the flock would stay outside and leave them in peace while they found where to roost. But she didn't find any place suitable and after a while started to panick and thrash against the door. We then thought if we brought the dog crate they usually sleep in inside the coop, she would accept to sleep in it. The chicks did get in but she absolutely refused to. She called them out and one chick got stuck trying to get out through the bars, we had to unstuck it.
She panicked more and got them outside under the pouring rain as we had opened the door to get the dog crate inside. So we took it back out in it's original place in the run, hoping she would make up her mind to sleep in it. Meanwhile she had decided on going back in the coop in one of the middle high nest box the most difficult to access. The chick with no feathered wings didn't make it, and started to panick. I picked it up as best and quick as I could to get it in there. Chipie attacked my hand and screamed at me, but they were all in at last. Then when the adults came to sleep about an hour after they saw that the family was up in the next box and they raised hell, made the alarm sound, Théo flew around the coop, but didn't go to attack them. One hen refused to go in the coop and I had to carry her up the ladder.

This morning I thought Chipie would wait until the coop was empty to get them out, so I opened the coop even more early than I usually do, but she panicked again and wanted to be out first. She flew out of the coop and called the chicks from the doorstep. Two of the chicks flew nicely outside but one didn't get it and flew to the window just as Théo came down his roost, so he was stuck. I had to hold back the adults until that chick got out and the last one that doesn't fly stumbled out and didn't fly, so basically it fell two meters high. It didn't seem to be hurt. But I'm worried that it doesn't even try to fly.
Now I'm sure you're sorry you asked .

Oh not at all. I am painfully familiar with your distress. Different circumstances but very stressful. Mostly eventually they sort it out.

 

[BDutch]

They didn't get attacked but it was a long stressfull process. Chicken drama can be tedious.
When Chipie had made clear she was going to sleep in the coop we locked it up so the rest of the flock would stay outside and leave them in peace while they found where to roost. But she didn't find any place suitable and after a while started to panick and thrash against the door. We then thought if we brought the dog crate they usually sleep in inside the coop, she would accept to sleep in it. The chicks did get in but she absolutely refused to. She called them out and one chick got stuck trying to get out through the bars, we had to unstuck it.
She panicked more and got them outside under the pouring rain as we had opened the door to get the dog crate inside. So we took it back out in it's original place in the run, hoping she would make up her mind to sleep in it. Meanwhile she had decided on going back in the coop in one of the middle high nest box the most difficult to access. The chick with no feathered wings didn't make it, and started to panick. I picked it up as best and quick as I could to get it in there. Chipie attacked my hand and screamed at me, but they were all in at last. Then when the adults came to sleep about an hour after they saw that the family was up in the next box and they raised hell, made the alarm sound, Théo flew around the coop, but didn't go to attack them. One hen refused to go in the coop and I had to carry her up the ladder.

This morning I thought Chipie would wait until the coop was empty to get them out, so I opened the coop even more early than I usually do, but she panicked again and wanted to be out first. She flew out of the coop and called the chicks from the doorstep. Two of the chicks flew nicely outside but one didn't get it and flew to the window just as Théo came down his roost, so he was stuck. I had to hold back the adults until that chick got out and the last one that doesn't fly stumbled out and didn't fly, so basically it fell two meters high. It didn't seem to be hurt. But I'm worried that it doesn't even try to fly.
Now I'm sure you're sorry you asked .

What a story. Thanks for sharing. Hope the Chipie family will get wiser soon. (Chicks learn amazingly quick).

 

[BDutch]

Disturbed taxes.

 

[Shadrach]

One of the new chicks fell asleep in my hand! I try to feed them wet mash every day and pick them up to put them back in the brooder so they allow me to handle them without a fight if needed. Obviously this one was pretty comfortable! She’s a Welsummer named Latte.

View attachment 3167523

How many chicks are there in total?

 

[Shadrach]

It's been 3 weeks since poor Achilles was euthanized and so far no other birds are showing signs of illness. Sky has been eating a little the past few days, although her crop was completely empty at bedtime tonight.

 

[Shadrach]

Across the North sea the weather is much better. 28C and sunny today!

Nice that the chickens slowly adapt to the coop.
The 2” lip is probably good for strength?

I’m curious about the changes you are making. (Coop pics?). To me it seems difficult to alter things in plastic. But I’m always eager to learn.

I will take some pictures as soon as I get something done worth taking a picture of.

 

[Shadrach]

Such a cute pair they make together! So far so good then, I hope it goes on like this and that Sky will keep on eating enough to sustain her.


Wow! It only happened twice that I had to catch one of mine and they cried to their momma like I was going to roast them.

That's a blatant lie.

Cor! That's a bit strong.

 

[Iluveggers]

How many chicks are there in total?

Ten chicks. All different breeds. We chose docile, cold hardy breeds that lay a few different colors, so hopefully I can monitor for health issues if one stops laying suddenly or has any egg laying issues that might be a clue to something going wrong. They’ll have a nice 8x8 coop for plenty of space in the winter if they choose to stay indoors.

The Brahma is my favorite looks-wise. Pardon the green marking, they did it so I wouldn’t confuse her with the Faverolles (although I can tell the difference, I appreciate the thought.)

Here she is when we first put her in the brooder: