Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[pennyJo1960]

Took a fall in the coop banged the knee up one deeper wound on the lower leg. I will be fine put silver on all of them .. no more bleeding but 2 bled good.
That was closing the coop for the night.
Funny but smudge had gotten off the perch to stand next to me prone ?

Tax

 

[Perris]

Took a fall in the coop banged the knee up one deeper wound on the lower leg. I will be fine put silver on all of them .. no more bleeding but 2 bled good.
That was closing the coop for the night.
Funny but smudge had gotten off the perch to stand next to me prone ?View attachment 3200054
Tax

I hope it heals quickly Penny. Smudge was no doubt concerned for you.

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

You may still have problems with Squeaky and Kowalski. If it happens it's often around 1 year to 18 months old. Space makes it tolerable. Cooped together, possibly not.
Yup, seniors are worth their weight in gold, but I would say that wouldn't I at my age.

I am very much hoping we will move to a larger property before it gets to that point. Then I'll be able to start my very own set of tribes! At the very least hopefully things stay settled long enough to make Squeaky a valuable addition to someone else's flock, rather than just as dinner.

I think of my chickens as "petstock." A cross between pets and livestock.

Our dogs (we've only had dogs as pets) are members of the family, and we have spent thousands of dollars on veterinary care over the years. The chickens won't get that level of vet care; they may never see a vet.

Will I cry when any of my girls pass? Oh, yeah. Some more than others, but they are all near and dear to my heart.

This is exactly how I feel about my birds. Petstock! Perfect term.

 

[BDutch]

@pennyJo1960 I hope it heals well.

I just read an interesting but sad article about commerce/hybrid breeds that lay much and large eggs. A concern for all who buy store eggs or want to buy (ex-)batt hens.
It was on a thread of someone who wanted to hatch store eggs.

The chicken breeds that have been bred to lay big eggs, are too small for the eggs they lay. A danish study showed that out of 4800 chickens that were examined for keel bone fracture, 4100 had that type of fracture. It's animal cruelty.. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/927254

So if you want chickens that have a good life, don't incubate eggs from chicken breeds that have been bred to lay big eggs like the ones from the store.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/927254

 

[MaryJanet]

Took a fall in the coop banged the knee up one deeper wound on the lower leg. I will be fine put silver on all of them .. no more bleeding but 2 bled good.
That was closing the coop for the night.
Funny but smudge had gotten off the perch to stand next to me prone ?View attachment 3200054
Tax

I hope it heals quickly for you Penny.

 

[Perris]

I have a hypothesis for the collective consideration of those on this thread:

The notoriously short lifespan of 'battery/production breed' chickens is more attributable to their diet (100% industrially produced starter/grower/layer feed until/if 'rescued') than to their genes. Discuss.

 

[BDutch]

I have a hypothesis for the collective consideration of those on this thread:

The notoriously short lifespan of 'battery/production breed' chickens is more attributable to their diet (100% industrially produced starter/grower/layer feed until/if 'rescued') than to their genes. Discuss.

Isn't it better to start a new topic/thread for such a discussion?
But no. I think the genes are the main reason. Caused by selection/ breeding to max. production with only commercial intent.

Besides. Heritage breeds and barnyard mixes often get 100% industrially produced starter/grower/layer feed too. And I dare to say they do live longer as production breeds.

 

[MaryJanet]

Isn't it better to start a new topic/thread for such a discussion?
But no. I think the genes are the main reason. Caused by selection/ breeding to max. production with only commercial intent.

Besides. Heritage breeds and barnyard mixes often get 100% industrially produced starter/grower/layer feed too. And I dare to say they do live longer as production breeds.

I agree. So does Mark, the vet, who told me hens are born with every egg they will ever lay already inside them (much like women). He said accelerated ageing is why commercial laying hens ovulate daily. When they stop ovulating, it's because they're middle aged even though their age in years might be young. Also, accelerating ageing through a breeding program introduces serious health problems.

On the weekend I had lunch with a friend who keeps hens in her backyard. One of the hens is 10 years old and laid a few eggs last season. She's an old hen, but very healthy, and a mixed breed.

 

[Iluveggers]

I must admit, I don't understand the allotment people. C and I have been collecting the plums. Nobody else is. They are small but have a good taste and texture.
I'm giving away potatoes.
In a couple of weeks it's going to be non stop blackberries and apples. I asked C if anyone picked those and C said not usually.
Seems like an awful waste to me.
Tonights plum haul.
View attachment 3199722

Wow I would jump at the chance for fruit! I can’t believe no one wants it.

I think of my chickens as "petstock." A cross between pets and livestock.

Our dogs (we've only had dogs as pets) are members of the family, and we have spent thousands of dollars on veterinary care over the years. The chickens won't get that level of vet care; they may never see a vet.

Will I cry when any of my girls pass? Oh, yeah. Some more than others, but they are all near and dear to my heart.

Perfect explanation.

Tax:

 

[ManueB]

I have a hypothesis for the collective consideration of those on this thread:

The notoriously short lifespan of 'battery/production breed' chickens is more attributable to their diet (100% industrially produced starter/grower/layer feed until/if 'rescued') than to their genes. Discuss.

Interesting hypothesis. (Am I guessing correctly that someone's pet peeves is also rubbing the wrong way ?)

I'm afraid I don't have enough experience with chickens to have an opinion.
What I do have a lot of experience in, is searching for scientific articles (before I quit to come live here I was an academic librarian for the last fifteen years).
I can say from a quick probe that although the effect of nutrition on hen's welfare and health is an object of study, it is mostly the case in the context of commercial production structures. There are study on that subject for backyard chickens, but they are mostly done in developing countries in the Asian and African continent.
I can also say that I've seen studies going both ways ( free ranging and fresh feeding is beneficial vs harmful).

On the other hand, there are quite a number of studies on the impact of genetics for hens welfare and the reproductive problems of high production breed's. I posted one some times ago that really hurt me when I came upon it on the Fluffy butt acres thread : https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...es-stories-of-our-flock.1286630/post-25765680

I'll look a bit more when I'm in the mood and post the links I find interesting.