Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

They look really happy.

Not sure if you guys are still doing the tax thing but here's mine anyway.View attachment 3215219

Every day is tax day here and no, I don't give rebates.

 

[Shadrach]

That's kind @Ribh but I think they're still at the awkward teenager stage!
And, Piou-piou the slow grower hasn't chosen it's gender yet, and Gaston is a cockerel
View attachment 3215379

They all have unique colours and markings! So posh!

@TropicalBabies mentioned incubators were better suited for her I believe. And I suppose she has also a very humid environment.
From my sole experience I found that even though I had some worries about the broody and her setting, she took care of everything. I completely relied on her and didn't even candle the eggs. I think I would have been more stressed with an incubator.
@Perris have you ever tried using an incubator ?

Well, that concerns more the part after the hatch, but I really agree with you. I enjoyed so much watching how Chipie raised her chicks , that I found it was almost the best part of having chicks. I really wouldn't want to miss that out! But maybe when you've seen it several dozen of times you don't feel the same.

The amazement never wore off for me.

 

[Perris]

I can't remember who posted the link to this, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579121005642?via=ihub
but thank you; it's the best article I've read for some time, and on a topic that affects practically every flock everywhere. As a recent review of other studies, it has lots of useful information on coccidiosis, and sustainable (i.e. non-antibiotic) approaches to dealing with it. I don't intend to rush out and purchase a bunch of novel and no doubt expensive herbal extracts, but I do intend to grow some of the efficacious herbs that I don't already have in the garden and that would perhaps grow here. I think that chickens, like a lot of other animals, are pretty good at self-medicating if they have appropriate stuff growing in their environment.

 

[Solanacae]

No treats today much to Henry's disgust.

You had one job, Bucket Boy!

I still don't understand how our flock can lack calcium since we are on really chalky ground.

The water here is alkaline and very high in calcium carbonate. Despite the high calcium levels, I deal with blossom end rot on my tomatoes, which is often caused by a lack of calcium. What happens is the other minerals in the soil react with the calcium (I’d have to ask my husband for the exact process, he’s the one with a soil science degree) and render it into an unusable form. The same thing happens with iron, resulting in iron chlorosis in plants and trees. It seems possible that could he what’s happening with your soil.

Kraai was allowed to sleep there last night. Only Janice went to the old coop to roost (just as she did when she was a pullet).

So the chickens don’t have to be separated anymore. Nice for us and the neighbour when we leave for our summer holidays.

Hooray! I’m so glad Kraai was accepted into the flock!

I've often wondered about this oyster shell stuff people offer to supplement calcium.

I’ve seen stuff that looks like actual bits of crushed up shells and stuff that’s called oyster shell but the ingredient list says it’s crushed coral with bits of oyster shell. Mine very much prefer the ones that look like shells, though they like eggshells even better.

Please don't, coconut oil will not stop UV harming your skin, quite the opposite !

I had a friend try using coconut oil as sunscreen on her baby. The poor thing had the worst sunburn after an hour of swimming.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good afternoon one and all!

93 mostly sunny 46% humidity feels like 98 with small chance of rain.

Have a great day!

 

[Solanacae]

It's rarely that hot here in the UK but we've had a few over 35C hot days this year. I still wear long sleves and long trousers in the heat. I've seen what sun stroke does. We rescued a few people who jollied off to run in the mountains in stupid temperatures. Had a couple of people die.

Construction workers and other laborers who spend a good deal of time in the sun here will often wear long sleeves, hats, sunglasses, etc. Pants and workbooks are required by safety laws, but long sleeves are better than a lot of people thing at keeping the effects of heat and sun exposure at bay. The irony is evident when you see people walking past said construction project wearing practically nothing.

Yup that was the humidity ideal for incubating eggs. I'm not sure if that was in the incubator or the ambient humidity. I can attest to excellent broody hatch rates with ambient humidity in the low to mid 70s. Where I run into issues is when it hits 78-85% for weeks on end, and it doesn't drop overnight (it actually gets even more humid overnight). I don't think I've ever experienced humidity lower than 55%.
We are planning a trip to Mexico at some point, I wonder if the shock of it will leave me unable to breathe!
I can tell you, 32 degrees at 85% humidity is very unpleasant. I work outdoors and those conditions pretty well have me almost passing out. I came home very addled several times last summer, felt like I was drunk!

I live in a semi-arid area, and 50% humidity or above seems muggy and feels hard to breathe to me! Funny how we adapt. If you do end up going on the trip to Mexico, pack lotion for keeping dry itchy skin at bay and some handkerchiefs or tissues you can get to easily. It’s common to have nosebleeds when going from higher humidity to lower. Saline nose sprays and using a humidifier in your hotel room at night (if that’s an option) may help.

My husband tends to get them when fall, which tends to be more rainy and humid, transitions to winter, where temperatures hover around freezing with quite low humidity. It’s not a huge difference in humidity, like mid-40’s to low 20’s, but he also gets nosebleeds easily and the change just exacerbates it.

Tax:

 

[MaryJanet]

Most days get progressively more humid from dawn onwards when it's hot.
Today starts at mid around 35% and ends up at 60%.
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/forecast/gcnhtnumz#?date=2022-08-08

That is quite high for those temps. Very unpleasant.

 

[RoyalChick]

That is quite high for those temps. Very unpleasant.

Humidity here dropped this afternoon into the 40s and feels delightful. Average humidity here in August is about 75.
That is yukky.

 

[MaryJanet]

Humidity here dropped this afternoon into the 40s and feels delightful. Average humidity here in August is about 75.
That is yukky.

I'm used to dry heat. I was once in Leicester when the temp was around 28 C (not at all hot) but the humidity made it incredibly oppressive.

 

[Ribh]

I'm used to dry heat. I was once in Leicester when the temp was around 28 C (not at all hot) but the humidity made it incredibly oppressive.

Summer humidity here often hovers between 80 & 90%. Ghastly! I could do without our summers.