Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[MaryJanet]

There is something wrong with Henry. I think he may have had the chicken equivelant of a minor stroke. The back and tips of his comb went almost black very quickly and he looked suddenly very tired. He was looking better when he went to roost but there was still a dark blueish tinge to the tips of his comb.

It rained for an hour or so this morning and for a couple of hours or more at the allotments. Sighs of relief all round. I got a lot of the mites in the small coop judging from todays inspection. After the next treatment I can see about getting at the surfaces with a scraper then giving it a final spray at the weekend. It could then in theory go back into sevice.

I don't know if C was there at roost time yesterday to know where everyone roosted. 15 in tonight. One carried and put on a roost via the human door because of the full door block.View attachment 3224438View attachment 3224439
It looks better than I expected with 15 in. I mention earlier in the thread that around 15 chickens would be closer to what I feel could live here. It would help if some of those on the floor got on the roost bars.
Everyone made it through the last heatwave fortunately. My sister tells me she knows people who lost chickens last week.

View attachment 3224443View attachment 3224442View attachment 3224441View attachment 3224440

Quite a number of floor sleepers.

 

[Sally PB]

Hoping Henry is ok....

 

[TropicalBabies]

Oh my goodness @Shadrach . I never even thought to worry about Henry, always worried for the girls. He is the rock and I hope he recovers fully ♡ and

 

[janiedoe]

My house in Catalonia was earth bermed. My larder/pantry/store was a deep hole dug into one of the terraces.
My first earth beremed house design was a two teir. The top tier was a greenhouse/sunroom essentialy that sat on top of the rest of the house which was below ground.

I've always been fascinated with bermed homes. Probably because my mother loved to visit caves when I was child.

Shadrach, I want to wish you luck with Henry. This year's heat has been hard on my older birds. Doris, my older rooster is having a really rough time of it.

 

[pennyJo1960]

My Smudge is 2020 boy like Feb old Blue Marans. He is big bird 25 lbs possibly more.
Tax

 

[Perris]

It doesn't look as dry there as it does here.

Indeed, the couple of degrees difference in top temperatures makes a difference, and I think we've had less drying wind than the allotments (been barely a puff here most days). Sadly we only got a sprinkling of rain for about 10 minutes yesterday, much less than you describe.

There is something wrong with Henry.

Is there an equivalent to horse's teeth that works to age chickens?

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

Sending good wishes to Henry! I always thought he must be exhausted with all those hens. My senior rooster looks tired by end of the day and he only has 6 mature hens to look after.

 

[Iluveggers]

@Shadrach I hope Henry pulls through whatever he is dealing with.

I know you are very hands-off & let nature take its course…would you consider bringing an older cockerel to the allotments to learn from Henry and take over once he has moved on (hopefully years from now?) Friends of ours have a “senior” rooster and added a few pullets and a new cockerel this year so he could “learn from the best” and step into a lead role when the time does come…

 

[ManueB]

@Shadrach I hope Henry pulls through whatever he is dealing with.

I know you are very hands-off & let nature take its course…would you consider bringing an older cockerel to the allotments to learn from Henry and take over once he has moved on (hopefully years from now?) Friends of ours have a “senior” rooster and added a few pullets and a new cockerel this year so he could “learn from the best” and step into a lead role when the time does come…

I remember Shadrach mentioned he was pondering about Henry 's replacement but I never realized it was more than a theoretical question. I also thought he would be there forever. Then again if he's that old, it explains maybe why he's so patient and so British. He must have seen a lot. I hope he will be all right!

It would help if some of those on the floor got on the roost bars

I'm really surprised. I thought they only did this in the old coop because there was not enough place ! The only times one of my hens will sleep on the floor is if she is too sick to climb up to roost and even so, I've only seen it happen three or fourth times at most (At night I mean. In the day time they often nap on the ground)

Is it common for chickens to sleep on the floor or is this something specific to the allotments hens?

 

[Shadrach]

Indeed, the couple of degrees difference in top temperatures makes a difference, and I think we've had less drying wind than the allotments (been barely a puff here most days). Sadly we only got a sprinkling of rain for about 10 minutes yesterday, much less than you describe.

Is there an equivalent to horse's teeth that works to age chickens?

If there is I don't know about it.
The legs are supposed to give an indication of a chickens age but Henry's legs are such a mess I doubt anything useful could be learned from them.