Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

poor Janeka's back end looks like a hedgehog's

 

[ManueB]

It looks like blue skies on those pictures ?

I've found a new definition of irritating. Irritating is doing something badly and then having someone come along and make a proper job of it.

I believe that's exactly how my partner would qualify me . But I always tell him shady management gets the results it deserves - are you sure that you always explain clearly to C. what you expect from them even when it seems evident to you ?

After a year caring for those chickens, I wonder how you are not tempted to give all of the allotment crews names ? For one thing it would be easier if you have to tell C. something about a hen to have a name rather than use a descriptive sentence ? And you must know all of them personally by now.

 

[BDutch]

I think Paprika's eye is wandering; this was snapped through glass (sorry for awful quality) when they re-emerged from the border into which they'd both disappeared a few minutes earlier... this fine fellow's been hanging around, eying up the hens, for about a month now Apparently they can interbreed successfully.
View attachment 3287519

Are you going to try to hatch the eggs?
I suppose the eggs won’t hatch, but I’m curious if they start to develop,

 

[BDutch]

Great to have you back again Shadrach.
I don’t think C is ever going to be a neat gentlemen like you are Shadrach.

Q: Is SLM , scaly leg mites? In Dutch we say kalkpoten, meaning chalk legs.
Its often too hard for me to remember abbreviations in a foreign language with no clue to remember.

SLM does remind me of SME (small and medium sized enterprises) . It took me a while to grasp that one too. In Dutch the abbreviation is MKB with a switch of small (klein) and medium (midden).

My flock should stay inside the run because of the bird flu a year now). I suppose a police officer stopped by to explain this to the chickens. Because if I let them free range they often go inside the run again after 30 minutes. As like, they feel more comfortable inside the run. Or…

A black cat of one of our neighbours likes the run too. Last weeks I had to shsh her out a couple of times because the chickens were not amused that the cat took a nap in the run. I almost licked the cat in the run twice. Together with the chickens.

… Maybe the chickens defend their territory against the cat?

 

[MaryJanet]

Great to have you back again Shadrach.
I don’t think C is ever going to be a neat gentlemen like you are Shadrach.

Q: Is SLM , scaly leg mites? In Dutch we say kalkpoten, meaning chalk legs.
Its often too hard for me to remember abbreviations in a foreign language with no clue to remember.

SLM does remind me of SME (small and medium sized enterprises) . It took me a while to grasp that one too. In Dutch the abbreviation is MKB with a switch of small (klein) and medium (midden).

My flock should stay inside the run because of the bird flu a year now). I suppose a police officer stopped by to explain this to the chickens. Because if I let them free range they often go inside the run again after 30 minutes. As like, they feel more comfortable inside the run. Or…

A black cat of one of our neighbours likes the run too. Last weeks I had to shsh her out a couple of times because the chickens were not amused that the cat took a nap in the run. I almost licked the cat in the run twice. Together with the chickens.

… Maybe the chickens defend their territory against the cat?

Could be. Sometimes the cat goes in the chicken run at my house and almost always Janet (wisest hen) goes in at the same time.

Also you made a very cute and funny typo! Lick the cat? I smiled

 

[Shadrach]

Shad will surely have useful info to input here, from his own past flocks and those he knew in Catalonia.
My oldest, Sven, hatched in autumn 2017, so he's coming up to his 5th birthday.

The eldest in the tribes in Catalonia have always been hens. However, one would need to be around for 50 or more years to see just 5 generations from hatch to death to make even the wildest assumptions assuming they lived what I understand as a full life for the breed.
I do know, and have kown in the past some old rooster, some by advocacy from a believable source and others from direct contact.
Henry for example is the eldest in the allotment crew. Exactly how old I/we don't really know.
My uncles favourite rooster was 11 when I moved away.
The length of time one would have to observe for a full lifetime of a chicken is one of the problems with breeding for health and longevity, it takes a few generations before one can be fairly certain that the necessary genes have gone forward. Much like with humans genes can skip generations.

 

[Perris]

Are you going to try to hatch the eggs?
I suppose the eggs won’t hatch, but I’m curious if they start to develop,

no; we're at capacity here I think.

 

[BDutch]

Could be. Sometimes the cat goes in the chicken run at my house and almost always Janet (wisest hen) goes in at the same time.

Also you made a very cute and funny typo! Lick the cat? I smiled

I LOL

 

[BDutch]

no; we're at capacity here I think.

If the eggs would hatch … You could sell them for an enormous amount of money to chicken/pheasant freaks.

Edit: forgot to type the eggs , the most important word in the sentence .

 

[Shadrach]

It looks like blue skies on those pictures ?

Yep, we've had some of that.

are you sure that you always explain clearly to C. what you expect from them even when it seems evident to you ?

Not really. I would have to start with this is a chicken and work on from there.
We don't see other creatures through the same lens.
C gets them fed most mornings and does let them out from time to time. I can't do that. If I could I would say leave the chickens to me and C would probably go for that.
There is one thing that C says which there is no arguing with and that is the chickens are better off than they were when they took them in. Even with the overcrowding, the dodgy diet, the lack of adequate security, any form of vet care. They are all chickens people didn't want any more for whatever reasons and C has taken them in.

After a year caring for those chickens, I wonder how you are not tempted to give all of the allotment crews names ? For one thing it would be easier if you have to tell C. something about a hen to have a name rather than use a descriptive sentence ? And you must know all of them personally by now.

C would have to know their names as well and that is not going to happen.
Hmmm, I know a few of them reasonable well. This is part of the observing and learning process. It takes quite a while to see how another creature responds to enough different situations to get to know them well. I like to see in particular how hens are with their chicks. Now there's a test of patience in a creature.
I've had some full on Italian style hens as mothers; slap them first.
The allotment crew have changed as their range of experiences and regularity of them changed.