Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[MaryJanet]

the genetics in that article were way beyond my ken too, but that seems to me to be the gist of it. On the other hand, I consider a temperature of about 20 C perfect sightseeing weather - not too hot for a lot of walking, not too cold demanding lots of layers - so I'm not sure I'd classify this as a 'cold' climate adaptation
(materials and methods section: "the conditions for normal growth and development were temperatures, on average, of 20 °C (18–23 °C) versus the generally accepted 30–33 °C")

I'd assumed they were talking below freezing!

 

[Perris]

the spa was busy this morning with Chirk and his entourage

The ever-alert Pennies seem to have shot up to say 'can I help you?'

 

[Perris]

and (via the subterfuge of a bowl of yogurt) I finally got a decent shot of the back end of Fforest's comb; reminds me more of a medieval jester's hat than a crown

 

[Iluveggers]

and (via the subterfuge of a bowl of yogurt) I finally got a decent shot of the back end of Fforest's comb; reminds me more of a medieval jester's hat than a crown
View attachment 3330079

Stunning!

 

[BDutch]

That country was hurting before we ever ventured there. It's mostly a barren wasteland.

Great land for poppy. One of their main export products was opium. Maybe it still is.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

66 cloudy 91% humidity feels like 63 rain 23%.

Have a great day!

 

[Shadrach]

I have been reading this ability of the chicks has to do with the genes of this old Russian breed who where not heavily selected like other breeds (Didn’t say exactly what, but the production - battery hens crossed my mind).

What I’ve been reading previous: a natural selection over several chicken generations make a breed more fit to it’s climate. Sorry I don’t have a link for that one.

Edit typo

Well this is it. The study I linked to points out that there hasn't been much in the way of studies on cold hardiness for want of a better description. But, type cold hardy breeds into a search engine and one gets a plethora of sites identifying cold hardy breeds. Something is badly wrong here.
My Finnish friend who works with Finnish land race breeds tells me that the Finnish land race breeds have adapted over hundreds of years, but he is not aware of any physiological changes.
In order to be a truely cold hardy breed I would argue that there must be physiological changes otherwise it's an environmental adaptation that in theory any breed of chicken could manage overtime.

 

[BDutch]

Well this is it. The study I linked to points out that there hasn't been much in the way of studies on cold hardiness for want of a better description. But, type cold hardy breeds into a search engine and one gets a plethora of sites identifying cold hardy breeds. Something is badly wrong here.
My Finnish friend who works with Finnish land race breeds tells me that the Finnish land race breeds have adapted over hundreds of years, but he is not aware of any physiological changes.
In order to be a truely cold hardy breed I would argue that there must be physiological changes otherwise it's an environmental adaptation that in theory any breed of chicken could manage overtime.

You mean something like feathered legs? (Your favorite )

Or rosecomb instead of a huge single comb that gets frozen easily.
Or 5 toes to avoid being slippery on ice.
Or a black skin to absorb more sunlight.
Or a nice fluffy hat to keep the ears warm and cozy?

 

[Shadrach]

You mean something like feathered legs? (Your favorite )

Or rosecomb instead of a huge single comb that gets frozen easily.
Or 5 toes to avoid being slippery on ice.
Or a black skin to absorb more sunlight.
Or a nice fluffy hat to keep the ears warm and cozy?

All of those and then some.
Here are a few that I have attempted to tackle. Imagine the outcry if one could prove that keeping chickens out of their comfort range amounts to animal cruelty.
1) chickens are not flock creatures.
2) the egg song nonsense
3) why chickens dust bathe
4) the levels of calcium found in layers feed is fine for roosters
5) moulting prevents chickens from laying eggs
6) It's fine to cut a chickens beak

plus a few more I've got on the back burner.

 

[Shadrach]

I got to the allotments at 1pm today. It was mostly sunny and the chickens stayed out until around 4.30pm.

This young hen is getting bullied away from the food. I hand fed her today as I have for a few days now. She had a few mites which I hope I've dealt with by spraying with permethrin. She's easy to handle and inspections can be done while she's standing.