Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

I didn't realize you were so close to the sea

We're very lucky. Can walk through the woods to the nearest beach in about 15 minutes. And collect edible seaweed and oyster shells while I'm there. I dry the seaweed and offer it as such very occasionally. Most of the chickens hate it, despite its nutrients, but they'll eat it if they feel the need for something in it

It doesn't completely convince me.

So what political system do you think might be better? The Greeks tried elective dictatorships, and amazingly it seems those few appointed to such a post handed it over when their tenure was up. But when the Romans tried dictatorships, it ended with an emperor. Personally I prefer not to take that risk.

do your chickens ever shelter or go willingly in the coop during the day ?

Yes, Sven the old roo does occasionally. But he only goes in if it's very wet and he's molting, or if he's hiding from Chirk (but that doesn't always work). Otherwise, a bird in the coops in the day is a sick bird, or a young bird watching a hen lay in a nesting box, or a bird who felt the need to eat some shavings or trace of poop in it (coprophagy).

I've not been sick in three years and a half, not even a cold.

lucky you! Wish I could say the same. I used to enjoy very robust health, but I think covid did some damage to my immune system.

 

[MaryJanet]

So what political system do you think might be better?

I'm interested in the shades of democracy. Even with Australia's high voter turnout, we have problems (ongoing human rights abuses for one - we've been censured by the UN for more than a decade). A while ago we looked at Switzerland and - I think it was Finland? Or was it Demark? Anyway, both had very interesting approaches to participative/direct democracy. The Swiss vote on all sorts of stuff, but only if they want to.

 

[Perris]

I'm interested in the shades of democracy. Even with Australia's high voter turnout, we have problems. A while ago we looked at Switzerland and - I think it was Finland? Or was it Demark? Anyway, both had very interesting approaches to participative/direct democracy. The Swiss vote on all sorts of stuff, but only if they want to.

You really should read Aristotle's Politics then. The Greeks were working with a blank slate, so to speak, and invented democracy, oligarchy, plutocracy, timocracy, aristocracy, monarchy, tyranny, 'mixed' and some other varieties, and Aristotle analysed them all to clarify and classify them. While some of his analysis is obviously rooted in that time and place, some of it is timeless, and all of it is thought-provoking as other ways of doing things. And the sharpness of his mind is stunning, on any topic. (His description of the development of the chick foetus in History of Animals is better than most people on BYC could manage.)

 

[MaryJanet]

You really should read Aristotle's Politics then. The Greeks were working with a blank slate, so to speak, and invented democracy, oligarchy, plutocracy, timocracy, aristocracy, monarchy, tyranny, 'mixed' and some other varieties, and Aristotle analysed them all to clarify and classify them. While some of his analysis is obviously rooted in that time and place, some of it is timeless, and all of it is thought-provoking as other ways of doing things. And the sharpness of his mind is stunning, on any topic. (His description of the development of the chick foetus in History of Animals is better than most people on BYC could manage.)

Maybe when my wait list is a little shorter.

 

[ManueB]

You really should read Aristotle's Politics then. The Greeks were working with a blank slate, so to speak, and invented democracy, oligarchy, plutocracy, timocracy, aristocracy, monarchy, tyranny, 'mixed' and some other varieties, and Aristotle analysed them all to clarify and classify them. While some of his analysis is obviously rooted in that time and place, some of it is timeless, and all of it is thought-provoking as other ways of doing things. And the sharpness of his mind is stunning, on any topic. (His description of the development of the chick foetus in History of Animals is better than most people on BYC could manage.)

Classical Greek society was a bit too unequalitarian for me, even someone as unconventional as Aristotle. I like the attitude about work though .

I don't have a clue about what could be better, it's always easier to criticize than to invent. My fears are that democracy has difficulties when a. a people has extremely divided opinions b. problems come up that need to be thought on the long term. And it appears to me this is the case now. Democracy may not have enough safeguards to preserve itself.
I certainly don't believe democracy is the end of history as we were taught in high school when Fukuyama's book came out.

Maybe when my wait list is a little shorter.

It 's not a short read .

 

[MaryJanet]

It 's not a short read

I'm always behind on reading, but I might get to it in my retirement. Until then, I'll have too much other reading taking up my time and mind.

 

[BDutch]

I can’t find the article, but a while ago I read an interesting article on the reason a base 12 measuring system even existed in the first place. The author pointed out (like you mentioned here) how yards and feet and inches correspond to body parts but also talked about how having a system that was divisible by so many numbers (2, 3, 4, 6) made it an excellent system for masons, carpenters, bakers, etc. because you had so many ratios that were easy to estimate visually. I do quite a bit of baking and cooking, and it’s a lot easier to divide something into two or three equal parts than five. I appreciated learning the history of why such a system existed when our counting system is base 10.

Some of the mine tailings around those abandoned mining towns make for far less pretty scenery than that village in Spain, not to mention toxic. One of my uncles liked to explore the mountains near his house as a teenager. He found an abandoned mine one time and brought home some sticks of dynamite to show my grandma. He was horribly offended when she called the cops after showing her the dynamite - he’s lucky he didn’t get blown to bits hiking home - and the police showed up with a bomb squad. They took the dynamite and made my uncle show them where the mine was so they could blow up the entrance so no one else could get in.

Tax: a couple of chicks my sister got. They’ll live here with my flock, but she’ll help pay for food and get their eggs. These two were rescued from a chicken hoarding situation, and they got moved outside yesterday. They’re still quarantined from the main flock but finally have enough feathers I felt comfortable with them being outside. They’ve got an enclosed space with a heat cave since the temperature difference between inside and outside is pretty dramatic. My sister named them Estella and Genevieve.

You hit the nail on the feel good of buying abandoned property. Thanks for sharing the story of your uncle and the 2 rescues.

 

[BDutch]

….
My chickens also stay much more inside the coop and in the run than they normally do, and when they go out they spend a good part of the time hidden. We have had many hawks flying above recently and one almost landing a few days ago.

I have a question in that regard. My coop as I've mentioned before is a vaulted ceiling around 20m2 / 215 sq feet and all the birds can shelter confortably. For those of you who have small coop types, like Shadrach or Perris, do your chickens ever shelter or go willingly in the coop during the day ? Shadrach I understand they don't really have a choice, but when you get to the allotment, are they dispatched between the coop and the run, or do they all stay in the run ?
..

reply on this part.
My garden an the run both have lots of place to hide.
The runs are open at the top top for rain and sunlight. I planted 5 bushes in them. The laurel gives heavy shade and keeps his leaves all winter. Both runs are covered with strong netting. With a maze where small songbirds like sparrows can fly through.
I never saw a hawk here, but they are often seen not very far from my house. Other birds like buzzards and sparrowhawks are a threat for my small chickens too and I do see them here from time to time. I didn’t see it happen, but I am convinced my Pino was taken by a buzzard 2 years ago.

Maybe their behaviour changed with a new cat in the neighborhood. He chased the chickens last summer. And I’m still not sure what happened to one of my bantam Red/RIR who disappeared at that time. But I don’t see him often and don’t see him chasing anymore nowadays.
This is the cat in question.

 

[RoyalChick]

exactly. Base 12 and fractions are much easier for people who need to divide physical things than base 10 and decimal places. There are a number of good books about it. We still work with base 60 for time and degrees, and no-one seems to find that difficult, oddly enough.

My mother was a very practical lady who made stuff and was mathematically inclined. She was a big proponent of using base 12 and was always quizzing me on fractions as I grew up. To this day I still know roughly how many hands, arms etc. for lengths.

 

[RoyalChick]

You really should read Aristotle's Politics then. The Greeks were working with a blank slate, so to speak, and invented democracy, oligarchy, plutocracy, timocracy, aristocracy, monarchy, tyranny, 'mixed' and some other varieties, and Aristotle analysed them all to clarify and classify them. While some of his analysis is obviously rooted in that time and place, some of it is timeless, and all of it is thought-provoking as other ways of doing things. And the sharpness of his mind is stunning, on any topic. (His description of the development of the chick foetus in History of Animals is better than most people on BYC could manage.)

I might just do that. Though it feels a bit daunting.
I was always amazed that the Brexit vote was a simple majority. Even within democracy you can recognize that some decisions cannot easily be undone and impact people as yet too young to have a vote and give a higher threshold to a passing vote (2/3 vs 1/2 - so gloriously easy in base 12!)