Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[RoyalChick]

This picture is calling for a caption. My non-creative one: "had a rough day, do not talk to me right now."

Poor girl. She does look like she was dragged through a hedge backwards.

 

[lightm]

Oaky have live meal worms in basket on Amazon Now what?

This is exactly what I do: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-raise-mealworms.48416/

Very low maintenance as others have pointed out.

 

[MaryJanet]

I just knew the whatsapp group wasn't a good idea for me. C has had a bit of a meltdown it seemed to involve a short circuit accross the filtering system and the brain connected directly to her fingers typing on the phone. There were pages of it.I did respond with a few very reasonable posts to what little I understood in the deluge. This just seemed to spur them on to further insults and new messages were appearing before I had dealt with the last issue.

I've had three visitors (it's close to freezing at the allotments) and one text message from people who read the exchange who commented on my patience and fortitude telling me they think I've done an oustanding job. That was very kind of them I thought.
Once you're in one of these private groups you have access to all the phone numbers of the people in the group as well as some who are no longer active.
We, four of us are thinking of starting an alternative group without C needless to say. Everybody I've spoken to has been the recipient of C's rantings and just don't read what C writes anymore.

How awkward.

What a shame.

 

[Perris]

Getting the geese in before letting the chickens out.

Did you find them out when you arrived? Are the geese one of the triggers for C?

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

73 sunny 78% humidity feels like 71 rain 1%.

Took hubby to see his cardiologist yesterday.

Have a great day!

 

[Solanacae]

When you are gone in the evening and come home to find that two chickens didn't make it in the coop before the auto door closed, and found a sort-of-protected place but still got snowed on . . . you take them in and blow dry them to make sure they’ll be able to keep themselves warm before putting them back in the coop.

They were just fine come morning, and the bonus to blow drying them was that I could see they both have (finally) started to molt.

 

[Shadrach]

Did you find them out when you arrived? Are the geese one of the triggers for C?

The Geese being out has been normal since I started. C lets them out sometime in the morning usually. I put them in when I get there because the chickens wont range when the geese are out and of course mixing geese and chickens in the current bird flu conditions isn't a good idea.

I could go on for hours about likely triggers for C but this time I don't think the geese featured.

 

[Molpet]

I took some tax pictures

 

[Shadrach]

C has decided to re-home the geese and chickens. This may change, but I think it’s going to happen.

In C’s words, “they are too much bother and expense.”

A lot depends on what their new homes are like but this hopefully will be a good thing.

My View.
If one is going to keep chickens then they should be kept to some kind of standard. If you can’t achieve the standard then don’t keep chickens.
Even with the work, time and money I’ve put in we are not achieving even a minimum standard of care.


These are all Ex battery and rescue chickens apart form Fret who C paid for. The Ex Battery hens are in my view retirees and/or palliative care patients. The standard of care for them should be set higher. These are, as someone in the group put it, retired hens. Retirement should at least mean (being retired I have a view on the subject) free from hunger and cold, adequately housed, provided with medical care etc.

At the moment even with my bag a month, more recently every six weeks, they are not getting properly fed. I pointed out the maths of this to the group. C told the group they buy 3 bags of feed a month. C complains about that. Then I did the maths and on the minimum recommended quantities from the feed manufactures we were two bags and a bit short; closer to 50% short in fact if my contribution is deducted. Then there is the problem of what they get fed.

I showed the group what 26 chickens in the old coop looked like at roost time. It makes battery conditions look spacious. Apparently they were a bit shocked. It shows just how little any of them have to do with the chickens. It was C’s partner who took care of the chickens until three years ago and from the pictures that were posted on the fields website the stocking density and keeping conditions they did a reasonable job.

When one adds the state of the run, C’s complete lack of construction skills and their lack of chicken knowledge right down to not knowing where a hens crop is and outright refusal to use vet care for any problem, health care didn’t feature until I went there. A couple of group members in the past have pointed out the chickens and coops had mites and C had the usual meltdown response. Not really what one wants as a retiree chicken. It’s not like they have nice pointed beak to pick them off with because they had their beaks cut.

I’ve been told by most of the members that if C was to hand over the field to the group or another competent member they would participate in the care of the field and any livestock. Most of them live within walking distance. While C is there those that last more than a year either leave the group, or just don’t bother with anything other than their own plot.

I could and would and am doing so, make up any feed shortage but what I can’t do is make sure they get fed it.

With the current state of the run, I was asked to cost what it would cost to make the run rat proof so feed could be left out all day. Nobody liked the sound of that.

C works shifts. They travel on public transport. Sometimes the journey time to and form work is an hour each way. The shift lengths vary from eight to twelve hours. Today sunrise was at 8am and sunset at 4pm. It just isn’t possible for C to feed the chickens twice in the daylight which is when most of them will eat even if the shift is a day shift. Nobody in the group is prepared to do it. A few have in the past that I know of.

An added problem is none of the group I’ve spoken to trust C. They have been concerned about financial accountability for some time. I think that if the field group had control of finances and took the what to spend on decisions most of them would happily donate as my fundraise for the woodchip demonstrated, which I’m refunding due to the change in circumstances.

I spoke to a couple of the group members this evening when I took their donation refund round. They think under the circumstances it is cruelty to keep the chickens and geese in the current circumstances.

I can’t help but agree with them. Before I arrived the chickens might have got out for a few hours at the weekend if C was working in the allotments. Now they are out two hours or more daily. Even at my most optimistic I can’t see anyone standing out in all weathers for a couple of hours a day governed by the movement of the sun. It’s just not going to happen. As C pointed out in their rant, you would need to be a halfwit to do such a thing. I think they were referring to me.

Finally, the DEFRA recommendations are going to be tightened up we are informed and while pets may be given exemptions, registered smallholdings with declared livestock will not be. The field is a registered livestock smallholding. This will mean at the bare minimum the livestock confined to a covered run if not confined to the coop. Apparently the smallholder who is found to be in breach of the new regulation risks having their smallholding license revoked. This would put the field back into council hands and they want to build on it.

Even with my new coop alterations keeping 19 chickens in that space is as bad as battery conditions.

I know some of the group have been talking to C and have concerns about C’s mental health. Perhaps C has been made to accept the reality of the situation.

C has said they intend to keep two, or three chickens in their back garden. They do have enough space.

All I can hope for is the chickens go to someone who will care for them properly. Of course I will miss them but if they have even a chance of a better life than they have now it must be a good thing.

As I stated at the beginning of this thread Pear Tree Farm who “rescues” these spent hens should never have allowed C to have them in the first place.

I’ve been asked by one group member and one other so far if I would be prepared to help with their chickens a couple of days a week.

I’m going to think about it.

I imagine it will take some time to re home them so there will still be chicken pictures and news from me for a while.


Should I keep the thread going once this is all done?

 

[Perris]

Wow. That's quite a bombshell. I didn't see that coming. Need time to process for a considered response. In the meantime,