Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[no fly zone]

It will be a huge change, but hopefully you may have some good surprises, especially when you are preparing for the worse!
It's difficult to make such a choice when your partner has very different wishes on where and how to live. I think it's courageous of you to give it a try. I'm seeing several couples of friends fall apart because neither will make the effort to change, or one has been making all the efforts for years and decide it's over.

It's good that you can take at least Skeksis and Chippy with you, though you must be sad to leave the others, Mr Bumble and his children.

My wife is the best thing to ever happen to me and I only do this out of loyalty to her. I am sure Mr. Bumble and the others will be well cared for, but in my perfect scenario, they would live out their entire lives with me.

 

[Sally PB]

Sending positive waves for everyone. Those who leave now, or later.

 

[Shadrach]

Ex Batts good afternoon one and all!

73 cloudy 89% humidity feels like 73 rain 49%.

C has decided to make everyone's life miserable.

Is there not anyone in the allotments that is able to talk with her and guide her to make some decent decisions.

Have a great day!

No. Not many of the allotment holders want the chickens or the geese. Nobody wants to try and reason with C because of C's attitude. C sort of bulllies them and many have left in the past because of this.

The rehoming isn't in itself a bad idea. But, they all have to go if the problems surrounding them are to be resolved. It doesn't matter if there are 2 or 20, the same day to day things have to be done regardless. If I don't go to the allotments all they get is fed once in the morning. C is either still at work, or travelling from when the chickens go to roost.
As one can imagine, someone who is getting ready to go to work at 7am is not going to have the time necessary to do any sort of health inspection or possibly more important, let the chickens out to range.

Then there is what they get fed and how they get fed. They need cleaning out daily and given fresh water. This just wasn't happening when I arrived. C cannot manage to look after them adequately and go to work.

 

[Solanacae]

I'm guessing she gave little or no indication which 5...and anyway wouldn't take your preferences into consideration The new place may be physically better than the allotments, but I doubt the chosen few will be better looked after there than they have been by you.

I had the same question. Honestly, she may not know the chickens well enough to know who is who, aside from the obvious ones like Henry and Matilda. Wouldn’t it be lovely if Shadrach managed to be at the allotment when the people came by to pick up the chickens? Then he’d be able to at least chat with them a little and maybe help them to understand the kind of help these birds will be needing.

@no fly zone I hope your wife acknowledges what a sacrifice this is for you, but it makes me happy to hear that people are willing to do this kind of thing. This is the stuff that makes a good relationship work, so long as it goes both ways.

 

[Shadrach]

If only I believed that to be true. They get the minimum care from me and even with the feed and extras I buy for them they are not getting fed properly. I'm hopefull from what I've heard. They are going into a warm coop in a shed to start with. The person who has taken them has kept chickens before and not as livestock.

 

[Sally PB]

Do you know which ones left?

 

[Shadrach]

Do you know which ones left?

No, I'll find out tomorrow. I do know it isn't Henry, Matilda and Fret and I suggested that she picked the four most recently brought there and one of the larger Ex Battery hens that gets on well with the newest four. Trouble is C doesn't know one hen from another except Fret and Matilda.

 

[MaryJanet]

I appreciate the complexity of the situation but C's interpersonal skills are so poor, they make matters worse.

In her shoes, I'd be ensuring you stay on. That would take the form of listening, accepting your opinion, then resolving problems together. Eg fewer chickens and proper rat proofing so feed can be left out 24/7 in a hopper. Then your job would be treats, fresh water, free ranging time, health checks, and evening lock up. Her's would be eating the eggs whenever she wanted.

At least the fewer chickens part is happening.

 

[Shadrach]

I appreciate the complexity of the situation but C's interpersonal skills are so poor, they make matters worse.

In her shoes, I'd be ensuring you stay on. That would take the form of listening, accepting your opinion, then resolving problems together. Eg fewer chickens and proper rat proofing so feed can be left out 24/7 in a hopper. Then your job would be treats, fresh water, free ranging time, health checks, and evening lock up. Her's would be eating the eggs whenever she wanted.

At least the fewer chickens part is happening.

The whole business is just sad and frustrating.
Like many of us when new to chickens most of what we thought we knew is wrong and we all have learning difficulties. I have tried and in part succeeded to teach C basic chicken biology which is necessary to make sound judgements on their state of health. C didn't know where a hens crop was when I started let alone felt one.

 

[no fly zone]

Well, when putting the chickens to bed for the night after work, I noticed Skeksis had a fatty lump on her neck that I know 100% was not there yesterday. I certainly do not like this development.