Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[GregnLety]

Beer n bourbon make for much better discussion than politics

Did my trousers slip and my politics show?


An Iranian chicken website that google won't trawl perhaps.
Ooops, done it again.

Yup, I would like to see more contributors from other parts of the world. However, I've been coming here on a regular basis for almost five years and read the site a few years before that on occasions. I have virtual friends here and some of them I know are Americans and some of them still talk with me even after five years of my scathing views on certain topics.

 

[Shadrach]

Beer n bourbon make for much better discussion than politics

Bring a bottle over one Christmas.

 

[GregnLety]

Bring a bottle over one Christmas.

That's the best idea I've heard all day!

 

[GregnLety]

Political tax: children of Cholo and Gorda

Gorda and Cholo. Gorda weighed 11 pounds today

 

[Solanacae]

Lots of people think keeping chickens is easy. I don't think it is if one is going to consider the welfare of the chicken as the first priority.

I definitely go to more work than some of my neighbors do, as far as the time I spend on my flock. I am also aware of the areas I’m wanting to improve are (in particular, the space they have and the lack of good chicken vegetation for cover and forage) so I suppose that’s more work than my ‘coop and run’ neighbors would put in. Honestly through, I’d be redoing that part of the yard anyway because that’s where I want my mini orchard to go anyway, complete with companion plantings. The chickens are just another element to incorporate into the design, and to accommodate them in the plan isn’t more than a step or two more. Still, I don’t know that I’d say that keeping chickens is difficult though . . .

 

[TropicalBabies]

I was first under the impression that the chicken put straw on her back due to the pain of laying an egg. Like a horse who is colicky often bends their neck to their stomach. But then I notice how some of my hens try and camouflage their eggs when laying outside of the boxes. Wondering if it was instinctual. Sounds like the gal bird was trying to camouflage her honey who was sitting on the nest or maybe just flirting ♡

RSL tax- Lady Ruby, she is 1.5yo**

I bred her and her sister to my Buff Brahma roo. Here are some of their babies w/ the white pullet being RSL X light Brahma

 

[BDutch]

Shad, I am very excited to share that I have found at least a short term solution for sourcing chickens. I would like a few chicks this year, but I’ve gotten to the point that I don’t want to support the hatchery industry anymore. After doing some research, I found someone local… Just half an hour drive away. They only have about three or four breeds, and I would like two of each of these…

Isabella Leghorns
View attachment 3375653

French Blue Coper Marans
View attachment 3375657

I’m not quite ready right now for roosters, but I am at a point that if a female chick turned out not to be female after all, I would be OK with it. We own this property now, so I would not get kicked out for having a rooster. And here’s the best part of all… I asked her what happens with the unwanted males. It’s the best answer I could have hoped for, while wanting to source female chickens. She raises the unwanted males on pasture along with the females. At a certain age, she tries to adopt as many out as she can. The ones who are not adopted out are euthanized humanely, and then fed to her livestock guardian dogs that protect the chickens.

At this point, I think it is the best possible compromise I can find to continue keeping chickens while trying to have as little suffering as possible. And I will not be supporting the giant hatchery industry at all. For those of you not in the United States, please know that giant hatcheries are sort of just how it’s done here. Not only that, but I am in California, which does not have many options for chickens (outside of hatchery delivery) at all. I am pleased with this find and hope it all works out. I’ll keep you posted.

Very nice!

I was looking at Marktplaats.nl (our graigslist but far better for buying chickens) to see if there are any hobbyists who would sell certain Bantam chickens that are on my shortlist. Not to buy chickens now , but to have an adress/phone number to buy fertilised eggs in spring when I have a broody.

I found 2 different owners/breeds within 15 km (10 miles). Vorwerk Bantam and Dutch in a speckled colouring (Koekoek).

 

[BDutch]

Political tax: children of Cholo and GordaView attachment 3376529Gorda and Cholo. Gorda weighed 11 pounds today View attachment 3376530

Wow , that’s about 10 times the weight of a Dutch!

 

[BDutch]

…

The ground in what most would accept as a run dies pretty quickly with just a few chickens confined to it. Dead ground doesn't compost stuff well. It is imo one of the problems with fixed coops, especially if the chickens are largely confined to them.

I used to put the chickens in the allotment in Catalonia; normally they were discouraged by fencing and supervision from extended visits. Even five chickens digging shifts a lot of soil, not to mention eating a lot of bugs and grubs that would grow into little monsters intent on eating everything you plant.
The chickens at the allotment used to go on the allotment. When C's partner was alive the chickens were out most afternoons until dusk.

Lots of people think keeping chickens is easy. I don't think it is if one is going to consider the welfare of the chicken as the first priority.

I had a problem with stinky soil too soon after I started to keep 6 tiny bantam chickens in a small coop (2m2) + run (9m2). Even if they were allowed to free range about 2 hours a day.

I made drainage in the ground with pebble holes. Several bushes grow in the run and I added lots of autumn leaves every year. The coop and run space have been enlarged. An automatic chicken door gives acces to the run from dawn till dusk. Over the years the number of chickens fluctuated a bit (5-9). Now I have 6 bantams in a super ventilated coop (3m2) and a run of about 15m2.
The improvements made a big difference. I don’t have these soil problems anymore. And it’s much easier to maintain a happy and healthy flock.

 

[micstrachan]

That sounds great. Hopefully you'll get chickens with better genes and even if you don't they will have had a proper start in life and know a bit about being chickens.

Having a male. Although sounding a bit dramatic, the thing you need to be prepared for is you will lose your hens. They will become the roosters hens and often that doesn't go smoothly.
Reading the problem rooster threads leaves me the impression that this is not something keepers new to chickens, or those just getting a rooster grasp.
AImost everything one may have done with a hen only group has to stop until the keeper and the rooster have got themselves sorted out. Some cockerels grow up easy, others not so much. The I'm the giant that brings the food just doesn't impress a lot of roosters. They don't care how big you are. One has to come to an arrangement with a rooster or things are going to go South very quickly.
Some keepers seem to know or do this without thinking much about it, more usually those who free range. They don't have the same close contact with the group and the rooster hasn't had his territory defined by a fence. This makes a lot of difference I believe.

Thank you for this reminder. I don’t think I can bear to lose my hens, so I’ll need to rethink this. It seemed to work out ok with you, Henry and the allotment girls.