Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Iluveggers]

We are waiting to see if we will be able to keep all 4 of the cockerels at the farm. (About 50 pullets/mature hens). They are now 100% free range from dawn til dusk, and have over 100 acres to explore (although they seem to stay near the house/coops). The boys have started integrating with the older hens, and I was there today watching them try to “woo”. One of them was doing the foot shuffle/dropped wing next to a few, but no takers. Looks like the old girls are teaching them some respect and how to treat a lady. There are two barns, one houses the 20 or so older hens, the other the 30ish 7 month pullets.

So far, so good. A few of the girls will willingly squat, and others have enough room to run away. Family decided they can all stay unless:
1. A person gets attacked
2. The boys draw blood on each other
3. A boy causes extreme stress on any of the girls consistently

I am hopeful that the available range space and two barns will help them learn to coexist in one big flock or a bunch of smaller co-flocks. The EE twin boys are inseparable and tend to hang w the older girls. The most dominant OE cock has established himself as the leader…first to crow, will take treats and call the girls, and most of the pullets willingly crouch for him. The BO cock is very laid back, is extremely docile, seems to have 1-2 girlfriends, and stays out of the way of the other boys. I spent a few hours there today, and had a lovely view from the kitchen window of chickens just chickening in the (cold) sunshine.

 

[Shadrach]

2. The boys draw blood on each other

I think you need to scrap rule 2.
They are bound to fight. It's something one just gets used to. The vast majority of the time it's over quickly but bloody combs and wattles and broken spurs are things one has to accept with free range males.

Fully in favour of rule 3. It's all I ask of a rooster that is non negotiable.

 

[GregnLety]

She looks like a Buff Orp except for the yellow legs. New Hampshire Red? The one I had was more buff colored like your girl.

View attachment 3377311

Definitely the same body style, she is loved no matter what. She was sickly as a pullet so as a result of being handled then she is easily handled now. For the longest she insisted on laying her egg in her room and would make a commotion at our kitchen door to be let inside so she could.

 

[Shadrach]

So here is tax from today View attachment 3377335View attachment 3377336View attachment 3377337

Have you ever made a dust bath with one of those plastic tubs you're using as nest boxes? I've got a 40 litre plastic tub I've been thinking of drilling drain hole in the bottom and sinking about half way into the ground and filling with sieve earth to make a dust bath in the coop run.

 

[micstrachan]

From what I've read, many people who keep female only chicken groups establish routines, have some hens that will lap sit, others that they pick up on a regular basis. Feeding habits are almost always a problem as can be egg collecting and coop cleaning etc etc.

Not always, but often enough, having a rooster, particulalry a rooster new to the group means the keeper has to adjust these habits for some months while gaining the trust of the rooster. Gaining the trust of a rooster is rather different to gaining the trust of a hen because the rooster isn't just looking out for himself. He has to assess the risk to the hens as well as himself. I've very rarely had a hen that will try to flog you if you do something they don't like (the exceptions to this were some broody hens with young chicks). I've had plenty of new roosters get very stressed by me doing something out of habit.

So this is possibly going to be a problem. I don't think one can raise roosters the same as hens and have a high probability of a sucessfull outcome. It's something I've written here often which is imo the root cause of many of the later problems people come to BYC with on rooster behaviour.

Rooster/cockerels are not male hens.

For people who free range this isn't so much of an issue, territories are less well defined so encroachment on is less likely to elicit a hostile response from any males.
Food is less of an issue for free rangers and that reduces stress when keepers supply food.
There are lots of things of this nature that many people don't take into account.
They've had no reason to with female only groups.
Usually the rooster just moves the group away. A rooster in a run can't really do this. The run option rather than fight option isn't there.

I know that some people don't have any problem, but if they do, the above and more are likely to be the root cause.

So, my concern is having a rooster will disturb the relationship you have with your hens and you may not like this.

Understood. Thank you, Shad. Maybe If I had a rooster I could set him up separately and let him have his own hens. I’m not sure what DH would think of that, though. I am not planning on getting a rooster, but want to be prepared, just in case.

 

[Iluveggers]

I think you need to scrap rule 2.
They are bound to fight. It's something one just gets used to. The vast majority of the time it's over quickly but bloody combs and wattles and broken spurs are things one has to accept with free range males.

Fully in favour of rule 3. It's all I ask of a rooster that is non negotiable.

Thanks, will pass that along! We have to have rule #1 because there are so many nieces & nephews that stop by to visit…can’t have one of them get attacked just for walking into the house from the car. And a little hen stress to workout the ranking for now is ok too. Just don’t want it to be consistent and constant. Fingers crossed. So far, so good! And they are so handsome, especially the two EE with their blue/grey coloring with dark mahogany feathers.

Landscape view (fence is not closed…more of a deer deterrant)

One of the EE boys:

 

[GregnLety]

Understood. Thank you, Shad. Maybe If I had a rooster I could set him up separately and let him have his own hens. I’m not sure what DH would think of that, though. I am not planning on getting a rooster, but want to be prepared, just in case.

If your rooster is hatched and grows up with your flock the integration might go more smoothly versus bringing a new rooster in to your flock.

 

[micstrachan]

If your rooster is hatched and grows up with your flock the integration might go more smoothly versus bringing a new rooster in to your flock.

He would be raised from just a couple days old. However, I may have them inside for a couple weeks before they go outside. I haven’t worked it out yet. I don’t think I have a warm and dry enough place for baby chicks outside, but can probably transition them outside earlier than I have with other chicks. It may come down to when chicks are available and what the weather does.

 

[bruceha2000]

If your rooster is hatched and grows up with your flock the integration might go more smoothly versus bringing a new rooster in to your flock.

I have had exactly one cockerel (oops from Meyer). Raised with the other day olds by Zorra, large Black Australorp. When the chicks were maybe 5 months old Zorra had gone broody again so she was in the buster in the "kinda safe" stall coop next to the "Fort Knox" stall coop. When she broke I opened the 2x4 wire covered door to the stall and the door to the buster (up on a 3' platform). She flew out through both doors into the barn alley and landed right next to the cockerel. He took it as an attack and they had a big fight I broke up - twice. Thereafter, when they were out foraging, he would sometimes spot her some distance away and make a beeline to her to attack. Clearly not a breeding attempt and he was ripping feathers out of her head and ripped the skin.

We gave him to some people that had a lot of chickens. He didn't last, apparently being new to the flock he stayed away from the rest when they were outside and became a raccoon casualty.

 

[Solanacae]

She looks like a Buff Orp except for the yellow legs. New Hampshire Red? The one I had was more buff colored like your girl.

View attachment 3377311

I’d be inclined to guess New Hampshire too. They’re a dual purpose breed with more emphasis on the meat from what I understand. Still, Gorda is a very appropriate name for a substantial lady like her!

Have you ever made a dust bath with one of those plastic tubs you're using as nest boxes? I've got a 40 litre plastic tub I've been thinking of drilling drain hole in the bottom and sinking about half way into the ground and filling with sieve earth to make a dust bath in the coop run.

I have an old plastic dog house I got to help acclimate Estella and Genevieve to outdoor temperatures. I set up a heat cave inside of it so they would have a warm space to go if they were getting cold, as well as a place to sleep out of the elements. Now that they’re in the coop with everyone else, I took the top half off and put it out in a corner of the chicken yard to provide a little cover, and made the bottom into a dust bath to keep in the coop, where it stays dry. I realized too late into a rainy fall (which has continued into an unusually wet winter) that the ground here does not dry quickly enough even in the sheltered places to allow for adequate dust bathing. It has become a very popular place. I expect I’ll have to top it off periodically, but that’s not a big deal.

Chicken breed tax: chickens playing soccer with some veggie trimmings. They love the innards of squash in particular.