Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

View attachment 3387665
A treadle feeder seems a perfect solution with the unreliable behaviour of C. The chickens will learn how to use very quickly it if you teach them how (so I’ve been reading).
I have no experience with it, but have been told it works nicely to keep the rats and mice away.
I never needed any because I have several hunting cats that like to stay near/in the chicken run.
Another reason not to buy one is that I need to build my own with small bantams. The weight of my tiny chickens is not sufficient to open the lid of treadle feeder.

Edit:
Next project?
View attachment 3387666
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/building-a-treadle-chicken-feeder.47900/

The way things are currently it's hard to decide what to do for the best. It's quite possible I'll turn up and find the chickens have gone. Get the old coop out is first on the list of projects.

 

[Shadrach]

A bit colder today, 3C to 4C.
No feed in tray. It didn't look like anyone had fed either the geese or the chickens.

There would have been food in the feeder this morning that I left after they had gone to roost, maybe 250 grams. They were hungry.

 

[Perris]

A bit colder today, 3C to 4C.
No feed in tray. It didn't look like anyone had fed either the geese or the chickens.
View attachment 3388094

There would have been food in the feeder this morning that I left after they had gone to roost, maybe 250 grams. They were hungry.
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Is C supposed to be feeding them in the morning, or someone else on a rota?

 

[Shadrach]

C is supposed to feed them in the morning.
It doesn't matter at the moment because I leave them breakfast in the tray. However, it would be good to have an agreed and fixed arrangement. This one day C can cope, or be bothered, and the next day not isn't at all clever especially considering a recent I'm not getting any eggs comment. This seems to have translated into, don't lay eggs, not worth feeding.
That's okay. I'll feed them.

 

[Solanacae]

I have been leaving feed in the tray overnight for a while now. I haven't seen a rat for some time. I've started to look at treadle feeders. Not entirely sure if they would solve the problem. Have you tried any?

I haven’t tried any. I had recently developed a problem at my old house but moved and haven’t had one here, at least not of yet. There are multiple neighbors that have cats that roam freely around the neighborhood so I expect that helps keep things in check, at least a little.

It’s sad that C may consider that no eggs = not worth feeding. The logic is so backwards there. This was on my local-ish chicken Facebook group. There’s plenty of stuff that gets posted in the page that’s inaccurate, I frequently share links to articles here on BYC about adequate coop ventilation and describe how to check pelvic bones to assess whether a hen is laying or not. Anyway, this post was different in that it actually seems to have logic and applied science. This was in response to a lot of people complaining about how they hadn’t been getting eggs for 7+ months. I commented to share something that I’ve learned from you @Shadrach, that the type of shade makes a big difference for a chicken’s ability to handle heat - deep shade vs. areas that are shaded for part of the day.

No Eggs for months? Here's why.

No, feeds have not changed. There is nothing wrong with the feed. It is the protein content, environmental stressors, and natural cycle of a hen's body that have created a perfect storm. For typical laying breed hens, 16% protein feed is standard and sufficient in comfortable temps, 50-80°F. There are variables that can change that 16% protein requirement.

1. Extreme heat. Chickens eat 20-25% less feed in high heat conditions, which means they are not getting as much protein and nutrients as they typically would. Increasing the protein content of their feed to 18-20% in the heat of summer, as well as offering vitamins and electrolytes in their water a few times a week works tremendously. This ensures that even though they are eating less, the feed that they are consuming packs a bigger nutritional punch. Summer 2022 was one of THE hottest on record, so heat stress was a very big factor in egg production dropping. That extreme heat also stimulated the majority of birds to hard molt instead of soft molt as summer began winding down.

2. Molting. Hens do not lay eggs during a molt. There are two types of molts, a soft molt and a hard molt. With soft molts, chickens will only lose 30% or less of their feathers and will complete their soft molt in 2-3 weeks. With hard molts, a chicken will lose the majority of it's feathers, over an extended period of time and it takes 10-12 weeks to complete a hard molt. It also takes 3x as much protein to create and grow new feathers as it does to produce eggs. This brings up feed protein levels again. Feather Fixer feeds are 17% protein on average, barely above most layer feeds (16%) and really don't work well alone during a molt. The nutrients are great, but higher protein is needed to help with feather regrowth.

3. Fall months. Chickens need a consistent 13-14 hours of daylight to produce eggs. With the shorter daylight hours becoming more drastic by early to mid-fall, egg production begins to taper off. Add to it that those shorter daylight hours also stimulate the chickens bodies into starting their molts, and this means egg production most often comes to a grinding halt.

4. Winter months. The vast majority of hens will take a break from laying during the coldest months, it's in their nature. This break reduces the stress and energy expense on their bodies that laying creates and that saves energy is put into staying warm. In nature, food is more scarce during winter, so that energy conservation from not laying would help see them through the winter on less food. Staying warm is hard work, so bump up their nutrition. Some folks don't like their hens taking a winter break, and each keeper makes their own decision about it. That said, to encourage laying in the winter months, switch to higher protein feed (about 20%) and supplement with vitamins, as well as put a bright light inside the coop. The light would need to go in the coop/henhouse and not the run. The light is used to make up for those lost summer daylight hours, so it is typically turned on just before dusk and then turned off again between 9:30 and 10pm.

Doing the math:

High heat: June - August
Hard Molting: August - December
Winter break: December - March
+
---------------------------
If feed and care parameters were not adjusted, this was the perfect trifecta for little to zero egg production for 7-8 months.

 

[BDutch]

I haven’t tried any. I had recently developed a problem at my old house but moved and haven’t had one here, at least not of yet. There are multiple neighbors that have cats that roam freely around the neighborhood so I expect that helps keep things in check, at least a little.

It’s sad that C may consider that no eggs = not worth feeding. The logic is so backwards there. This was on my local-ish chicken Facebook group. There’s plenty of stuff that gets posted in the page that’s inaccurate, I frequently share links to articles here on BYC about adequate coop ventilation and describe how to check pelvic bones to assess whether a hen is laying or not. Anyway, this post was different in that it actually seems to have logic and applied science. This was in response to a lot of people complaining about how they hadn’t been getting eggs for 7+ months. I commented to share something that I’ve learned from you @Shadrach, that the type of shade makes a big difference for a chicken’s ability to handle heat - deep shade vs. areas that are shaded for part of the day.

No Eggs for months? Here's why.

No, feeds have not changed. There is nothing wrong with the feed. It is the protein content, environmental stressors, and natural cycle of a hen's body that have created a perfect storm. For typical laying breed hens, 16% protein feed is standard and sufficient in comfortable temps, 50-80°F. There are variables that can change that 16% protein requirement.

1. Extreme heat. Chickens eat 20-25% less feed in high heat conditions, which means they are not getting as much protein and nutrients as they typically would. Increasing the protein content of their feed to 18-20% in the heat of summer, as well as offering vitamins and electrolytes in their water a few times a week works tremendously. This ensures that even though they are eating less, the feed that they are consuming packs a bigger nutritional punch. Summer 2022 was one of THE hottest on record, so heat stress was a very big factor in egg production dropping. That extreme heat also stimulated the majority of birds to hard molt instead of soft molt as summer began winding down.

2. Molting. Hens do not lay eggs during a molt. There are two types of molts, a soft molt and a hard molt. With soft molts, chickens will only lose 30% or less of their feathers and will complete their soft molt in 2-3 weeks. With hard molts, a chicken will lose the majority of it's feathers, over an extended period of time and it takes 10-12 weeks to complete a hard molt. It also takes 3x as much protein to create and grow new feathers as it does to produce eggs. This brings up feed protein levels again. Feather Fixer feeds are 17% protein on average, barely above most layer feeds (16%) and really don't work well alone during a molt. The nutrients are great, but higher protein is needed to help with feather regrowth.

3. Fall months. Chickens need a consistent 13-14 hours of daylight to produce eggs. With the shorter daylight hours becoming more drastic by early to mid-fall, egg production begins to taper off. Add to it that those shorter daylight hours also stimulate the chickens bodies into starting their molts, and this means egg production most often comes to a grinding halt.

4. Winter months. The vast majority of hens will take a break from laying during the coldest months, it's in their nature. This break reduces the stress and energy expense on their bodies that laying creates and that saves energy is put into staying warm. In nature, food is more scarce during winter, so that energy conservation from not laying would help see them through the winter on less food. Staying warm is hard work, so bump up their nutrition. Some folks don't like their hens taking a winter break, and each keeper makes their own decision about it. That said, to encourage laying in the winter months, switch to higher protein feed (about 20%) and supplement with vitamins, as well as put a bright light inside the coop. The light would need to go in the coop/henhouse and not the run. The light is used to make up for those lost summer daylight hours, so it is typically turned on just before dusk and then turned off again between 9:30 and 10pm.

Doing the math:

High heat: June - August
Hard Molting: August - December
Winter break: December - March
+
---------------------------
If feed and care parameters were not adjusted, this was the perfect trifecta for little to zero egg production for 7-8 months.

Very informative as a whole, in general for much heritage breeds. But individual chickens do lay through molt, winter and maybe even in extreme warm temperatures.

And there are more reasons why chickens can stop laying: stress by predators or overcrowding, red mite and other parasites, diseases, internal egg laying problems.

 

[Solanacae]

Very informative as a whole, in general for much heritage breeds. But individual chickens do lay through molt, winter and maybe even in extreme warm temperatures.

And there are more reasons why chickens can stop laying: stress by predators or overcrowding, red mite and other parasites, diseases, internal egg laying problems.

Yes, it holds true more for heritage breeds than production ones. Most of the people who were complaining about the eggs stopping were also saying things like ‘nothing else has changed’ ‘checked for mites/lice, chickens are acting healthy’ and were looking for explanations for why their flocks have stopped laying. So they were at least aware that the things you mentioned could affect their hens laying, but those factors weren’t present as far as they could tell. The cessation of egg laying was not on an individual level, but across the entire flock.

Production breeds will continue to lay at the expense of molting and their overall health in general, but even these are affected by extreme cold/heat and may slow down production even if they are not laying as much.

Another somewhat related observation: I prefer 18-20% protein feed, the birds prefer it and seem healthier. I wasn’t able to find an all flock option that was that high of protein last time I went to the feed store, and with younger juveniles I didn’t want to give them layer feed quite yet. So I got 16% “pullet developer”. Egg production from my two sex links (who have continued to lay pretty consistently 4-5 days then 1 day off all winter) faltered and dropped to 2-3 days then a day off. This bag of feed was opened the first week or so of January - after winter solstice - so I don’t think one could attribute the drop in laying to decreasing daylight. My youngest juveniles have passed the 16 week mark and I decided it was close enough to them laying for me to go with the layer feed that I can get with higher protein. I curious to see if I will see a corresponding uptick in egg production this next week. The new feed was opened up on Tuesday.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

I have 14 hens that have molted and are still laying but not as good as they were.

I am getting anywhere from 4 to 10 eggs a day.

41 sunny 93% humidity feels like 39 rain 0%.

Have a great day!

 

[BDutch]

Yes, it holds true more for heritage breeds than production ones. Most of the people who were complaining about the eggs stopping were also saying things like ‘nothing else has changed’ ‘checked for mites/lice, chickens are acting healthy’ and were looking for explanations for why their flocks have stopped laying. So they were at least aware that the things you mentioned could affect their hens laying, but those factors weren’t present as far as they could tell. The cessation of egg laying was not on an individual level, but across the entire flock.

fyi: In NL many older hobbyists who go for egg production with 1 flock stick to one breed (often laying hybrids or a good producing heritage breed like Barnevelder) . They often buy pullets and don’t bother to keep the old hens. Good for soup or freezer they say.

Production breeds will continue to lay at the expense of molting and their overall health in general, but even these are affected by extreme cold/heat and may slow down production even if they are not laying as much.

We don’t have problems with heath and cold here like most people in the US.

Another somewhat related observation: I prefer 18-20% protein feed, the birds prefer it and seem healthier. I wasn’t able to find an all flock option that was that high of protein last time I went to the feed store, and with younger juveniles I didn’t want to give them layer feed quite yet. So I got 16% “pullet developer”. Egg production from my two sex links (who have continued to lay pretty consistently 4-5 days then 1 day off all winter) faltered and dropped to 2-3 days then a day off. This bag of feed was opened the first week or so of January - after winter solstice - so I don’t think one could attribute the drop in laying to decreasing daylight. My youngest juveniles have passed the 16 week mark and I decided it was close enough to them laying for me to go with the layer feed that I can get with higher protein. I curious to see if I will see a corresponding uptick in egg production this next week. The new feed was opened up on Tuesday.

Where you live there is way more choice in all kind of chicken feed as we have here. We only have:

• Layer crumbled or pellets. Most brands have with 14.5 - 17 % proteins and 3.8- 4% Calcium.
• Feed dor ornamental chickens. Less Calcium, very expensive and not available in organic.
• Chicks and broiler feed (often the same with another label). Low in Calcium. Higher in proteins as layer. In organic there is barely any choice.

I find our environment and the health of my chickens both important. Therefore I refuse to buy feed with gmo soy/corn. My chickens never had optimised feed. But never got sick. I believe that people underestimate the importance of feed that has no poisons in it. E.g.: organic cow and pig farmers have less miscarriages as the ones who feed gmo feed.

Egg production is important for me, but the welfare and a flock that’s able to live a somewhat natural life is of more importance. That one reason l why I prefer to eat my own eggs instead of organic eggs from the shop.
These chickens do have a reasonable life compared to the factory farm chickens (who lay cheaper eggs). But organic eggs are still commercial eggs and the chickens have a simple and short life.

 

[bruceha2000]

Also, from my single experience with chicks, it's one of the first thing the momma teaches them with great enthusiasm!

Don't even need a Momma! My original 12 had never seen a chicken older than a day old but all scratched. In fact they started when only a few days old in the brooder area.

and the chicks learn really fast not to stand in front of her while she's at it!

In front is safe, it is behind the hen where they get sprayed with dirt or if a bit too close are the spray themselves.