Wild water!!! That’s it! I’ll go dump out a bucket of dirty water and they chase it around lapping it up frantically. Now I realize it has changed to wild water, not the same as that in the bucket.
Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.
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You got it! When you let a hose run on the ground you are releasing water into the wild and it becomes instantly more flavorful than the same water in captivity in a chicken waterer.Wild water!!! That’s it! I’ll go dump out a bucket of dirty water and they chase it around lapping it up frantically. Now I realize it has changed to wild water, not the same as that in the bucket.
It is one of life’s truths like gravity.
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- #12,544
The hen that appears and climbs down the terraces, where was she when the rooster started calling?"Getting" chickens.
I talked a few days ago about my partner's father's ex-batts that he got as 18 months old retired layers. I said they don't lay anymore when ours do, although they are of the same generation and battery than ours.
Well, it seems the man had the same comparative idea that I did, because he actually called his acquaintance at the battery to negotiate on if he could get point of lay pullets for the retired hen price. (It was the case for us because when my partner got there after a two hour drive, all the retired hens had already been given away). His acquaintance agreed for eight, which he went to pick up yesterday. He complained because the price has gone from one euro to two euros.
His keeping conditions are poor (10 m 2 run and a small coop) and they will be cramped, but having seen from the outside the 15 000 hens building and heard the noise, I think they will still be better off with him. I'm sounding like C. now. I didn't dare ask if he would keep the three remaining older hens ; but I will do so quickly, if he doesn't want to feed them anymore I could take them in.
In french slang we would say someone has no face (no honour). I don't know what this translates to in english.
On a nicer note about getting chickens, a longer time ago someone, I think it was Perris, asked about selling together a trio or an existing flock and some of you said they had indeed seen or done that, and that it was a convenient way of doing things for both chickens and owners. At random my partner came upon a selling ad in our equivalent of Craig list very near my parent's place just like this, a bantam rooster with four hens ; the ad states that they can not be separated and that he will only answer to serious people that give him a phone call. The owner is selling an olive tree which is how my partner saw the ad, and next time we visit my parents if it's not sold we will likely buy it. If we didn't already have so many conjugal disagreement about our two roosters I would have considered getting the flock if they are in good condition.
I took this shot two days ago of Théo's flock a few minutes after sounding the general alarm. It was a high risk encounter with an unknown extremely loud possible danger that triggered this...
An angle grinder.
Note the hens with the rooster are not calling. The general alarm is contributed to by both sexes ime.
I think there's a possibility that the single hen called the rooster (maybe because the angle grinder scared her) and what you've recorded is the rooster responding.
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Fair point. Obviously I'm not a cooking fan.
What I was hoping the pictures might do is demonstrate the limited crop size and feeding more than once a day point I bang on about.
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Okayish weather by Bristol standards this afternoon although it did start to drizzle on my way home.
C had been. That's mixed corn with a few pellets in the tray. What I left overnight had gone so hopefully they ate that before starting on the sweets.
(Sigh) This is what I found just outside the geese enclosure.
I guess the geese didn't get their full portion. I cleaned it up.
We all went out. Fret got into a bit of a standoff with a large crow and Henry steaked past me; as much as a large chap like him can streak, and saw the ruffian off.
C had been. That's mixed corn with a few pellets in the tray. What I left overnight had gone so hopefully they ate that before starting on the sweets.
(Sigh) This is what I found just outside the geese enclosure.
I guess the geese didn't get their full portion. I cleaned it up.
We all went out. Fret got into a bit of a standoff with a large crow and Henry steaked past me; as much as a large chap like him can streak, and saw the ruffian off.
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I had the idea of filming a bit late, but in the beginning two other hens were joining Théo, Blanche and Cannelle.The hen that appears and climbs down the terraces, where was she when the rooster started calling?
Note the hens with the rooster are not calling. The general alarm is contributed to by both sexes ime.
I think there's a possibility that the single hen called the rooster (maybe because the angle grinder scared her) and what you've recorded is the rooster responding.
The hen that's apart, Chipie, was right where she was. I think it was the rooster that started it but I'm not 100% sure, I've already seen what you describe (she's scared , she calls him, he replies, and if lasts too long other hens get scared and join in the call).
The ex-batts may have realized before Théo that there was no danger.
So do I for free range chicken.
As for locked up chickens imagine if parents were told "only 10% of you child's food can be treats or junk". That's why I think it makes more sense to say no more than three glasses of coke per week.
This rule, or notion, is completely inexistent here by the way and not just in old timers farms. Although people will say not to overdo it on corn, almost every french ressource I've seen on the internet implies it's good to give suitable human food or left overs for the hens as a supplement. Not to make money on giving less layer feed but because chickens are omnivore and commercial feed isn't sufficiently diversified for them. I've seen sometimes rather elaborate recipes depending on focus- to help with molting, laying, for winter...
In the meantime I do believe it’s a good advice to feed chickens what is healthy for them in confinement. But what is healthy for an individual chicken? It means you need to give ( ex)-bats different feed than roosters , heritage breeds and roosters.
In other words: impossible!
If you have a flock with all kind of chickens you probably shouldn’t give them 90% layer, without choice to eat what nature supplies in a green environment.
Anyway. After 8,5 years keeping chickens I don’t believe its best to give 90% layer to my flock with now 4 old Dutch who haven’t layed an egg since October. 90% layer probably isn’t a must either for the 2 bantams laying since the start of January again.
My believe is that optimised feed is important for factory farmers and people who want to make a profit.
My back yard chickens that free range, can eat
- Every day :
- Some days/often:
+ crushed eggshells + a few mealworms + songbird seeds (still hoping for the chickens to sing like a sparrow or a nightingale).2 broodies in February
And Kraai didn’t even lay an egg this year.
What optimised feed do they need?
Edited typo and minor change
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Ex Batts good morning one and all!
44 sunny 79% humidity feels like 40 rain 0%.
My chickens have food available 24/7.
Have a great day!
44 sunny 79% humidity feels like 40 rain 0%.
My chickens have food available 24/7.
Have a great day!
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- #12,550
Damp but not raining as such, 10C, grey and uninspiring.
C had been. More mixed seeds. There were quite a few pellets left over from what I left last night.
That small pile of rocks is what I dug out of the area where the chickens are grabbing the bugs that were under the stones.
It's a bit of a mess under the tufts of grass. I've dug up fine bird mesh and rocks and geo textile cloth mainly. I thought this stuff, apart from the rocks which have just been dumped there was meant to stay on the surface.
I've undone quite a few screws on the old coop. My hope is to take it out in sections rather than smash it to bits and spend the next few hours hunting for srews, nails etc.
This is the nest box roof joint. It was teeming with bugs. The other joints I've brocken open are much the same. The coop is alive with bugs! One would have to submerge the entire coop in permethrin to get them all.
C had been. More mixed seeds. There were quite a few pellets left over from what I left last night.
That small pile of rocks is what I dug out of the area where the chickens are grabbing the bugs that were under the stones.
It's a bit of a mess under the tufts of grass. I've dug up fine bird mesh and rocks and geo textile cloth mainly. I thought this stuff, apart from the rocks which have just been dumped there was meant to stay on the surface.
I've undone quite a few screws on the old coop. My hope is to take it out in sections rather than smash it to bits and spend the next few hours hunting for srews, nails etc.
This is the nest box roof joint. It was teeming with bugs. The other joints I've brocken open are much the same. The coop is alive with bugs! One would have to submerge the entire coop in permethrin to get them all.
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