Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[ManueB]

A friend gave me an extra rooster named Dinner. I had to keep separated from a certain Jake. They didn't like each other. One day I seen Dinner getting out. before I got to him he had found that jake and picked a fight. The turkey was tapdancing on him when I got there. They both tasted good though.

I think being crushed by a turkey is one of the worse and most stupid way I've heard for a chicken to die .

and Quenell laid her first too I think; she squeezed into the same nest box as Uppsala, and there were two tinted eggs when they left one 57g (U's been laying a while now) and one 51g with faint longitudinal streaks, as pullets' first eggs sometimes have. In any case, it seems she's entirely over whatever that episode earlier in the week was about

Wonderful news! Hormone conspiracy at work again. I'm glad quenell is better.
Now she is, I can tell you that quenelle in french is one of the food children really hate at school refectories .

I finally got home to my recipe cards (I am old school with recipes).
I don't usually do 'cups' because it is such an imprecise measure - but this is a very imprecise recipe so don't get too accurate.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of dried chickpeas
- 1 cup of chopped parsley
- 1 cup of fresh cilantro
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
My notes on ingredients say:
- Go heavy on the herbs - can take another cup easily
- Can also go heavy on the spices
- Mint and dill are also good additions

To make:
- Soak chickpeas for 24 hours and then drain
- Put everything in the food processor together (it helps to roughly chop the herbs first so you don't run out of room in the food processor bowl)
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F (~205C)
- Shape mixture into balls and flatten
- Drizzle with olive oil and put in oven
- Turn over when they begin to look cooked
Sorry, I didn't note how long they took to cook - not long - maybe 30 mins? I think I tasted my way to deciding they were done! They will get crispy and dark brown on the outside and be softer and green inside.

Serve with Tahini Sauce, pickled veggies and shredded lettuce/cabbage in a pita-bread pocket.

I haven't tried making my own Tahini (which I think it would be easy), or Pita (which I think will be hard).

Anyone who likes mint, should consider a yogurt sauce with a dazzle of olive oil, cumin, finely ciseled mint and eventually cilantro or parsley with the falafel.
For the steam I put a small cup full of hot water in the oven. It's useful for any type of bread to make it more crusty.

@Shadrach if a chicken breaks his beak will it grow back given time? Cholo Jr's top beak was injured when he was young but grew cross beaked. He eats good and is healthy, rather friendly considering his dad's personality. Yesterday I noticed that the top beak has broken off near the original injury. My wife feeds wet feed once a day and he has plenty of green grass so I don't think he will starve. Please see View attachment 3415065the pictures below. View attachment 3415045View attachment 3415054

I've read that they don't. However, my ex-batts have several times broken off tiny pieces of beaks and have always grown them back, so I suppose it depends on the size of the missing piece.
I hope he does ok, he is a beautiful guy!
This is Blanche, she broke and regrew a piece of beak last spring , and now it's very slightly twisted.

 

[Perris]

Now she is, I can tell you that quenelle in french is one of the food children really hate at school refectories .

cheesy dumpling - yum! Most foods that get cooked in school kitchens seem to get ruined in the process, sadly.
Quenell is actually named after them - her hairdo reminded me of a little dumpling, and Q was one of the few letters I had left to start names with .

 

[Perris]

a dazzle of olive oil

love this typo!

 

[Perris]

a yogurt sauce with a dazzle of olive oil, cumin, finely ciseled mint and eventually cilantro or parsley with the falafel.

thanks for this; sounds like a delicious accompaniment; does it work with dried herbs (as fresh ones are only just emerging here if they're up at all)?

 

[ManueB]

thanks for this; sounds like a delicious accompaniment; does it work with dried herbs (as fresh ones are only just emerging here if they're up at all)?

Yes, though it wont taste as nice. Just make sure you leave it for at least 20 mn before eating so the dry herbs have time to rehydrate. I use dry mint and frozen cilantro in winter, or fresh parsley as we have it all year round.

 

[Perris]

Yes, though it wont taste as nice. Just make sure you leave it for at least 20 mn before eating so the dry herbs have time to rehydrate. I use dry mint and frozen cilantro in winter, or fresh parsley as we have it all year round.

many thanks for this; we have fresh parsley too but not yet mint or cilantro.
@RoyalChick here's an easy pita recipe for you
https://www.sustainweb.org/realbrea...=email&utm_term=0_-fee8b77e97-[LIST_EMAIL_ID]

 

[RoyalChick]

many thanks for this; we have fresh parsley too but not yet mint or cilantro.
@RoyalChick here's an easy pita recipe for you
https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/bake/feb23-nadim-othman-pita-pitta-bread/?utm_source=Sustain&utm_campaign=fee8b77e97-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_02_21_01_38&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-fee8b77e97-[LIST_EMAIL_ID]

Oooh thank you! That actually doesn't look too hard.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

69 partly sunny 88% humidity feels like 66 rain 0%.

Have a great day!

 

[Shadrach]

What I've found is how and if a beak grows back can depend on how the beak was injured.
With the Ex Battery hens their beaks grow but often it's at the sides rather than the front. Ella has exactly this problem and I'm sure there is a picture of her beak in this thread somewhere.
With non Ex Battery hens I've had damaged beaks repair but it takes a very long time and again on how they got the injury.

With Cholo Jr I would be tempted to let the top sort itself out and try to tidy up the bottom beak by filing it back a very little at a time, less than 1mm each time.

Having attempted a few beak reshapings I would say unless you have a lot of patience and a well behaved patient and the bird is managing to eat and drink and doesn't look to be at a major disadvantage fighting other roosters, then leave it and see what does grow.

 

[Shadrach]

6C but stayed dry. 3 hours today. Old coop is out.Had a bit of a night rush so didn't get pictures but I'll sort that out tomorrow.
I've found out why the stretch in front of the old coop doesn't drain. There are more further along.

The compost heap is spreading. Still, I've never seen anyone turn a compost heap at the allotments.

It's that face in one direction when roosting in the new coop.
Henry used to roost in the same direction when he roosted outside in the old coop and the other either did the same or those who didn't roost outside the old coop are copying the rest. Looking back over the roosting pictures 90%+ of the roosting positions are in this direction.

What I'm begining to wonder given the direction the chickens face when roosting is East is if they face the rising sun for some reason.