Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

@Shadrach You have really been getting things cleaned up.

66 sunny 86% humidity feels like 66 rain 0%.

Have a great day!

I'm on a bit of a mission.

 

[no fly zone]

Are you sure it's not a Burrowing Owl? The kind Carl Hiaasen wrote about in Hoot? Sure looks like a burrow behind it.

If so, that's a special thing to where you live: https://myfwc.com/conservation/you-conserve/wildlife/burrowing-owls/

1000% sure it was not an owl

 

[Shadrach]

Cool with the occasional light shower. About two and a half hours.
Got the small coop moved and the roof off, swept down and sprayed up with permethrin last thing.
The bottom wooden rails on the run are a bit here and there but they'll do.

I dug and pulled out lumps of concrete and the chickens sorted the bugs out and there were lots once I broke up the ground under the small coop. A good couple of square feet under the coop was so dug out by rats tha if one stood on the top the ground gave way by six inches.

Lots of this.

This corner next.

Then I'll go over the stuff I've done with a fork and rake it out.

Henry is getting quite friendly. I haven't pushed the issue since I've known him. He's done his stuff and I've done mine and we sort of pass with an acknowledgment of each of our roles. He comes to check me out for treats but recently he's come right up to my legs when I'm sitting and doesn't move away if I go to touch him. I give hima stroke when he's on the roost bar at night and he doesn't object to that. I cleaned his beak this afternoon as he stood beside me.

There are no more rats nests in the run. I found three altogether, one recently occupied.

Almost forgot! It's Fret doing the hide me Henry.

 

[Perris]

A good couple of square feet under the coop was so dug out by rats tha if one stood on the top the ground gave way by six inches.

 

[kcan2]

Looks like you had at least a few moments of sunshine! Wow, lots of hard work you have put in at the allotments - to the vast disadvantage of the resident rat & mite population

Thank you for the lovely explanation regarding crowing around humans. I tend to agree that the chickens know exactly what they are doing, and leave the baffling and head scratching to us!

Almost forgot! It's Fret doing the hide me Henry.

 

[bruceha2000]

I suspect some at the allotments are quite happy with all the work you are doing.

 

[Perris]

@Shadrach I think you said somewhere (but don't remember where, sorry) that you're going over from pellets to mash. May I ask why? Has it to do with reducing the amount of processing the feed endures before it goes in the bag, or something else?

 

[Shadrach]

I suspect some at the allotments are quite happy with all the work you are doing.

So few people have been there over the winter I doubt many even realise.
The chickens however seem to be delighted and the geese downright jealous.

 

[Shadrach]

@Shadrach I think you said somewhere (but don't remember where, sorry) that you're going over from pellets to mash. May I ask why? Has it to do with reducing the amount of processing the feed endures before it goes in the bag, or something else?

It's easier to hide drugs in a mash.
I would like to be able to add fishmeal to their diet.
I'm hoping for less spillage and that should mean the rat run and grab slows down.

 

[Perris]

I would like to be able to add fishmeal to their diet

have you found a reliable source of this? care to share if so?