Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

Sad to read about Sven. I know you were fond of him.

yeh, we got particularly close these last couple of months, with him coming in for breakfast and tea, and me carrying him to the coops after everyone else had gone to bed. But he was stumbling over the threshold when he came in, and bumping into walls, and struggling more and more to eat, having to turn his head almost at a right angle to the food before trying to pick it up. It couldn't go on, and we both knew it.

 

[Shadrach]

Two hours today. 4C plus NNE wind.
Lima is still sick. She did go out with Henry and the others for a while and is eating some and drinking.
There was a very wet and messy pile under where she roosted last night. I gave it a stir and some parts looked like egg. Whatever, it's coming out.

Lima seems to have bouts of pain and she'll stand still, usually away from the others and close her bottom eyelid. A stange sound or movement and her eyes pop open.
I've seen other hens behave like this. It went on for quite a while with a couple.

Matilda had a bout of this, with the membrane and egg discharge. They all recovered. But, I've also seen others hens that didn't. I got some calcium into her but I'm not convinced it will make any difference.
This is a pretty typical pose by Lima when she's feeling sick. She will try and shelter. What I can't work out is why she doesn't use the coop extension.
Anyway, I had her on my lap a couple of times and got her warm. She is feeling the cold and the wind in particular.
I ended up sitting her on the perch in the extension out of the wind as the temperature started to drop and sat beside her. Henry checked on her a couple of times in the space of half an hour.

 

[ManueB]

yeh, we got particularly close these last couple of months, with him coming in for breakfast and tea, and me carrying him to the coops after everyone else had gone to bed. But he was stumbling over the threshold when he came in, and bumping into walls, and struggling more and more to eat, having to turn his head almost at a right angle to the food before trying to pick it up. It couldn't go on, and we both knew it.

I remember you called him an old warhorse. He made it through a number of times and it seems he knew now his time had come.

Two hours today. 4C plus NNE wind.
Lima is still sick. She did go out with Henry and the others for a while and is eating some and drinking.
There was a very wet and messy pile under where she roosted last night. I gave it a stir and some parts looked like egg. Whatever, it's coming out.
View attachment 3420642
View attachment 3420643
Lima seems to have bouts of pain and she'll stand still, usually away from the others and close her bottom eyelid. A stange sound or movement and her eyes pop open.
I've seen other hens behave like this. It went on for quite a while with a couple.
View attachment 3420644
Matilda had a bout of this, with the membrane and egg discharge. They all recovered. But, I've also seen others hens that didn't. I got some calcium into her but I'm not convinced it will make any difference.
This is a pretty typical pose by Lima when she's feeling sick. She will try and shelter. What I can't work out is why she doesn't use the coop extension.
Anyway, I had her on my lap a couple of times and got her warm. She is feeling the cold and the wind in particular.
I ended up sitting her on the perch in the extension out of the wind as the temperature started to drop and sat beside her. Henry checked on her a couple of times in the space of half an hour.View attachment 3420639View attachment 3420638View attachment 3420640View attachment 3420641View attachment 3420636View attachment 3420637

I'm sorry Lima is unwell. I also think the wind and the cold are a problem. Maybe give her some exceptional extra corn if it lasts, or some fatty sardine ?

Is it not darker in the coop extension than outside ?

I have seen this countless number of times with my ex-batts. As you say sometimes they recover and sometimes not.
My hen Blanche had the last two springs reproductive disorders that lasted for nearly two months, and she did not die of it to my everlasting surprise.
The hens I've seen unwell like this never went inside unless I closed them in, but it wasn't in winter.

I wonder if when they do a real winter laying pause, it helps them a bit as opposed to when they are under two and laying all year around.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

75 partly sunny 76% humidity feels like 77 rain 46%.

Have a great day!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Morning X Batts, adding my thoughts for Lima to pull thru this.

 

[Shadrach]

4C and grey. Still NNE wind blowing, not hard but enough to drive the chill in.
Lima was almost back to normal today. I only caught her eyes close resting twice and it was only for a few seconds. They all had mackerel and scrambled egg. Lima got more than her share without any help from me.
Lima having her second I don't feel so good moment. Fret went over and stood next to her her a moment or two and then they went off together to join the others preparing to go to roost.

Lima ate an average amount of pellets and went to roost with a full crop not as squishy as it was yesterday.

Lima in the compost heap.

Two and a half hours out today. They did come charging back to the run at one point. I didn't see what scared them. Otherwise they visited their favourite spots, got a lot of excercise and ate a lot of bugs and grass plus the last green tops of some unharvested greens.

They even did some work on my plot.

Fret checking me for anything edible.

One day at a time.

 

[MaryJanet]

"One day at a time" is a good motto for chickening.

 

[Shadrach]

I don't know what's happened to the pictures. They weren't that blurry when I posted them.

 

[RoyalChick]

I don't know what's happened to the pictures. They weren't that blurry when I posted them.

They don’t look blurry to me.

 

[MaryJanet]

I don't know what's happened to the pictures. They weren't that blurry when I posted them.

They look focussed on my laptop screen.