Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

Temperature is in the 70s.

Have been reading some very good information.

Have a great day!

 

[Iluveggers]

For your edification, sure. This photo is a probably 6 months old, and things are always changing here, but it will do.

The fenced area is a total of about 8K square ft, separated into Stilton's area (9 nesting boxes in 2 coops), Merle's (3 nesting boxes), Andre's, and movable communal foraging area. They spend the majority of their time in their area even when access is open to others.

Communal foraging area is sometimes the better part of 1,000 acres of undeveloped land around us, but I've never seen them orbit more than 1/2 acre. They know better than we do how many predators are here.

If all humans leave the property >1 hour (which happens <8 hours of daylight/week), chickens are closed into their runs, where they often spend afternoons by choice anyway. For Stilton's crew, that's 16 sq ft/chicken, 24 sq ft/chicken for Merle's group.

View attachment 3475793

Wish we could give them range without confinement, but we have an exceptional amount of predators. It's common to look out and see bears, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, raccoons, etc. wandering by. Also common for neighbors to have total losses to attacks.

Some buy new chickens several times a year. Others never have chickens again. Neither approach sits well with us, so this is what we came up with.

This is a beautiful setup! We have a similar amount of tall trees/woods next to our coop. I was wondering if you have had any losses to hawks? My flock was outside last night when my husband & I were sitting with them, one of the ladies put out a low trill, and all but 2 ran to the coop. One continued foraging, and one ducked down still in her dust bath. We looked up to see what we think was a hawk circling above (could have been some type of vulture as we have many around as well). It circled a few times, went away, then came back with a second bird circling higher than before. At that point I grabbed my cracked corn round-em-up container and brought the two still out into the covered run. Didn’t need a chicken loss to ruin a lovely evening. We did not have chickens here last summer, and I am wondering if the leaves on trees will make them safer or easier to sneak up on? This was the first time I’ve seen anything that resembled a prey bird, and spring is just arriving. Too big to put netting, but I don’t want to take away their foraging favorite time of day.

 

[Perris]

We have a similar amount of tall trees/woods next to our coop.

I am wondering if the leaves on trees will make them safer or easier to sneak up on?

I suppose any cover is better than no cover, but my lot use shrubs rather than trees for cover. Many hawks can't operate well in woodland, but goshawk can.

 

[bruceha2000]

Eradication is almost impossible

Definitely difficult. The only way I've found to get rid of stinging nettle is to make sure every bit of root is removed. Any little bit left will sprout new leaves. Same is true of Japanese knotweed should one be unfortunate enough to have it.

They hear the sounds that the hens make and having no other evidence to suggest differently assume the sound is to do with laying the egg, which is only partially correct.

see the next comment

The egg song is in fact an escort call made by a hen for her rooster.

What about my girls? They have never seen a rooster, haven't heard one in a couple of years (my neighbors 100+ meter distant and not in sight of my chickens, used to have a rooster). The 2 year olds have never heard a rooster. My girls still sing the egg song.

Adult roosters basically crow at 9 o' clock a.m. to demonstrate their power.

9 AM changes relative to sunrise, why would they crow relative to our unnatural messing with time?

Neither approach sits well with us, so this is what we came up with.

I think you have a great setup. I doubt my girls would go into the woods if I didn't have a fence. The closest point of the woods from the barn is about 100 yards. They rarely even go to the far reaches of the 1 acre I have fenced in behind the barn. But no fence means "Hey fox, come get dinner!!!"

 

[Perris]

The only way I've found to get rid of stinging nettle is to make sure every bit of root is removed. Any little bit left will sprout new leaves.

why do you want to get rid of it? A nettle patch is SO good for wildlife, and mashed nettles make a cheap and nutritious poultry feed (lots of vits A and C, some B, plus potassium, calcium, iron and other micronutrients). You can even weave it into cloth or cordage. I haven't tried it but I'm told nettle soup is delicious.

 

[janiedoe]

why do you want to get rid of it? A nettle patch is SO good for wildlife, and mashed nettles make a cheap and nutritious poultry feed (lots of vits A and C, some B, plus potassium, calcium, iron and other micronutrients). You can even weave it into cloth or cordage. I haven't tried it but I'm told nettle soup is delicious.

I saw stinging nettles for sale the other day. I was shocked.
We had them everywhere when I was a kid, and everyone tried to get rid of them.
The ones we had then, we called bull nettles. Their sting could make a grown man cry. When we were feeling industrious, we used leather gloves to open the pods for the seeds.
Those were very low to the ground, with white blooms. If you got stung, the fibers stuck with you, and in you, for several days.
The nettles we have in our field at this home, are not nearly so intimidating. They are tall with purple flowers and bees and butterflies love them.

 

[Sequel]

why do you want to get rid of it? A nettle patch is SO good for wildlife, and mashed nettles make a cheap and nutritious poultry feed (lots of vits A and C, some B, plus potassium, calcium, iron and other micronutrients). You can even weave it into cloth or cordage. I haven't tried it but I'm told nettle soup is delicious.

Lots of people here love to eat nettles. The local tribes prize young nettles.

 

[Perris]

The ones we had then, we called bull nettles. Their sting could make a grown man cry. When we were feeling industrious, we used leather gloves to open the pods for the seeds.

do you know what their latin name is? They don't sound like urtica dioica (stinging nettles here) or lamium album (white dead nettle).

 

[bruceha2000]

why do you want to get rid of it?

Because they hurt? The first time I accidentally BARELY brushed my little finger against one as I was walking by (having no idea it was a plant I wanted to avoid) my finger was tingly for almost 24 hours.

The alpacas don't eat it, the chickens don't eat it, the goats the people had who gave us the alpacas didn't eat it. I don't know if what we have is the same as what you have. When not just coming up they have a squarish woody stem. I did look up urtica dioica and it looks like the same thing.

 

[janiedoe]

do you know what their latin name is? They don't sound like urtica dioica (stinging nettles here) or lamium album (white dead nettle).

These are our stinging nettles

And these are the nettles in our chicken field. These sting a bit, but not like the bullnettle. These feel a little like fiberglass insulation and the sting goes away after you wash it off.