Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[TropicalChickies]

Nonsense. Eating less meat (no need of so much land for feeding farm animals ) contributes enough to make a more sustainable way of agriculture possible. Monocultures kill the soil and uses too much poisons for a sustainable future. Monocultures are one of the reasons the bees and other insects are getting extinct. In my country there has been an awful drop of insect numbers because of environment pollution by factory farming + monocultures.

(I’m not responding regularly because of a short vacation and lousy wifi)

Also crop diversification, putting in tree belts around crop lands as windbreaks, using hedgerows and more perennial crops AND incorporating appropriate livestock would all help to increase biodiversity, decrease erosion, re-populate soils with microorganisms. And the farmer would not have to depend on one crop (that could and often fails!) plus have more food security for the community.

Here's a real world example: the state of Kansas in the US is 95% arable. Nearly all of that land is used for monoculture commodity grain farming which is shipped out of the state. As a result Kansas IMPORTS 90% of it's food. One in four children are malnourished.

It's ridiculous, really, this monoculture mentality

 

[Shadrach]

Interesting. I had read that IS A Browns were friendly and low key generally. Perhaps these two are a bit traumatized?

The Red Sex Links at the allotments are pretty fiesty. This is also the impression I get from the reports from others who keep Ex Battery hens. It seems likely that as usual the science that has concentrated on production hasn't looked at the behavioural consequences of their breeding programs.
The same can be said of most who fancy themselves as breeders. All they know about, or care about it seems, is whether the chicken looks a particular way.
It makes the breed charactersitics complete nonsense. There is a lot more to a chicken than how it looks.

 

[Shadrach]

yeh, but I think that one has been writing lots of articles/repeating hearsay.

They should fit in fine on the site then.

 

[TropicalChickies]

The Red Sex Links at the allotments are pretty fiesty. This is also the impression I get from the reports from others who keep Ex Battery hens. It seems likely that as usual the science that has concentrated on production hasn't looked at the behavioural consequences of their breeding programs.
The same can be said of most who fancy themselves as breeders. All they know about, or care about it seems, is whether the chicken looks a particular way.
It makes the breed charactersitics complete nonsense. There is a lot more to a chicken than how it looks.

Totally agree. I have no idea what breeds my chickens are and don't care. Some are more amiable and want to hang around me all day. Some have been more feral. They are all interesting though.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Good morning all,

Lively discussion about sustainable food production and animal welfare yesterday! Thank you for all of the links and comments, I'm learning a lot.

In the meantime, yesterday morning this little fluff ball hatched from under one of my broodies named Tina. She was sitting on four eggs and this little guy (or girl) hatched first. No pip from any of the others so far. I found this little one lying limp next to Tina yesterday morning. I gently touched him and he peeped and moved.

Tina was making no attempt to cover or dry the chick. I suppose she's more concerned about the other three eggs? I gently moved the chick under her wing. When I went back to check ten minutes later, she had pushed him back out to the perimeter. She had not pecked or harmed him, she just wasn't nurturing.

This seems strange to me... Like closing a savings account to buy lottery tickets... but of course I wanted to save the chick.

Thankfully yesterday was sunny and warm I bundled the chick up in natural cotton and took him to my neighbor Maribel who has a heat lamp to get him dry. I guess those brooding boxes can be useful after all. The chick is much better today.

Maribel is kindly taking care of the chick for a few days while Tina waits for some of the others to hatch. Two of them candled "live" -- I think -- so we'll see what happens.

The other broody is sitting on three eggs. She started her set about five days after Tina. So hopefully this little one will have some company soon!

 

[Shadrach]

One of the most common questions on this forum is what breed is my chicken.
There is for the majority only one important question and following, one correct answer.
They've got a mutt that looks a bit like a breed ruined long ago.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Ha, truth.

One of the most common questions on this forum are what breed is my chicken.
There is for the majority only one important question and following one correct answer.
They've got a mutt that looks a bit like a breed ruined long ago.

 

[Molpet]

I'm completely against the termination of unhatch males.
Much more in favour of letting them hatch and then eating them.
If that means the price of chicken meat doubles or even trebles I'm good with that. We should all over here in the priviliged west be eating less meat anyway.
Killing them at three months is too early imo.

2017 Mine cost about $7 USD a lb for just feed at 16 wks
I was buying farmers market CX for $6 and grocery store was about $3
My hobby and by definition hobbies cost money

 

[Molpet]

Tina was making no attempt to cover or dry the chick. I suppose she's more concerned about the other three eggs? I gently moved the chick under her wing. When I went back to check ten minutes later, she had pushed him back out to the perimeter. She had not pecked or harmed him, she just wasn't nurturing.

I have had bad luck with rejected chicks. Usually they die shortly, I did have one last over a month.
I think they know something is wrong with the chicks. Same with rejected eggs

 

[Shadrach]

I'm off to talk to some chickens. We are going to have long converstions on the merits of the differing bugs, why the Ex Battery hens are such a stroppy bunch, what in their view is an adequate area to live in (If I say 10 square feet I might not be back) what they should and shouldn't be eating; they'll roll about laughing if I tell them what I eat and probably knock up a sick bay for my imminent demise.
I'll ask if I can cuddle a couple and they'll point out that my hands are salty and sweaty and they don't think having sex with humans is good for their species.
Henry will doubtless point out that if there is such a thing left as a true heritage breed he's most likely to be the prime canditate and Carbon will go into a sulk because she's a crested cream legbar and no self respecting chicken intent on survival would have such a stupid hairdo.
It's going to be fun. I'll be okay, I'll wear gloves and keep my eyes peeled in case they decide to take any direct action. At the end of it all, they'll be happier if I take something decent to eat instead of the dried processed cereal they get day after day, month after month and one never knows, Henry might even thank me for getting the shite out of his bedroom.

Have a nice day y'all as they say.