Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

Without a fertile egg to start developing they don't get off the nest to eat or drink after the first couple of days like a hen with viable eggs does. I took her outside twice a day so she could eat and drink.

Curious, my experience is the opposite: broodies here can be off the nest for up to 5 hours for the first few days, and in theory and in my experience it does not impact negatively on the developing embryos. And the pullet I'm dealing with now is getting off several times a day at the moment, including for breakfast this morning and then again in the afternoon. I'm not sure she's really invested yet; she may just walk away as Shad suggested if I remove the fake eggs.

 

[BDutch]

There are perhaps half a dozen breeds I would keep. Four of those would need to be free range and the other two I might consider if I could build a large enough run and get them out for half a day every day.
Given a choice now and the land to do it I would take in Ex Battery hens, ideally with a Red Sex Link rooster should there be any left.

If Henry’s live ever ends, of course its better to buy /get a free rooster of about the same size/a bit bigger as the hens.

Non of ‘your’ hens went broody did they? Cause if you have one that does get broody, it would be great to have a Henry II.
So I would prefer to buy a hen/breed thats known for excellent broodiness and not more ex-batts. …. Only impossibly to predict how old Henry I is going to get and plan the need of a follow up. And therefore my idea is just another stupid idea.

 

[Shadrach]

If Henry’s live ever ends, of course its better to buy /get a free rooster of about the same size/a bit bigger as the hens.

Non of ‘your’ hens went broody did they? Cause if you have one that does get broody, it would be great to have a Henry II.
So I would prefer to buy a hen/breed thats known for excellent broodiness and not more ex-batts. …. Only impossibly to predict how old Henry I is going to get and plan the need of a follow up. And therefore my idea is just another stupid idea.

Fret went broody twice last year but the conditions were not suitable for a mum and chicks. If she goes broody again it could be a different story although given what a nutter she is I might regret it.

 

[Shadrach]

It was raining when I left the flat but stopped once I had arrived at the allotments and remained dry until I left.
We all got out for a couple of hours.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm posting this lot for my elder sister so she can see my allotment plot progress and the progress of the coop and run.
Auto door in place and working.

Black winter tarpaulin covering the coop.

The plot.

 

[Iluveggers]

I'm posting this lot for my elder sister so she can see my allotment plot progress and the progress of the coop and run.
Auto door in place and working.
View attachment 3488307

Black winter tarpaulin covering the coop.
View attachment 3488308
View attachment 3488312

The plot.
View attachment 3488311
View attachment 3488309View attachment 3488310View attachment 3488313View attachment 3488315View attachment 3488316

Looks amazing, Shad!

 

[BDutch]

…. So I gathered up some of Patucha's eggs laid over a week or so that had a chance of being fertile -- but given the inexperience of the rooster, could be hit or miss. (I saved a few in case Patucha went broody so she could have some for herself. Patucha is sitting on those now). But I didn't mark them according to when they were laid. I was taking a chance and hoping the rooster had "hit" on at least a few.

I…

Marking the date of laying is not very important as long as you know the eggs are fresh. Old eggs are inferior hatching eggs.
If you give the hatching eggs all at the moment to the broody, the eggs all pip on the same day or one day /max 2 days later.

You can simply mark the hatching eggs with a circle or a cross . That way you can recognise new laid eggs you want to take away.

What I learned, mainly from experiences from other byc keepers who had broodies.
If eggs that don’t pip/hatch within 2 days after the first pip/hatch something was not okay. But its hard to tell what caused it. Probably the eggs:

• were not fertilised, or
• were too long too cold or
• had an embryo with a mistake
• had a chick that was too weak to pip/hatch

Other reasons:

• weather circumstances were real bad
• the broody had too many eggs

 

[MaryJanet]

My meat is more expensive because I buy it from the producers, not the mass market stuff from the grocery store. I still eat a lot of it, one needs to eat what their body wants.

I was thinking in terms of the populations of developed economies. I'm sure many would change their preferences (but not you (or you, or you over there, and you)).

 

[MaryJanet]

Ella was pretty unpleasant for a few weeks after the other three she came with got rehomed. She took a serious dislike to Lima and went for her at almost every opportunity. That's mostly stopped from what I can see, but beat in mind their behaviour is completely different when out of the coop and run environment. Fortunately Lima is quick and alert and is quite capable of taking care of herself.

I haven't yet observed behaviour within the chicken run, it's only been when they're out roaming the fights occur. If they can settle down enough in the garden, I'll try putting them all together in the run.

It hasn't helped that Janet's bacterial problem surfaced. She needed respite from violence, so the two tribes mingle only every other day at present. If I see a week without violence, they can escalate to two days mingling, one day separated.

 

[MaryJanet]

I think they can tell when the development has started and they can take a short break a couple of times a day. No fertile egg, no development so no getting off the nest.

I let my hens sit it out for 3-4 weeks, then I start putting them on the roost at night. There's no rooster and I take eggs away daily.

I've observed after a few days, the sitting hens will commence a daily self-care routine. That would be the right timeframe for your hypothesis.