Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Nomadicus]

How I miss the good old days but so glad they are gone.

In the grand scheme of things we always get some bad with the good so it seems. One step forward and one back.

 

[Shadrach]

Yet another dry and warm day. Three hours today. We all got out and then the rugrats arrived with elders and after some screaming and tearing around without the parents doing anything effective to contain the kids, Henry thought it best to return to the safety of the allotment run.
Carbon.

Lima.

Ella.

Henry.

Fret.

I think Fret is getting off the nest during the day, but I lifted her off anyway and dumped her near the food. She fussed around outside for a while, ate some mackerel and scuttled back to her nest after 15 minutes or so.
I'm going to let her sit. It's just in my nature and hers. It's not going to be easy and I'll have to spend at least one whole day at the allotments soon to make sure she is getting off the nest and getting enough to eat. I'm also going to have to get the small coop habitable in case I think it's best to move her at some point.
While she was out everyone was cool; except Fret of course. Three of the eggs are hers, the other two Ella's. Lightbars if the blue eggs hatch but what Ella's eggs would produce...hmmm, Ex Bars (?)
Given Henry's age I'll be surprised if the eggs are fertile. No I'm not going to candle them, or play with them, or get my friends round to gawp at the pancaked broody.
On the plus side, there is more room on the roost bar for me.

Don't mind Lima. She doesn't even bother looking up when she knows it's me.

 

[Nomadicus]

@Shadrach May I ask Henry's Breeding. I know multiple breeds have his color pattern. He looks like my Delaware guys do.

 

[BDutch]

In the grand scheme of things we always get some bad with the good so it seems. One step forward and one back.

@Shadrach On the plus side, there is more room on the roost bar for me.

As Johan Cruijf our most famous soccer/football player said in Dutch; elk nadeel heb zijn voordeel. En elk voordeel heb zijn nadeel.

(Each disadvantage has an advantage and each advantage has a disadvantage)

 

[Shadrach]

@Shadrach May I ask Henry's Breeding. I know multiple breeds have his color pattern. He looks like my Delaware guys do.

He's a proper Light Sussex.

 

[Nomadicus]

He's a proper Light Sussex.

I sort of thought so. I've been wanting to acquire some of those for our small farm. There is a breeder not far away that has them that had parents imported from the UK as far as I know. At least they were imported from Europe.

 

[GregnLety]

Good phrase that!

Tax - Babs who has been diligently eating the Artemisia is finally making some progress clearing an area.

View attachment 3514982

Save some artemesia for your beans

 

[Perris]

I'm going to let her sit. It's just in my nature and hers. It's not going to be easy and I'll have to spend at least one whole day at the allotments soon to make sure she is getting off the nest and getting enough to eat. I'm also going to have to get the small coop habitable in case I think it's best to move her at some point.

I think that's wonderful. I do hope at least one is fertile, for the sake of all the flock as well as her, whose instincts are attuned to natural family groups, not baby (broilers) or single sex young female (layers) camps, which is what so many are limited to today.

Does the small coop need much work?

 

[BDutch]

I think that's wonderful. I do hope at least one is fertile, for the sake of all the flock as well as her, whose instincts are attuned to natural family groups, not baby (broilers) or single sex young female (layers) camps, which is what so many are limited to today.

Does the small coop need much work?

Yes, I’m curious how Lima will be doing too. Hopefully hatching a few chicks and not just one. Because it’s nice to have siblings.
@Shadrach, please share you’re plans for the small coop/extra space?

Ini mini had her birthday last week She is 9 now.

 

[Shadrach]

I sort of thought so. I've been wanting to acquire some of those for our small farm. There is a breeder not far away that has them that had parents imported from the UK as far as I know. At least they were imported from Europe.

This has always been a problem with most breeds in the USA and Australia. Importing new stock is expensive and complicated. One can only breed so many generations down before new blood is needed. Then there is the circumstances they are kept in. Should one have gone for a free range for example and it was hatched in an incubator and kept in a broody coop and then run, all that learned behaviour that in better keeping circumstances would have been presereved gets lost.