Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

Warm and mainly sunny. The mattress and my friend turned up within half an hour of each other and we went off to see the chickens; the mattress didn't come with us. Too busy lying down getting comfortable I hope.
Henry liked my friend. My friend can't walk far or fast due to having a leg missing and his ribcage bolted together whch effects his breathing so we didn't do much but chat and then take the train home because it involves the least walking. It's been great to see him. I haven't seen him since I got back from Spain athough it hasn't been for his lack of offering to put me up.

 

[MrsNorthie]

With my winter, I keep an 8x8 coop with roofed (& side-tarped in winter) run with extended fenced run outside that. My flock did NOT like to walk in snow at all, and the extra space helped them not be horribly bored all winter. They got cabbages, sunflower heads, and flock block type hanging things to help them stay busy.


As far as pollution goes, I wonder how bad fast food & convenience shops contribute to the amount of trash. We grow and hunt what we can, & I try to cook everything from scratch so we don’t create as much waste. There’s so many factors…

We haven't eaten out in years, with the exception of our trip to the U.K. in 2019. Had to have fish and chips at the Magpie in Whitby, and my husband had to have a pie at football. Otherwise, we stayed at a self-catering cottage and shopped at the local green grocer, bakery and butcher shops and still cooked for ourselves. We garden for us and now for our chickens, we are getting to a point where we will produce everything we consume.

 

[MrsNorthie]

Some cardboard is laid down on the ground as a weed barrier, covered with mulch from the compost pile.

We use cardboard in the same way. It has really helped the garden.

 

[BDutch]

"Single Use". Most people don't realize those can be used for other things, like the little trash can in the bathrooom, or giving a gift to someone. Nope, straight to the trash, or, here in El Paso, the non functioning drainage ditch in the middle of the street, clogged with rocks, weeds, and litter. It used to be concrete and actually drained then. Now it is a spot for litter to live.
Oh, we have flying single use plastic bags here.

In my country (most countries in Europe) you have to pay for plastic bags for your shoppings. Almost everyone brings their own bag(s) since. Shops who sell luxury goods often pack in free paper bags.
But the shop owners are allowed to give away (thin) single use plastic bags for fresh groceries like fruit, vegetables and meat.

The grocery store where I buy for home delivery’s uses plastic crates and bags with a deposit system.
For most plastic bottles and tins for beverages we have a deposit/recycling system.
Plastic straws and some other single use products are forbidden.

 

[notabitail]

In my country (most countries in Europe) you have to pay for plastic bags for your shoppings. Almost everyone brings their own bag(s) since. Shops who sell luxury goods often pack in free paper bags.
But the shop owners are allowed to give away (thin) single use plastic bags for fresh groceries like fruit, vegetables and meat.

The grocery store where I buy for home delivery’s uses plastic crates and bags with a deposit system.
For most plastic bottles and tins for beverages we have a deposit/recycling system.
Plastic straws and some other single use products are forbidden.

Do you get cash back for recycling bottles and cans? In California we did.
I have heard they hand out paper straws in plastic wrappers in Huntington Beach... Explain that to me.
In CA you had to pay the grocery store for bags but can get a single use plastic bag from any other store that doesn't sell groceries.

 

[Perris]

The Catalan ones still go broody and make good mothers I'm told.

Polka's sister Paprika did a fantastic job of it last year with Venka's emergency clutch. And all 7 of them are still with us, so she taught them well Also, she included roosting in coops on the curriculum, and her ability to get them all up the ramp and in from the start was particularly impressive. Polka's doing it her own way, which evidently involves the roosting out syllabus.

I've been on the lookout for another second hand recycled plastic coop and while the omlets appear reasonably frequently I don't like them much.

I don't like Omlets either. Too small and don't come apart fully. And overpriced.

 

[notabitail]

Polka's sister Paprika did a fantastic job of it last year with Venka's emergency clutch. And all 7 of them are still with us, so she taught them well Also, she included roosting in coops on the curriculum, and her ability to get them all up the ramp and in from the start was particularly impressive. Polka's doing it her own way, which evidently involves the roosting out syllabus.

I don't like Omlets either. Too small and don't come apart fully. And overpriced.

What are Omlet coops?
Do you bake them?

 

[MrsNorthie]

What are Omlet coops?
Do you bake them?

you can find examples here: https://www.omlet.us/shop/chicken_keeping/

 

[notabitail]

you can find examples here: https://www.omlet.us/shop/chicken_keeping/

Thanks for the link.
Oof. Expensive. The perch looks like something I need at my desk because they come inside. I think I will just have my brother make one and save some money. Shad has rubbed off on me. I now let them inside. And the net someone here suggested works really well for keeping small bugs but not the junebugs out. I have watched the chickens, and they shove their head in the crack, and then shove the curtain open. I will have to film it to share it one day.

 

[Perris]

Given Shad is now growing veg on his chicken plot , this seems relevant as another way in which individuals can make a difference:

"You will get about two and a half kilos of seed from a 20-foot-long bed of 30 kale plants. Now that's actually three-quarters of a million seeds - and if every one of those was given away or swapped, and then grown, you will have created more than 500,000 kilograms of kale! More than enough to feed all your friends and neighbours, and their families.

So you can see that even one person, on a small scale, can make a real contribution to local food security. Take your spare seed to a local seed swap... Get together with your friends or family and set up a seed-circle: one person can grow kale seed, another parsnips, another cucumber, etc. You'll all have bags of seed - you can all just swap with each other, so no-one has to save seed from more than a couple of things, yet you all get seed of everything.

It will save you a fortune, and you'll get great, locally adapted varieties. Just remember, all this is only possible because you are growing real, open-pollinated seed. You can't do this with hybrid (F1) varieties. Funny how the seed companies are so keen on selling you hybrid seed, isn't it?"

That's copied from a local seed swap here, https://www.incredibleseedlibrary.com/drying-your-seeds