Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

Rain delayed just about everything today. One hour at the allotments. Enough time to clean the chickens out, give them their mash and try out a whole seed mix I've knocked up. Still need some dried peas for the mix and a better source for green lentils.
Next step will be fermenting the grains. It's that Perris's fault.

This is the chicken shit tub. It's cooking, or it would if the sun shone.
This is my compost and chicken shit mix, 20% chicken shit and 80% compost.
When I dig a hole to plant something the mix goes in the bottom of the hole.

 

[BDutch]

Tobias, Segundo, and Prima have started to go to sleep in what I'm now calling "the Hooligan Coop" -- thanks @TheFatBlueCat for that apt name. Given that I was using existing beams and a good metal roof, I was able to get the space ready in short time. Downside -- or upside depending on your POV, is the area is adjoined to our shower, so now showering is yet another a life activity performed in the company of chickens...

Quick rundown on converting the space (which was the laundry area) into a chicken space

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Bamboo, when it's properly treated with boric acid, is much less prone to mites than wood because it's much less porous. But for good measure, first I swept and scrubbed off all the dust and fungi from the bamboo, then coated it with linseed oil.
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Toss down several wheelbarrows of sand mixed up with a little lime.
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Install moveable eco-plastic roost bars (and hooligans).
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Meanwhile, yesterday Segundo the Mascot Underdog gave his first crow!
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Segundo... Still a contender.

The old coop feels a lot more spacious and tranquil now without the evening tussle and the hooligans love practicing their creaky crows while Im in the shower. Got them moved just in time too, because their lovely mama Tina is broody again -- and this time she has three of her own eggs to sit on.
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I just made a nice shaded area and put down damp soil and sand and put her eggs in a shallow depression. She took right to it. This morning she widened it out a bit and brought in a few leaves and twigs. It's only been 3 months since she hatched the hooligans, but she really seems happiest being a mom and she did an excellent job. I need some pullets for this gang of cockerels I ended up with, so -- as much as I love their crowing and feuding and following me everywhere, cross your fingers I get a few more pullets this time, huh?

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With Queen Tina zonked out on her nest, Rusty sure is happy to have the less divided attention of her man back too


There's all kinds of stuff entombed in our walls, I just let the bottles show because, for trash, they are pretty. Dead batteries, smashed plates, rusted jar lids, a busted lawn chair, rubber gloves with holes in them, combs with most of the teeth gone, broken guitar strings...hopes and dreams.

I like to speculate on the confusion this discombobulated heap will cause some earnest future archaeologist and the erroneous academic papers that will result.

Wonderfull job. I have two tips/remarks though to improve your job imo.

• The roosts seem to have sharp edges. Can you sand blast the edges? Make them more rounded? For comfort and because chickens might get bumble feet if they roost on them.
• I wouldn’t add batteries to the wall. They probably start to leak one day and this way you spread toxic waste on your premises. Batteries are recycled were I live. The metals in it are valuable enough to recycle.

I was in an Africa museum today and I loved the rebuild housing of some traditional houses. The smaller ones would make great and good looking coops.

Tax 12 week old chicks Silver Dutch and Sussex porcelain. :

 

[TropicalChickies]

I wouldn’t add batteries to the wall. They probably start to leak one day and this way you spread toxic waste on your premises.

Hmm. They will leak anywhere. Why should I be ok with them leaking on someone else's "premises"?

Anyway, since we put in a small solar system four years ago, now I only buy appliances that can charge with a low wattage USB. There's probably like 10 batteries all together in the walls. Not going to lose sleep over it. Earthen plaster with clay in it is very effective at delaying the breakdown of just about anything.

The edges of the ecoplastic bars feel pretty smooth. They are slightly rounded off, not perfect squares. But I'll look at sanding them down perhaps.

 

[RoyalChick]

Hmm. They will leak anywhere. Why should I be ok with them leaking on someone else's "premises"?

Anyway, since we put in a small solar system four years ago, now I only buy appliances that can charge with a low wattage USB. There's probably like 10 batteries all together in the walls. Not going to lose sleep over it. Earthen plaster with clay in it is very effective at delaying the breakdown of just about anything.

The edges of the ecoplastic bars feel pretty smooth. They are slightly rounded off, not perfect squares. But I'll look at sanding them down perhaps.

Clay is also effective at sealing in nasty stuff so it doesn’t leak out. It is used to encase toxic dump sites.

 

[Perris]

The edges of the ecoplastic bars feel pretty smooth. They are slightly rounded off, not perfect squares.

They look like the roosts in two of my Nestera coops and if so I think they are fine; none of my flock has ever had bumblefoot.

 

[BDutch]

Hmm. They will leak anywhere. Why should I be ok with them leaking on someone else's "premises"?

Anyway, since we put in a small solar system four years ago, now I only buy appliances that can charge with a low wattage USB. There's probably like 10 batteries all together in the walls. Not going to lose sleep over it. Earthen plaster with clay in it is very effective at delaying the breakdown of just about anything.

The edges of the ecoplastic bars feel pretty smooth. They are slightly rounded off, not perfect squares. But I'll look at sanding them down perhaps.

I didn’t say you should dump the batteries on your neighbours land.

Here we have a battery collection box in the shops were you buy new batteries. The metals in the batteries are truly mostly recycled. But saving in the use if batteries is even better.

From https://www.legebatterijen.nl/vragen/hoe-worden-lege-batterijen-gerecycled/
Batteries contain many materials that can be recycled. For example, about 95% of the nickel, cobalt and copper in batteries can be recovered. This in turn saves new raw materials from countries where extraction is not always good for people and the environment.

More off topic taxes:

Hakuna matata.

 

[Perris]

Still need some dried peas

I found the 500g - 2kg bags in the dried goods section of a supermarket a good way to try out different types. This firm has a good range and is stocked in lots of shops
https://www.ktc-edibles.co.uk/product-category/pulses-beans-lentils/

and a better source for green lentils

If there are any Asian supermarkets in your vicinity, they typically have a lot more dried goods than your typical British or European supermarket.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Okay so in 11 years birds roosting on tables no bumble either.
The tables where made of pallets.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

Temperature is in the 80s.

Have a great day!

 

[Shadrach]

Two hours today. It was raining this morning but this afternoon stayed dry at around 18C.
As those who read this thread will know, I've been looking for some hens to bring the tribe up to five or six hens. I've not had a lot of joy in this venture. Granted I haven't been addressing the problem flat out, but I've been looking and making phone calls.
You may also recall that Fret went broody a couple of months ago, sat, but didn't hatch because the eggs were infertile bar one which didn't develope.
It seems Fret has given up on my attempts to provide suitable company and has decided she'll have another go.

She was out as normal but at roost time headed straight for the nest box. She's got four eggs. Apart from the ragged tail feathers you that can be seen in the picture above she's in the best condition I've seen her. She's feels a good weight and her confidence is high and while not a major struggle with only Carbon to compete with, she's the top hen.

Add to this that I had some concerns that if she sat and hatched while Lima and Ella were alive she may have had problems with them both should she have hatched.

Even stranger is while Carbon isn't obviously broody she's behaving in a pre broody manner. It's difficult to describe but I know it when I see it.

It seems to me the sensible thing to do is try to get Fret some fertile eggs, preferably Crested Cream Legbar eggs. Should she hatch any I supply and any of her own I think the chicks should fit in without problems.
I don't have much faith in Henry getting the job done. It's not his fault. He's getting on in years and I imagine his sperm count is pretty low and Fret and he are not the ideal mating match with regard to size and therefor accuracy.

In theory at least and in my experience and my preference, having a broody hen hatch and rear chicks is a far better option than trying to introduce outsiders.
Needless to write I'll be on the phone tomorrow trying to get some CCl fertile eggs.

Meanwhile.