Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[fluffycrow]

what's the hurry? she'll roost on the roost when she's ready.

The chicks. They've been flying to the roost for the past three days or so, but then they fly down when they see Cruella going in the nest. But you're right, I'm a very impatient person sometimes

 

[BDutch]

Today the chicks are on day 16, but Cruella still hasn't taken them to roost on...a roost. They still sleep in the nest they hatched. I can't help but feel like she's taking longer than she should. This is my first broody however, while most of you here have had broodies for a long time, so any input would be appreciated

In general my broodies took the chicks to the nest box until they were 5-7 weeks old. Soon after most chicks start to roost wanting to be with their mama. But some chicks preferred to stay in the nest a few weeks more.

The chicks try to roost after about 3 weeks during the day, just for practice.

Last hatch all of the 9 chicks roosted for the night after 9 weeks.

 

[Ribh]

10.30am to 7.30pm today with an hour and a half off for lunch. Rain on and off throughout the day. Everybody seemed more relaxed today. Them because they're getting used to the chicks being about; me because I decided to forgo the tent and concentrate on getting better quaility weed.

There has been a job needing doing since the new coop got put in place. I've dug all around it but underneath I had planned to do when the coop got moved.
The chickens go under the coop when it rains and apart from the rocks protruding the area had become a bit of a mess.
There were a number of large rocks, a foot times six inch sort of large under there, plus a lot of smaller but equally uncomfortable pieces of rubble. I took the back of the coop stand off and with the aid of a mini pick axe dug out the rocks, broke the ground up and added a wheelbarrow full of compost.
View attachment 3614376

Henry christened the job.

I dismantled the nest box Fret sat and hatched in and gave it a proper clean with disinfectant and filled the base with new shredded paper and after cleaning the coop floor added a nice confy pile of shredded paper in the corner Fret chose to sleep in last night.
Fret showed her appreciation by going to roost in the other corner.
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Although it isn't clear, this chick is having a dust bath. It didn't make much dust but it had a good try.
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Eating is becoming more sociable. The chicks think dads cool but dad has to be very carefull where he treads. I like this picture. It shows the size difference between Henry and the chick well. The chick can walk underneath Henry's spurs.
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Auntie Carbon is allowed to be close to the chicks now.
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Fret took the chicks onto the allotments for a while.

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Carbon after raspberries.
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Henry sunbathing while Carbon laid an egg.
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This evening Fret put some work into showing the chicks how to climb the ramp.
She's got most of the idea but instead of waiting at the pop door and calling she comes back down the ramp too quickly and the chicks don't get they have to go to her. I put the chicks at the top of the ramp this evening and they made it through the pop door under their own steam.
Henry and Carbon waiting out of the way while Fret tries to get the chicks onto the ramp.
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Fret and chicks outside the coop run. This is one of their favourite spots.
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Glad you had a senior moment this morning & I got alerted to this wonderful news. Looks like Fret is being a great mamma & the chicks are lovely.

 

[Shadrach]

Regarding the genetic differences between jungle fowl and the modern domestic chicken.

https://books.google.es/books?hl=en...dfLNk2w5qg6ZY&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

I have a couple of other papers on the subject which I can't find.
My understanding is there isn't much difference.
My own experience with Ex Battery hens is the greater their exposure to a more natural environment the more like other non battery chickens they become. I believe having non battery chickens to learn from in their environment acclerates this learning process.
I am told that males of the Red Sex Link battery breed are indistinguishable from in behaviour from males from heritage breeds.

The allotment Ex Battery hens laid as one might precict at eighteen months and older, no matter what they were fed. Whether or not they were achieving their full potential would be hard to assess mainly because full potential may involve such things as egg weight, volume, nutritional properties, shell strength and mnay other parameters no doubt. The fact remains they laid daily and for a period on a diet that one would not even expect to support life, let alone daily egg production.

 

[Shadrach]

11am to 8pm today with an hour and a half off for lunch. May as well call this a job. Intermittemt rain and sun but warm at around 20C.
We had two visitors from the allotment group today. Both were entranced at the sight of what looks undeniably like a family. I posted on the altenative allotment chat group that Fret had hatched.

This is how I found the coop when I got to the allotments. It looks like Fret changed corners overnight.

This is how they were this evening.

The clean up under the coop has been viewed with some suspicion and when it rained today they stayed with me under the extension. I wonder if this is because the ground is much darker than it was.

I did a check for pasty butt today and all butts bar Carbons are clean. Carbon eats so much fruit compared to the others and this makes her poop quite runny.

I've been clearing the weeds just putside the run. Fret finds lots for the chicks to eat on the ground and one of the chicks has started digging.

The chicks and Fret do eat the chick feed provided and Fret encourages them to do so. But, it seems Fret prefers the feed to be on the ground rather than in a bowl/tray.

I had to remove the large drinking washing up tub due to concerns about the chicks falling in it. Water is now provided in small ceramic and plastic pots which I distribute around the place depending on where everyone is.

I would love to be able to get hold of the same type of ceramic drinkers I used in Catalonia.

Henry helped out with the weeding and digging today.

Early evening is when Fret brings the chicks onto the allotments. She took them around the back of the run to where the feed bins are this evening. This is the furthest she has taken the chicks to date.
On my plot.

 

[Shadrach]

Glad you had a senior moment this morning & I got alerted to this wonderful news. Looks like Fret is being a great mamma & the chicks are lovely.

Thanks Ribh.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Today the chicks are on day 16, but Cruella still hasn't taken them to roost on...a roost. They still sleep in the nest they hatched. I can't help but feel like she's taking longer than she should. This is my first broody however, while most of you here have had broodies for a long time, so any input would be appreciated

Hmm... I've only had hatches from three different broody hens, but in all 3 cases, the hen kept the chicks in her nest for nearly the whole six weeks before she weaned them! Roosting was one of their last lessons before mama's broody switch clicked off.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Taxes.

Dusty is so happy with her little ones. Today she looked me right in the eye and said "I'm so happy "

I'll get some pics of Tina with her duo tomorrow. They are also gold in color. This is the first time there's been a bunch of look-alike puffballs. But of course they don't even have real feathers yet. It will be interesting to watch the differences develop.

Here's Tobias checking out Dusty chicks through the mesh screen separating their "apartments" in the Hooligan Coop.

I haven't let the chicks out yet because we got a huge deluge of hard rains the past two days. I've been giving the mamas big chunks of turf with grass and groundcover plants attached to forage inside. Hopefully tomorrow will be dry and everyone can come out for a few hours to dust bath properly.

The brothers with some really nice new feathers.

Prima. The smart one. Every afternoon, around 5pm she comes looking for me -- half an hour before everyone else's pre-bedtime crop fill-up. As the youngest and smallest, she does her best to get enough food at breakfast and lunch, but between her cookie monster brothers and the grown ups, it's rough. But she knows I've got a meal waiting for her at 5pm, and she very quietly comes to get it.

 

[Shadrach]

Hmm... I've only had hatches from three different broody hens, but in all 3 cases, the hen kept the chicks in her nest for nearly the whole six weeks before she weaned them! Roosting was one of their last lessons before mama's broody switch clicked off.

Most broody hens I've known stay at the nest site until they are ready to return to their tribes if they nested away from the coop, or as you have found, until they are close to letting them fend for themselves.
I've had three or four where the change from being mum to chicks being independent was a gradual process, but mostly it's been pretty abrupt and distressing to witness.
Given Fret's experience in the nest (broken eggs with chicks in) I can understand why she prefers to sleep elsewhere. Donk, who I mentioned earlier as a hardcore mum was just plain independent, much like her mother Dink and her grandmother Cheepy and her great great grandmother Mini Minx.
5 to 6 weeks seems a pretty reliable average but Ruffles mothered her first chicks for almost eight weeks and remained friends with them to the day she died.

 

[MrsNorthie]

Regarding the genetic differences between jungle fowl and the modern domestic chicken.

https://books.google.es/books?hl=en...dfLNk2w5qg6ZY&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

I have a couple of other papers on the subject which I can't find.
My understanding is there isn't much difference.
My own experience with Ex Battery hens is the greater their exposure to a more natural environment the more like other non battery chickens they become. I believe having non battery chickens to learn from in their environment acclerates this learning process.
I am told that males of the Red Sex Link battery breed are indistinguishable from in behaviour from males from heritage breeds.

The allotment Ex Battery hens laid as one might precict at eighteen months and older, no matter what they were fed. Whether or not they were achieving their full potential would be hard to assess mainly because full potential may involve such things as egg weight, volume, nutritional properties, shell strength and mnay other parameters no doubt. The fact remains they laid daily and for a period on a diet that one would not even expect to support life, let alone daily egg production.

This study is extremely interesting. I think I will need to read it a couple of times to really digest the information. Thank you for sharing it.