Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[TropicalChickies]

@no fly zone
I wondered if you had considered getting someone to paint a picture of Skesis. I'm sure you have plently of pictures that can be copied.
Somone I know painted this picture of Major a few days before he died. It's on a wall in my flat.
View attachment 3635691

Definitely captured the rugged loner aspect you described in Major.

 

[no fly zone]

I have a good painter friend who does a lot of commissioned pet portraits. Very sensitive fella who really listens to his clients. I can pass his info if you're interested.

No thank you. Again, just wanted a good plushie.

 

[lightm]

Where I live, it's the common practice for people to have multiple dogs (as guards and companions) and also chickens. The dogs are outside all day and not kept separate from the chickens.

The dogs are all kinds of mutts, from poodle to German shepherd mixes, and it's actually very unusual that a dog kills a chicken. When we go out driving on the road, it's normal to see a dog herding chickens off the road away from oncoming cars to safety.

I'm not saying dogs never kill chickens out here, but it's rare. If a farmer does end up with a dog that kills chickens, he kills the dog. Dogs do not lay eggs or breed more chickens.. There will always be more dogs. Thus, to the farmer, dogs are more expendable than chickens.

None of our five dogs has ever so much scratched a chicken, although Dolly, our little runt, got a full on flying in the face flogging from Tina when Dolly got a little too interested in her chicks. Our dogs know that, to me, chickens are every bit as loved and cared for as they are, and I think they begrudgingly accept they are on equal footing.

As a woman in a remote place, I wouldn't dream of living here without my dog pack. Granted, they are all just mid sized mutts, but they bark up a storm when they hear anything out of the ordinary. Occasionally my partner has travel to the city and stay overnight, or I do, and both of us feel much safer being alone here with dogs.

At any rate, just another perspective from a different point of view.

I found this old picture of Butchie as a little pullet the other day. While her injured leg was healing, our dog Bandida let Butchie sleep on her bed.

View attachment 3635339

This is a very darling photo! I have seen many dog-and-chicken-together photos, but this one is somehow more special. Butchie is very cute here too.

 

[fuzzi]

For wasps its the opposite. Last year I used a strong vinegar to calm the stings (I had 2).

I use Fexofenadine in the evening against overreactions on lots of histamine-rich food like spinach. It has little effect on sleeping. In the morning its all back to normal. And it helps for insect stings too (a bit).

I looked it up, I know it as Allegra. It doesn't work for me, neither does Claritin, nor Zyrtec. But thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Iluveggers]

I do not trust my dogs with the chickens. The flock has an adequate covered run, which opens into two huge fenced areas (one is my garden and is off-limits for part of the growing season). One of my hens jumped the fence, and although the dogs did not eat her, one of them caught her and brought her directly to my husband. He dropped her at my husbands feet, and unfortunately her neck had snapped in the travel across the yard. I can’t be that upset though, the two of them have chased off a fox and a hawk, and actually fought a raccoon who entered our yard. Saved my new chicks who were only about 6 weeks at the time. I only let the girls out into the unfenced yard if the dogs are inside and we are standing/sitting around with them. They have access to the larger fenced area for about 10-12 hours all day, which is the best I can safely do for them.

 

[Molpet]

I'm sure they don't want the mice they've already got, but it's a known mouse relocation space. I suppose I could leave the mice in the wetlands instead.

Depends. Are they native mice or invasive?

 

[MaryJanet]

Depends. Are they native mice or invasive?

Native. Do you think they'll upset the hawks that live on the wetlands? I don't think so. I think the hawks will be grateful for the snacks.

 

[MaryJanet]

Taxes for going off topic.

 

[MrsNorthie]

Taxes for going off topic.

View attachment 3635928

I have to ask, what kind of paint did you use on your coop and run? I keep reading tons of conflicting information, even in the coop building forum, so as much as I want to make everything cute, I am afraid to act..lol :-(

 

[MaryJanet]

I have to ask, what kind of paint did you use on your coop and run? I keep reading tons of conflicting information, even in the coop building forum, so as much as I want to make everything cute, I am afraid to act..lol :-(

I honestly don't know because I didn't paint it.

Let's face it, paint is the least of their problems!

In the short time I've had hens, 3 were killed by foxes, 1 chick was squashed by a hen while hatching, 1 pullet died of unknown digestive abnormality, 2 hens died of reproductive health disorders. 1 hen (the chick murderer) is living with hepatic lipidosis, 1 hen had a hernia (which was surgically repaired) and now has an eye injury, 1 hen is living with a chronic and seemingly incommunicable bacterial infection (the working hypothesis has two parts (1) the environment is too dry for bacteria to thrive once she sneezes them out - it is quite a dry, sandy environment and (2) the hens are not at all crowded; and it seems likely that studies of communicable bacterial infection were conducted in crowded, possibly humid environments).

As far as I can tell, not one hen has tried eating paint and become sick from it, or become sick from eating anything in the proximity of the paint.

Maybe the ladies who painted it for me used special chicken coop paint?

Edit! We recently used water based exterior paint on the new roosting box! (We'll just pretend my memory isn't failing )