Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[RoyalChick]

what did you have in your hand?

A handful of popcorn.

 

[Perris]

What I will say to your curds and whey, apart from the spider issues, is nuts! Brazil and Almonds to be more precise.

I like nuts too. They're great nutritionally, but sadly as expensive as the best cuts of meat.
And Brazils are nearly 70% fat - as opposed to 4% for 'full fat' milk (2% for semi-skimmed).

 

[Perris]

Foremost on my mind is why the bloody hell do so many cockerels hatch here? It looks like all 4 of the 11 week old juvies here are cockerels. This puts the cockerel hatch rate here at 90%! Literally 9 out of last 10 chicks hatched here were males.

This is from three hatches at different times of the year.

If you do work out a potential factor, I think we'd all be interested to know. Otherwise it's just the luck of the draw, and this year you've been at one end of the bell curve!

Do you have significant seasons there? or is it all a bit similar in day length/ temp/ rainfall etc. year round?

 

[Perris]

Fish meal would make an excellent addition and push the protein level up. The mix above roughly averages out at around 11% to12% protein. Anything added needs to either push the complete protein level up or add more methionine. There are other sources that store well dry. to the point that a basic food dryer might be an option.

here's the problem with fish meal
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ic-salmon-farm-welfare-disaster-footage-shows

 

[BDutch]

here's the problem with fish meal
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ic-salmon-farm-welfare-disaster-footage-shows

Maybe these ‘accidents’ are 2 horrible situations. But the whole factory farming is a diaster.
Factory farming with fish is something with lots of abuse and pollution. I hate fish farming just as wel as other factory farming. Farmers throw medicines in the sea to prevent ilness in fish

Therefore I always buy captured wild fish. Even it it takes more time to figure out the labels. The organically kept fish is a no go either. They just get a bit less medicines and slightly better feed.

 

[RoyalChick]

Maybe these ‘accidents’ are 2 horrible situations. But the whole factory farming is a diaster.
Factory farming with fish is something with lots of abuse and pollution. I hate fish farming just as wel as other factory farming. Farmers throw medicines in the sea to prevent ilness in fish

Therefore I always buy captured wild fish. Even it it takes more time to figure out the labels. The organically kept fish is a no go either. They just get a bit less medicines and slightly better feed.

Ethical fish shopping is complicated because with wild fish you have to avoid midwater trawls as well as over fishing. I use an app that helps you figure out what fish from where is OK - but you are rarely given enough information to make an informed choice.

I love pilchards/European sardines but no longer buy them. A couple of screen shots from the app.

And Piglet for tax. Piglet loves shrimp.

 

[BDutch]

Ethical fish shopping is complicated because with wild fish you have to avoid midwater trawls as well as over fishing. I use an app that helps you figure out what fish from where is OK - but you are rarely given enough information to make an informed choice.

I love pilchards/European sardines but no longer buy them. A couple of screen shots from the app.

View attachment 3675149View attachment 3675150


And Piglet for tax. Piglet loves shrimp.
View attachment 3675152

Thanks but I rarely eat sadines. Most salmon. And I always look for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label too.

Dutch infographic : https://www.goodfish.nl/app/uploads/2019/03/viswijzer-mei2018-achterkant-vs2.pdf
The fish in the green bars is good.

Tax for fishing:

Chickens staying close to the coop/run.

 

[TropicalChickies]

If you do work out a potential factor, I think we'd all be interested to know. Otherwise it's just the luck of the draw, and this year you've been at one end of the bell curve!

Do you have significant seasons there? or is it all a bit similar in day length/ temp/ rainfall etc. year round?

We're less than one degree away from the equator. So the amount of light only varies by amount 15 minutes from the shortest to the longest day. Sunrise is at approximately 6am and Sunset at 6:30 pm all year long.

We have a very wet rainy season from December to late May. Then a drier season (but it still rains somewhat) from June until October. November can go either way.

Not relevant to the number of cockerels, but I definitely notice a difference in the overall success rate of hatches happening in the drier months. In the rainy season, humidity is higher and temperatures get hotter during the day. The rains are torrential and often come with close thunder and lightening. I know some say the thunder affecting hatches isn't proven and is an old wives tale, but I think it does -- the storms are very intense, loud, with rumbling thunder and you can feel the electricity in the air. The rising and falling barometric pressure gives me terrible headaches, I can only imagine how it must affect developing chicks. I think all these factors contribute to fewer eggs successfully hatching in the more rainy and humid months.

This year is different because of the El Niño. The rainy season is early. The high humidity and thunderstorms started a few weeks ago.

For example, there's a hatch happening right now but it's messy. Dusty had 4 eggs to set. Only one chick has emerged ok. Another egg is pipped, but almost 30 hours after the first chick. So Poor Dusty has been sitting for 23 days as of today. The other two eggs are just sitting there, don't look like like anything is going to happen.

In August, four out of five eggs hatched all in under 6 hours.

Dusty is a good broody. She turns her eggs and positions them well at the end for hatching. Considering she got her last chicks out so quickly, I think this more staggered hatch is due more to external fluctuations in temp and humidity.

The chick is a carrioca (naked neck). So actually an egg from Tina or Frida. The chicks first stools are loose, which worries me as well. It's less than 2 days old -- should I be worried? I'm going to put some ACV in the water today. It's active and drinking and even eating a bit of mashed egg yolk -- and waiting to see if it will have a sibling to buddy around with. Fingers crossed the chick is ok and the other one can hatch.

Edited to add right after I posted this I went to offer food and fresh water to Dusty and her chick. The chick pecked at the food and pooped a solid little poo. So Im thinking the more liquidy poos were just the "last meal" of egg yolk before hatching coming out and the chick just needed to eat a bit of solid food to form a solid poop. The chick looks healthy and quite big and strong for a hatchling -- already puttering around the floor of the coop. I bet Dusty can't wait for that other chick to finally come out.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Tax for all the feed talk: Fforest back in June, when he had dark comb tips intermittently. He seems to have got over whatever it was, thankfully.
View attachment 3674597

I saw a discussion on @ManueB thread about roosters getting dark tips in their combs. I was relieved to read that none of the roosters named got sick or died. But I also remember @Shadrach saying it was a problem in Catalonia -- roosters combs changing color and then the rooster dying.

This happens to my 11 month old Lucio almost every day, right around 3-4pm, his comb gets very dark purple, almost black tipped. Not the whole comb, just the tips. The rest of the day, it's normal red. I wonder if it's dehydration because I almost never see him drinking water. But the grass is always wet these days so the chickens are getting water every time they peck in the grass. But still I wonder what is causing this and if it's a problem or it will pass? Otherwise he seems fine. Active with the hens all day, treating, eating his fill at regular meal times and I'm keeping the lice away with regular sulfur applied to his skin and feathers. He does get more of the critters compared to anyone else, so something for me to note.

 

[Perris]

Ethical fish shopping is complicated because with wild fish you have to avoid midwater trawls as well as over fishing. I use an app that helps you figure out what fish from where is OK - but you are rarely given enough information to make an informed choice.

I love pilchards/European sardines but no longer buy them. A couple of screen shots from the app.

View attachment 3675149View attachment 3675150


And Piglet for tax. Piglet loves shrimp.
View attachment 3675152

This is interesting. But sardines are widely cited as one of the best and most sustainable of fish species, for a variety of reasons. See e.g. https://www.seafoodwatch.org/recommendations/search?query=:species;Scad,Sardine:free;sardine|species
https://drfranklipman.com/2021/05/24/4-reasons-to-dive-into-sustainable-sardines/
https://www.thespruceeats.com/sustainable-seafood-choices-1665724