Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[SimpleJenn]

Henry is a fine old guy, and I also hope his son does him proud. He has his ladies, his children, and his bucket boy. I'd say that he's at peace.

 

[Molpet]

Henry is struggling.

 

[MrsNorthie]

Henry is struggling. I hope I am wrong but I don't think he will live for much longer.

That is heart breaking, with everything he has gone through, I hope he hangs on, but would hate for him to suffer. He is the perfect Rooster, gentle, patient, strong. Dig has his genes and training so he will be awesome, but Henry is one of a kind.

 

[L-plate chicken mum]

“The Light Sussex rooster I was told is called Henry 11. Apparently he’s not over fond of people. One of the reasons he has such bad scaly leg mite is he wouldn’t have any of that capturing business and was prone to having a bit of a scrap in the event he got cornered. He’s quite a large chap and he’s got a lovely set of spurs on him.”

Just goes to show, doesn’t it, that with the right behaviour by the human & understanding their behaviours that roosters rock!
I am equally sure that Henry was always an outstanding rooster and that over the last 2 years has finally been able to show us what he truly is made of. As long as he is still with us (& may that be a long & healthy time) I will be a fan

 

[Perris]

Two hours today. Cold at around 0C with quite a lot of sunshine and pale blue skies.
Henry is struggling. I hope I am wrong but I don't think he will live for much longer. It's just too cold for him at his age which is now probably nine years old as best we can estimate. He's had a hard life, poor nutrition, terrible housing, too many hens. It says great things about his genes that he's got this far. Dig spends a lot of time with Henry when they are out. Dig has watched Henry do the I've found food behaviour and this afternoon I saw Dig trying it out for the first time. I think Henry is teaching Dig how to be a rooster. Unfortunately I'm not there enough to understand how he is teaching and what he is teaching.
Henry is talking a lot. He didn't used to. He's a quiet chap in general.

This picture tells a lot about the shape Henry is in and that the hens know. Note that he is not on his usual perch. There has been no major change in wind direction. I watched the whole going to roost bit and it all went very quietly. Henry got in first and once he was settled Fret sqeezed up close to him. You can see the gap between Fret and Carbon which didn't exist until Fret shuffled up as close as she could to Henry. Mow as you can see is on the other side of Henry and after this picture, she was tight up agaisnt him. They're trying to keep him warm.

I picke Henry up and sat him on my lap for a while. He didn't protest and settled down part dozing with my arms around him to shelter him from the wind. In the past when I've picked him up he's generated a lot of warmth. Today he felt cold and he felt cold when I gave him a goodnight stroke on the roost bar as I do most nights. There are no signs of him being sick. He's parasite free. His droppings are good. He's eating well and has no odd lumps that I could feel. I think he's just old and tired.

If he dies in the next few months my hope is Dig has inherited his strength and temperament and the hens will accept him as their rooster.
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are his comb tips dark again? If so, he got over it 2 years ago.

The cold is a challenge for the older birds here, who, as others find, tend to conserve energy whilst the youngsters seem less bothered by it.

 

[Shadrach]

Tax for bee talk:

Splendid Starla Longtoe warms one of her snow-muddy feet as she views her empire from the roof of a run.
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These are her tracks. Can you tell why she's named Longtoe? The wavy middle toe cracks me up.
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Here the Langshans have convinced Eula and Raisin to join them in a sunbeam out in the snow instead of staying on dry dirt in the coop run. It's not because they love sun but because chunks of snow have been falling off the coop roof. For some reason, the Langshans in particular are very freaked out by that and have banned the coop for the afternoon. Stilton and others were unphased and back in the run having supper at this point, but it took a lot of scratch bribes to lure these girls back in so they could eat before roosting.

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You're taking some wonderfull pictures.

 

[Shadrach]

That tracks with mine! 5 of my 6 are out stomping in the run most of the day. My one that has a crest poof stays inside the coop unless she wants the food or water in the run. But she tends to stay in the coop more often.
Granted, mine are in an enclosed system so they only get snow on their feet if they go in the run extension! All are under a year old.

I think age makes a lot of difference to their ability to cope with the cold.

 

[Shadrach]

are his comb tips dark again? If so, he got over it 2 years ago.

The cold is a challenge for the older birds here, who, as others find, tend to conserve energy whilst the youngsters seem less bothered by it.

His comb has been fine for months. It's his posture when resting that shows his discomfort.

 

[RoyalChick]

His comb has been fine for months. It's his posture when resting that shows his discomfort.

Poor old chap. Honestly I know how he feels. Cold is not great for old bones.

 

[Perris]

His comb has been fine for months. It's his posture when resting that shows his discomfort.

I thought they looked dark in the photo, but I guess that was just the lighting then - or my old eyes!