Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

I've written a rather odd article. It covers a topic I haven't seen here on BYC and that's the adaptive nature of the chickens digestive system and in particular, the use of the crop.
One of the reference links is a bit heavy going but the rest are fairly short and I found them interesting.
There is one link noted at the end of the article that should be read.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...fluence-it-may-have-on-feeding-regimes.79124/

 

[BDutch]

@BDutch -- Did you put the triangle shaped design together?

It is very good.

I could never do something like that.

The Bing images creator made it with my instructions (text to image with Artificial Intelligence).

 

[MrsNorthie]

I've written a rather odd article. It covers a topic I haven't seen here on BYC and that's the adaptive nature of the chickens digestive system and in particular, the use of the crop.
One of the reference links is a bit heavy going but the rest are fairly short and I found them interesting.
There is one link noted at the end of the article that should be read.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...fluence-it-may-have-on-feeding-regimes.79124/

This is a great article, thank you! I obsess over checking every crop every night and morning, and checking the poops on the poop board as well as observing overall behaviour and appearance to determine health conditions. We are looking to enhance the quality of their foraging options to supplement their scheduled meal times, and this is a big help to that end and not just for nutritional reasons, they actually love the activity of foraging! (and of course, I love watching them all happily scratching up bugs and treats.)

 

[Shadrach]

The weather people ( ) predict one more cold snap for us. Of course, cold snap is a relative term here. Without a groundhog, candlemas, or anything of the sort to signify Spring's arrival, we are left to the devices of the Gods or God. The chickens seem to be in the same confused state as the keepers; although one would say the chickens would not invoke any celestial beings

I'll be invoking the Met Office forcast. Bit short on groundhogs, candles and superstition in general around here.

 

[L-plate chicken mum]

This is a great article, thank you! I obsess over checking every crop every night and morning, and checking the poops on the poop board as well as observing overall behaviour and appearance to determine health conditions. We are looking to enhance the quality of their foraging options to supplement their scheduled meal times, and this is a big help to that end and not just for nutritional reasons, they actually love the activity of foraging! (and of course, I love watching them all happily scratching up bugs and treats.)

X2

 

[Shadrach]

Interesting time of year to be broody! Will you try to break her this time, or not? I'm fairly certain I remember you saying that you prefer to let a broody break on her own, rather than forcefully breaking her. Are you saying that Mow will go broody based on her genetics, the fact she was broody raised, or both? If both, then would one of the two be more compelling than the other? Mainly asking this for some birds of my own

It's been a rare for me to have to go to the extremes I read about to discourage a hen from broody behaviour. If one is quick enough and remove the eggs that usually does it. Fret, while still intent on going broody isn't sitting now having had her eggs stolen by Bucket Boy. Bucket Boy isn't fooled. He knows she's thinking about it and intends to resume her hatching plan at the earliest opportunity.
Both when it comes to Mow.

I got told the hens wont go broody it's been bred out of them story everywhere I've been involved with the care of the chickens. In Catalonia, Hetfordshire free range farm and now here at the allotments.
My view is broodiness is suppressed rather than removed. Give the chickens a conducive environment for raising chicks; get one to sit and hatch and others are likely to get the idea. When I started in Catalonia none of the hens would go broody. When I left all the hens went broody. A similar story on the farm in Hertfordshire and getting the hens to sit and hatch became my job.
I got told the same story by C at the allotments and I'll bet this year two out of the three hens currently here will go broody.

 

[Shadrach]

Are you going to let either of them hatch eggs?

Probably, although I may just live to regret it.

 

[Shadrach]

Have you thought about hen saddles? I have had hens injured because of this.

Saddles aren't really a going proposition at the allotments. I would need to be there first thing in the morning to put them on. One shouldn't have hens roosting wearing saddles.

 

[Perris]

Personalities come into it too; despite being a real heritage breed, and now in her 7th year, Venka has never gone broody - yet she has lots of kids running around here (some that look just like her and some more obviously hybrids), thanks to other hens in the flock doing all the nurturing work for her. I think some hens are smart enough to reproduce their genes without effort beyond laying the egg, like a cuckoo, being quite happy to see others playing broody and raising their kids for them.

 

[Shadrach]

This is a great article, thank you! I obsess over checking every crop every night and morning, and checking the poops on the poop board as well as observing overall behaviour and appearance to determine health conditions. We are looking to enhance the quality of their foraging options to supplement their scheduled meal times, and this is a big help to that end and not just for nutritional reasons, they actually love the activity of foraging! (and of course, I love watching them all happily scratching up bugs and treats.)

Getting the message that chickens do not automatically send all ingested feed to their crop is quite difficult to get accross. Most people assume that all feed enters the crop.
Getting people to understand that it is the way one feeds chickens that determines what get sent to the crop is even more difficult; a constant supply of feed is likely to give minimum crop use. Meal time feeding tends to promote crop use.

These points and the time taken to digest various feed types have implications for the crop full at night, empty in the morning test advice.