Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[MrsNorthie]

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.

Yup, a constant irritation for people who are trying to hatch eggs with a broody that she laid rather than the donatations from other hens.

I have another variation, co-broodies. I have 4 or 5 ladies that are toying with broodiness, but 2 will sit on the nest most of the day, but other girls will "take-over" for a few hours while the main broodies go out and eat and drink and get some sunshine. Only one actually sat over night for one night and they all abandoned sitting for now (which is fine, they are still young and I would like to have them wait until April to hatch so we have warmer nights but still mild warm days.)

 

[Shadrach]

It's worth bearing in mind that good science is rarely about finding definitive answers; ít should be about increasing understanding. It's bad journalism that leads to this is how it is type statements. There are always exceptions and limitations to any studies. For example the statement all hens lay eggs. It is true that the vast majority of hens lay eggs, but not all.

 

[Perris]

Safe to assume that if such stoned were worth lots of money they are a bit of a rarity.

er, is it? That one struck me as a short-lived market for people with more money than sense (and there are a surprisingly large number of such people about! ) Anyway, I imagine you've seen some in poo a few times at least, and it's definitely referred to in something modern I've read.

 

[ManueB]

The variation in recommended feed quantities is fairly consistant from all the manufacturers I've used. 120 grams daily is the most common. Does it state 100 grams on the feed label of the feed you buy, or is this a general accepted ration? Not sure where you got 200 grams from.

Not sure either. 120 grams to 100 grams doesn't actually make such a difference.
The layer feed I buy, like many I have bought or seen, doesn't state any quantity but to leave it available all day. When there is a quantity indicated, it's 100 grams.
The general advice given on most sites selling poultry feed, is that a hen should eat between 150 and 200 grams a day, two third of which should come from grains or commercial feed, one third from foraging and kitchen scrap. A bit different from the US 10% rule.
(for the few chicken keepers I've talked to in my rural place, it's not well seen at all to give just layer feed. They have the same opinion on it than Perris).

I think you'll find that is the size rather than the hardness that puts chickens off ingesting some foodstuffs. As I've pointed out, if they can eat and digest (ground to pulp eventually in the gizzard) granite and small stones then the hardness in say a nut isn't likely to discourage them.

Most chickens prefer small feed particles when it comes to grain and seeds and even pelleted feed. Whatever they ingest has to get through the narrow opening at the start of the proventriculus to reach the gizzard which is where the size reduction takes place. Getting bigger food particles into the crop isn't so much of a problem.

Thank you for the explanation. That makes it clearer for me.
I've seen two of my chickens eat snakes one of which was not small by my standard, without seeming worse for it, so I believe they manage to get it somehow where it needs to go.

 

[Shadrach]

(for the few chicken keepers I've talked to in my rural place, it's not well seen at all to give just layer feed. They have the same opinion on it than Perris).

It was the same in Catalonia. The enthusiasts made their own feed. The people who were primarily interested in the eggs fed scraps and whole grains.

I think Perris is right and so do the chickens. I still put some pellets down but even Carbon eats a lot more of the whole grain mix than she does pellets.

I've seen two of my chickens eat snakes one of which was not small by my standard, without seeming worse for it, so I believe they manage to get it somehow where it needs to go.

I couldn't find an article on how chickens go about digesting mice, snakes, lizards, etc. I know they manage it. This is one of the things that makes me question some of the studies. The authors make a point of writing that there is little research on the subject.

For me the most interesting aspect of the stuff in the article is that chickens can make a choice on how they digest/store their food. What I would like to know is which choice they make when ranging throughout the day. Can they send a a certain percentage to the crop for digestion later and feed the rest into their proventriculus? If so which mode are they in, intermmitant feeding or meal time feeding?
Why it matters to me is if they can split modes throughout the day and the changes are done for a reason then that suggests to me the chicken would seem to be making a decision on probablity; will there, or won't there, be food available later.

 

[Shadrach]

Two and a half hours today. We got half an hour out on the allotments when the wind picked up and it started to rain. Two new eggs in the nest box.

The hens, I've checked them over and I've watched both Henry and Dig mate with the hens and have seen some bowl the other off the hen behaviour and I can't see anything alarming yet. Dig is quick at mating, he's a much better size and weight for the hens. Dig learns fast.

Got the coop cleaned out, got them and the geese fed and watered and sat with them in the coop extension until they went off to roost.

I felt everyones crops. Fret felt the fullest so I asked her if she thought the probability of food in the morning was small.

Carbon's crop was about half full. I haven't felt Mow's crop enough yet to make a judgement on how well she's eaten.
Both Henry and Dig had reasonably full crops.

 

[Shadrach]

We made 1M views today.

 

[Perris]

We made 1M views today.

 

[Sally PB]

It's worth bearing in mind that good science is rarely about finding definitive answers; ít should be about increasing understanding.

Yes. This.

 

[MaryJanet]

We made 1M views today.

Congrats!