Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[HiEverybirdy]

While considering crops and hanging out with the chickens, a couple other topics popped into my head. Probably worth what you paid for them

1. Effect of feeding protocol on broodiness. We do free-feeding. Birds have access to multiple feed stations all day long. Is this in any way related to none of them EVER going broody?

2. Effect of exercise on digestion. Does the foraging movement (scratch, scratch, peck peck) help move food through the system? The Brahma and Marans hens barely scratch the ground - it's more like they pat at it while waiting for the rooster to dig up something good - but they still move their feet. One of the Langshans scratches while she's at the feeder, like a reflex.

Tax: Some good scratching (if you hear barking in the background, it's the neighbor's latest rescue puppies, wrangled from other, dog-hoarding neighbors).

 

[HiEverybirdy]

I heard Carbon shouting and turned to see Dig on top of her. Henry took two steps and pecked him pretty hard. Lots of blood. Comb and wattle wounds bleed profusely and Dig looked like he had beeen murdered in seconds partly because he kept shaking his head to get the blood out of his eye.
He was realy good. He didn't help, but he didn't fuss when I caught him. Q quick look for a tear. A bit of a mop up with a damp tissue. A smear of antiseptic cream and he has sorted. Put him back on the floor and off he went. As long as he or other don't pick the scab off with looked dryish when I left that should be it.

Do you have separate quarters lined up for Dig? I know you said you were going to put him on the plate if he caused problems, but if he causes problems while you aren't there, it could be fatal to him or Henry.

 

[BDutch]

Do you have separate quarters lined up for Dig? I know you said you were going to put him on the plate if he caused problems, but if he causes problems while you aren't there, it could be fatal to him or Henry.

If it was my flock and setup I would probably try to give away Dig (or Henry) to someone with a flock without a rooster. Rather find a new home for one of the boys instead of waiting for a catastrophe to happen. Or seeing wounds on the girls.

But we all choose what fits best to our personalities. I hate fighting and abuse. I would feel responsible and guilty if something bad happened.

Shad has quite a different way of doing things and a very different personality. I’m curious too what he thinks/is going to do.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Shad has quite a different way of doing things and a very different personality. I’m curious too what he thinks/is going to do.

Agreed and ditto! Curious to hear the strategy. I have no idea how I'd handle this situation; remote chicken keeping is a different kind of challenge.

 

[Molpet]

I would keep Henry, because he is such a good boy. And I tend to bond with the older birds....
But I hatch for freezer boys, it's the girls I have trouble whacking. With covid I have not been selling girls, or intentionally hatching. Freezer is almost empty of chicken, have lots of turkey running around.

 

[fluffycrow]

I would keep Henry, because he is such a good boy. And I tend to bond with the older birds....
But I hatch for freezer boys, it's the girls I have trouble whacking. With covid I have not been selling girls, or intentionally hatching. Freezer is almost empty of chicken, have lots of turkey running around.

With Cruella's latest batch, all the males will be sent off, either to get eaten, or to be good group leaders. With the females, I don't know what I should do. It's crossed my mind to do a 24/7 free range flock, since I know that the girls will brood (provided that i give them viable eggs), and survive very well, but I don't want to limit ranging for the Tsouloufates

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

Tea is ready.

Temperature is in the 60s with high pollen count.

Have a great day!

 

[Molpet]

With Cruella's latest batch, all the males will be sent off, either to get eaten, or to be good group leaders. With the females, I don't know what I should do. It's crossed my mind to do a 24/7 free range flock, since I know that the girls will brood (provided that i hive them viable eggs), and survive very well, but I don't want to limit ranging for the Tsouloufates

I used to sell the pullets that do not fit what I am looking for. Since meat is the main thing, I would sell the lighter and smaller.

 

[fluffycrow]

I used to sell the pullets that do not fit what I am looking for. Since meat is the main thing, I would sell the lighter and smaller.

Selling would be nice, but I don't know if there's a market for tiny serama bantam mixes. I'll be keeping a couple of the pullets (because they're Cruella daughters, of course I'd keep some) but I'll have to give away or eat the rest. Selling them in pairs might be more fruitful

 

[Shadrach]

To make a pleasant change for everyone I'm not saying much at all. What I've done is to report what some studies have found. It was the crop size thing that got me going because I know a bit about crop size limitations when it comes to feeding. I read at least three times the number of studies around the topics in my research. What I didn't know and this is the part I'm really interested in was that according to the studies a chicken can divert food to the crop or the proventriculus.

1. Are you saying it's voluntary on the chicken's part whether they send food to the crop or not, e.g., do you think Fret consciously decided to fill her crop because she was thinking about feed availability this morning, or were complex internal signals telling reflexes to unconsciously manuever food to the crop?

This is what's interesting. The studies say that it is the amount of food held in a chickens crop that makes it eat. Full crop = no more room so don't eat. Empty crop = eat. Seems reasonable.
Some of the studies state that what determines where the chicken sends the food is largely determined by how it is fed. Food constantly available, chicken sends food directly to the proventriculus and bypasses the crop. No need to store if there is no shortage of food.
Seems reasonable as well.
If a chicken is fed on a meal time basis (a quantity of feed given until eaten or removed after a period of time) then food is directed to the crop. We can see this when chickens try to fill their crop before roosting. They know there is not going to be food available during the time they roost. This can be anything between 14 hours and 6 hours roughly.
So, we have the two extremes but many of our chickens don't get fed at either extreme and nothing I've read deals with this and nothing I've read explains the exact mechanism by which a chicken diverts food from place to another.
So, I can't answer your question. If it's a conscious choice then the chickens takes one more step up the smarts ladder and it's a big step.

2. How did you measure crops? Was it during autopsy? ("I’ve measured a number of crops and the range I’ve found is roughly from 40 grams to 60 grams when full.")

It can't really be done during a necropsy. Firstly one would need a dead chicken with a crop full to capacity. Lots of changes happen to the body shortly after death.
With a set of calipers to start with. Later I filled a balloon with a quantity of feed (dry crumble) and felt a crop and then the balloon; adding or subtracting until the balloon and the crop felt the same. It's not exact but it's surprisngly close.

3. What do you mean by "treatment" of feed? ("Given the efficiency of a chickens digestive system feed treatment before consumption is quite unnecessary")

The addition of water primarily although I believe some commercial feeds have additives that make the chicken eat more.