Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good afternoon one and all!

Tea is ready.

Temperature is in the 60s mostly cloudy and high pollen count.

Have a great day!

 

[MrsNorthie]

My point is that the arithmetic on diluting food with water is unlikely to be straightforward because the water will not fill the crop to quite the same degree or for the same amount of time.

This is a good point, it would be interesting to have more understanding of water absorption, into the cellular tissue, through the digestion process.

Does the chicken drink the same amount whether the feed is hydrated before ingestion or not?

In the hottest part of summer they drink almost 5 gallons of water with the FF. They did not drink after eating.

no, my birds don't drink anything like the sort of figures I read for birds on dry feed. Molpet apparently finds likewise.

With the lightly fermented method, I serve the grain still quite "dry", draining excess liquid before feeding, and like Molpet, the remaining liquid in the bottom, goes to kick-start the next batch.

I have noticed that the chickens tend to drink more in the morning, before eating, then eat their breakfast and they definitely drink more in the hot summer months. During the really rainy spell from a couple of weeks ago, they drank even less as their foraging resources were drenched, but the air, while cool, is now quite dry and they have increased their water intake a little. (Still less than summer.)


I would imagine that the foraging birds also get a lot of water through vegetation and berries, even bugs, allowing them to regulate their digestion through genetic instinct. Where extremely confined birds rely solely on the care and knowledge (or assumptions) of their care takers and those with limited ranging, like mine have a mix of the two.

I have put a lot of faith in the Chickens ability to eat what they need, when they need it, which is why I am planting forage beds with grasses and chicken friendly herbs, that will also attract insects for them to hunt as well, so that when natural foraging is not as rich due to winter, they will still have fresh options. We are going to use poly tunnels like little greenhouses, to help keep vegetation growing year round, and they will be able to walk through and get what they want/need.

 

[Shadrach]

I saw some on this morning poo pick:
View attachment 3744047

I have never seen stones that size in expelled by a chicken.
I clean the coop every day I'm at the allotments and I look at the droppings, I even give some that look suspect a stir around. If I did see stones that size in the droppings I would be concerned because in my experience what very few stones I have seen in the droppings are less than half a millimeter diameter.

Those are very white urates!

 

[Shadrach]

No

Could you explain to me why not?

 

[Perris]

Could you explain to me why not?

Tomorrow; I've just got in and need to sleep now, ok?

 

[Shadrach]

Grey and damp at 9C. Two hours this afternoon.
C must have been having a bad day yesterday.
Top latch not done. Bottom latch not done. Nest box left undone. Gate left open.
Under gate guard no in place. I guess they got something to eat.

Dig has healed up okay.

Mow laid two shelled eggs. Shells seem strong.

Everyone went for a forage.

 

[Shadrach]

Tomorrow; I've just got in and need to sleep now, ok?

I know the feeling. Sleep well.

 

[MaryJanet]

Grey and damp at 9C. Two hours this afternoon.
C must have been having a bad day yesterday.
Top latch not done. Bottom latch not done. Nest box left undone. Gate left open.
Under gate guard no in place. I guess they got something to eat.

Dig has healed up okay.
View attachment 3744390

Mow laid two shelled eggs. Shells seem strong.
View attachment 3744391

Everyone went for a forage.
View attachment 3744388View attachment 3744389

View attachment 3744394View attachment 3744395

I hope C had a lot on their mind, because those are very basic safety measures.

 

[fluffycrow]

Grey and damp at 9C. Two hours this afternoon.
C must have been having a bad day yesterday.
Top latch not done. Bottom latch not done. Nest box left undone. Gate left open.
Under gate guard no in place. I guess they got something to eat.

Dig has healed up okay.
View attachment 3744390

Mow laid two shelled eggs. Shells seem strong.
View attachment 3744391

Everyone went for a forage.
View attachment 3744388View attachment 3744389

View attachment 3744394View attachment 3744395

Fret already gave up brooding? Impressive!

 

[no fly zone]

Soldering!

IN the plumbing portion of my course.