Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68406398

grim isn't it.

And those poor birds aren't sufficiently bad to be rejected at the slaughterhouses and sent to animal feed rather than human, so you can imagine how bad birds have to be to be condemned. After all, the mortality rates just count those at the last stop on the damaged and diseased train.

 

[Perris]

Onions, garlic, potatoes, chard are on the list so far. I need to look through the seeds I've collected. I hope to get the herb patch which is on the other side of the fruit bushes sorted out this year.

are you a fan of homity pie?

 

[Shadrach]

are you a fan of homity pie?

I don't think I've ever eaten it.

 

[Shadrach]

This picture illustrates the size difference between Dig and Henry. I doubt Dig will get much bigger.
I've got two picture sources now, camera and phone. I have to take some pictures with the phone so I can send them to people who have requested updates on the chickens who use Whats Crap as their main means of communication.

A decent shot of Carbon and Fret.

 

[Perris]

I don't think I've ever eaten it.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/homity-pie
the traditional recipe uses onions rather than the leeks in this particular version, and usually includes garlic too. Basically it's a cheese, onion, garlic and potato pie. Simple and delicious.
edited to add, and you're growing everything but the cheese!

 

[fuzzi]

This picture illustrates the size difference between Dig and Henry. I doubt Dig will get much bigger.
I've got two picture sources now, camera and phone. I have to take some pictures with the phone so I can send them to people who have requested updates on the chickens who use Whats Crap as their main means of communication.
View attachment 3760029
A decent shot of Carbon and Fret.
View attachment 3760030

What's Crap, hahaha! Love it.

 

[SimpleJenn]

They look so lively! Mow is especially cute.
My dad and I are starting to talk about what we want to grow in our shared garden. My kid picked out some bunching onion seeds (toddlers are quite random, haha!) So we'll be growing those in a big pot so she can see them on the back porch.
And one of my silkies is already broody. I don't even think she's a year old, but I guess that's just how they are.

 

[L-plate chicken mum]

Ok, lets see how I go with this
Don’t do what’s crap, fatbook or twitface so the v short video is in the gallery:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/img_3713-mov.7962402

I’ve noticed that the chickens have different tastes at different times of year. Currently jerusalem artichoke tubers and hellebore anthers seem to be favourite along with freshly cut sawdust! Been pruning apple, bay, hazel & dogwood with the Silky saw which makes for quite fine sawdust & is safer around chooks than a chainsaw (and a lot quieter). Guess they are making the most of what’s available.
They also eat the chopped hemp and other dry plant material throughout the year.

Minnie caught in the act eating anthers

Up until they stripped it bare they were snacking enthusiastically on the night-flowering catchfly (silene) leaves. In the summer they would go out of their way to eat the Begonia sutherlandii leaves but ignored other Begonias. Any seeds are on the menu whenever they are ripe & available.
An odd, new behaviour is Mrs Fluffy Drawers aka Millie the Pekin hen grazing gently on the back of my hand with the occasional exploratory harder peck. Normally she keeps well out of reach

 

[Perris]

Ok, lets see how I go with this
Don’t do what’s crap, fatbook or twitface so the v short video is in the gallery:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/img_3713-mov.7962402

I’ve noticed that the chickens have different tastes at different times of year. Currently jerusalem artichoke tubers and hellebore anthers seem to be favourite along with freshly cut sawdust! Been pruning apple, bay, hazel & dogwood with the Silky saw which makes for quite fine sawdust & is safer around chooks than a chainsaw (and a lot quieter). Guess they are making the most of what’s available.
They also eat the chopped hemp and other dry plant material throughout the year.View attachment 3760270
Minnie caught in the act eating anthers

Up until they stripped it bare they were snacking enthusiastically on the night-flowering catchfly (silene) leaves. In the summer they would go out of their way to eat the Begonia sutherlandii leaves but ignored other Begonias. Any seeds are on the menu whenever they are ripe & available.
An odd, new behaviour is Mrs Fluffy Drawers aka Millie the Pekin hen grazing gently on the back of my hand with the occasional exploratory harder peck. Normally she keeps well out of reach

Video works fine .

Yes don't their tastes change through the year!

I haven't looked at nutrients in sawdust yet, but it's good fibre.
Eating anthers is a great observation; and as I've recently discovered, pollen can be very nutritious.
"These analyses show that although pollen generally is a good food material comparable on a fresh basis with lean meat for its energy and protein content, significant differences exist between the different components of these pollens which affect their nutritional worth. Furthermore, a comparison with green herbage and dormant seeds reveals that pollens are similar to the latter but store their energy as sugar rather than starch of lipid. Pollens are also potentially better sources of minerals than honey."
Minerals, Carbohydrates and Amino Acids of
Pollens from some Woody and Herbaceous Plants
A. R. McLellan, Ann. Bot. 41, 1225-1232, 1977.

 

[MrsNorthie]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68406398

I would like to say that I can't believe people could be so cruel to animals, but unfortunately there are a lot of humans that only care about themselves. :-(