Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[BDutch]

Chickens don't do cruelty; they do chicken. The problem is often people don't want chickens to be chickens, they want them to be something else.

Matter of opinion? Being nasty to others on purpose is cruel imho. And I have seen nasty / cruel behaviour with all kind of animals including humans, dogs, cats and chickens.
Doing things by instinct can be cruel too!

 

[Shadrach]

Matter of opinion?

Of course.
Hmm, cruel behaviour. Yep we do that if that's how one sees it; I can't think of a creature that doesn't.
It's unavoidable. Most creature manage some sort of balance between cruel and kind. It seems to be the way we are and without the ability I doubt we would, or any other creature would, survive.

 

[Shadrach]

Speaking of cruelty...
I was asked if anyone at the allotments had commented on Dig's absence.
I got my first comment today. The person who commented said they thought it was cruel for Dig to have such a short and miserable life. This peson is nice enough but they've read, but not really seen how chickens are kept in general. I don't get cross with people with such views, I try to explain that if one keeps chickens and one lets them carry out their natural behaviour which after all many of those concerend about welfare think the keeper should, then one has to deal with the consequences.

 

[LaurenRitz]

Self-serving behavior, no matter who does it. Cruelty or selfishness? Same deal.

It is natural for every being to put their own needs and the needs of their descendants above everything else. The thing that sets humans aside is the ability to put instinct aside in the service of others. For the most part, animals do not have that ability.

What we see as cruelty is instinct unharnessed in the service of the self. A hen puts herself at the top of the pecking order because it gives her future babies a better chance to survive. A rooster drives away hens that won't mate, leaving more resources for his future chicks. They attack the bleeding hen because instinct says she is both a danger to the group and a good source of protein.

Cruelty is a human value judgment, and while I have also seen animals as well as humans be cruel, in the case of animals I also have to acknowledge that they really don't have the ability to suborn their instincts. They WILL give in to their instincts, every time.

 

[Shadrach]

Still on the cruelty topic. It's quite obvious they want out and keeping them confined I view as an act of cruelty. I asked the person in the post above what they thought of those years they had been coming to the field knowing the terrible conditions the chickens lived in, complaining to others, but not actually doing anything about it. It's funny isn't it how suddenly everyone elses time is more consuming than yours.

The Sweary Boys are the same.

It sort of rained a bit then drizzled a bit on and off all afternoon. They still went out onto the allotments. They eat and then stand by the run gate waiting for me to open it. I keep them in the run while they're eating to try to ensure they all eat enough. If I open the gate and it's quiet out there, they're off like children let out of school.
We got a couple of hours out without getting soaked, just a bit damp.

Mow eating from the green tray. Carbon is usually the one to bully Mow away from the food. Henry lets her eat right next ot him much to Carbons annoyance.

When the drizzle turned to rain. We all sit there glumly staring out at the grey watching the crows pick up the feed that got scattered on the ground outside, not to mention one very persistant rat trying to get into the coop extension to eat.

Henry looked cold and tired and he was first off to roost as usual.

 

[fuzzi]

Still on the cruelty topic. It's quite obvious they want out and keeping them confined I view as an act of cruelty. I asked the person in the post above what they thought of those years they had been coming to the field knowing the terrible conditions the chickens lived in, complaining to others, but not actually doing anything about it. It's funny isn't it how suddenly everyone elses time is more consuming than yours.


View attachment 3809009

The Sweary Boys are the same.View attachment 3809008

It sort of rained a bit then drizzled a bit on and off all afternoon. They still went out onto the allotments. They eat and then stand by the run gate waiting for me to open it. I keep them in the run while they're eating to try to ensure they all eat enough. If I open the gate and it's quiet out there, they're off like children let out of school.
We got a couple of hours out without getting soaked, just a bit damp.

Mow eating from the green tray. Carbon is usually the one to bully Mow away from the food. Henry lets her eat right next ot him much to Carbons annoyance.
View attachment 3809007View attachment 3809006

When the drizzle turned to rain. We all sit there glumly staring out at the grey watching the crows pick up the feed that got scattered on the ground outside, not to mention one very persistant rat trying to get into the coop extension to eat.
View attachment 3809005View attachment 3809004View attachment 3809003

Henry looked cold and tired and he was first off to roost as usual.
View attachment 3809002

Ow, is that Carbon with the bare spot?

 

[notabitail]

Still on the cruelty topic. It's quite obvious they want out and keeping them confined I view as an act of cruelty. I asked the person in the post above what they thought of those years they had been coming to the field knowing the terrible conditions the chickens lived in, complaining to others, but not actually doing anything about it. It's funny isn't it how suddenly everyone elses time is more consuming than yours.


View attachment 3809009

The Sweary Boys are the same.View attachment 3809008

It sort of rained a bit then drizzled a bit on and off all afternoon. They still went out onto the allotments. They eat and then stand by the run gate waiting for me to open it. I keep them in the run while they're eating to try to ensure they all eat enough. If I open the gate and it's quiet out there, they're off like children let out of school.
We got a couple of hours out without getting soaked, just a bit damp.

Mow eating from the green tray. Carbon is usually the one to bully Mow away from the food. Henry lets her eat right next ot him much to Carbons annoyance.
View attachment 3809007View attachment 3809006

When the drizzle turned to rain. We all sit there glumly staring out at the grey watching the crows pick up the feed that got scattered on the ground outside, not to mention one very persistant rat trying to get into the coop extension to eat.
View attachment 3809005View attachment 3809004View attachment 3809003

Henry looked cold and tired and he was first off to roost as usual.
View attachment 3809002

Ouch. Poor Cream Legbar.

 

[kcan2]

When the drizzle turned to rain. We all sit there glumly staring out at the grey watching the crows pick up the feed that got scattered on the ground outside, not to mention one very persistant rat trying to get into the coop extension to eat.

Perhaps the allotment poster's opinions would carry more weight than wind could they witness the obvious misery expressed here by Henry, Carbon, Fret, and Mow in having to share a perch with the perpetrator of said impolitic cruelty

 

[Shadrach]

Ow, is that Carbon with the bare spot?

It is. I can't show the peck hole on Fret's back due to being a hand short. It's not healing up. It's not infected but it's not drying out and scabbing over. I've had similar on my hands, maybe three or four millimetres deep from an open beak that took ages to heal.

 

[MrsNorthie]

It is. I can't show the peck hole on Fret's back due to being a hand short. It's not healing up. It's not infected but it's not drying out and scabbing over. I've had similar on my hands, maybe three or four millimetres deep from an open beak that took ages to heal.

Can you get your hands on Vetericyn Spray? I had one of the girls with a pretty nasty puncture and she healed up very quickly with this: https://www.chewy.com/vetericyn-plus-antimicrobial-poultry/dp/133993 It seemed to help dry it up and allow healing.