Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[fuzzi]

I've been watching the tribe dynamics (that's what they are now) carefully over the past few weeks. The removal of Dig had more of an effect than just less noise. Obviously the reality of furthering ones genes hasn't spoilt their appetite for it.
...
So what is Mow up to here? That's an unusual posture and Fret is telling Mow something.
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Oh, MY, what a pose!

Martha is as calm, no, calmer than any others in the flock, but she would launch herself at a hen who may have just looked at the chicks in a manner that Martha didn't appreciate.

 

[BDutch]

Ex Batts good evening one and all!

Tea is ready.

Temperature is in the 80s and partly sunny.

Have a great day!

I was out and about in town getting some errands done.

Here are a couple of pictures while I was feeding them tuna and sardines.

you feed them with a fork. Do you learn your chickens to eat with knife and fork?

I got over a week behind because the noticing failed.

 

[BDutch]

I think I may have had one purr on my lap, cat style. I thought that was the weirdest thing ever.

I suppose my Ini mini purrs when she is very happy. She often does this when we have nice sunny weather and shortly after I open the coop/run to let the chickens free range. She always stops again after about 30 secs - a minute.

 

[BDutch]

My college notified me that I made the National Technical Honor Society.

A belated congrats No fly zone!

 

[BDutch]

It seems to me that a great many people do not have the ability to sit quietly and observe.

You are absolutely right if you refer to me. I can sit with my chickens and do nothing but observe for up to 10 minutes. My mind wanders after a short while and I always see/think of other things I have to do or catch my attention.

 

[BDutch]

Warm, dry with sunny spells.
Fret had seven eggs and you may notice the sums dont add up.
Fret hatched five out of the seven. Somehow an egg got added over the last two days. All the original eggs were marked and one in the nest box wasn't. It could be one of Mow's.
Fret was in the coop extension with three chicks when I got there. In the nest box were two others abandoned. One wasn't fully out of its shell and had a badly deformed beak and an underdeveloped foot on one leg. I uthanized that one.
The chick in the picture wasn't able to stand but was fighting to live. I got a ver small amount of water into it and by smearing wet rooster booster in the beak side gap managed to get a very small amount of food into it.
I left it in the nest while I did the main chores and then tucked it into my base layer above my trouser belt, taking it out from time to time to make it drink and eat a ver small quantity of food. After an hour or some I could hold it in one hand and dig its beak into some Rooster Booster slush and then I could see it open and close its beak as it ingested some of the slush.
I treid a few times to interest Fret in taking the chick on but she either pecked at it, or moved away.
Funny how things turn out. I was pretty naughty. One of the field members had a couple of hens, one of which had recently died. I walked over and started talking to her giving mid baselayer an occasional gentle prod. Of course the chick peeped a bit. Just hearing the peepwas enough to make this persons eyes go misty and when I pulled the chick out and held on my palm in front of this person, the empathic/love sparks flew. I said if she didn't take the chick I would kill it and maternal instincts did the rest. Vegetables forgotton and of she went straight home with the chick.
I am pleased to write that I had a picture sent earlier and the chick is standing, eating and looks to be normal.
I don't as a rule try to raise chicks that the mother abandons and in my current circumstances it's a definite no. Lucky chick. Lucky me and I hope one delighted keeper.
This is the lucky one.
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These are the ones Fret had out of the nest and coop very quickly. The yellow one is the youngest and is struggling a bit to keep up but it should be okay in a day or two.
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Mow sampling the chick feed while Fret grumbles.
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Mow knows better than to push her luck with mum.
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Henry taking a well earned rest believing he's done his bit.
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Mow and Carbon are giving Fret a wide berth at the moment but Henry is allowed to get very close to the chicks and I saw two of them standing underneath him at one point.
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I was sitting watch the chicks with my camera in my hand about to take a picture when Fret suddenly took off in full battle order. A rat had turned up to try and grabe some chicken food as they do in the evening before roost time. Fret got it. I just got my head around the doorway in time to see Fret jumping up and down on the rat as she pecked its head. It did get away but I think it's injured.
Funny thing is Carbon shot out straight after Fret and stood close as a sort of backup I guess; either that, or knowing Carbon, she though Fret had got something edible.
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Interesting to note that while Fret encourages them to eat the chick feed, she is also encouraging them to try the small seeds in the adult mix I make.


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Roost time is usually difficult for the first few days when ramps are involved.
I don't like wearing gloves when handling chickens and particulalry when helping mum to get the chicks into the coop. I usually get a few pecks. This evening they were easy to catch and I had all three in the coop very quickly with Fret hovering at the door. Not a peep from the chicks and no pecks from Fret.
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A belated congrats with all the hatchlings! Nice to see there are different colours.
Fret did a great job!


And of course fantastic the last chick found a new home with a good chance to survive.

 

[Perris]

I see an ad for ex-commercial layers being rehomed at 72 weeks old. That's 1 year and 4-5 months old when they're discarded as waste. It's obscene.

 

[BDutch]

I see an ad for ex-commercial layers being rehomed at 72 weeks old. That's 1 year and 4-5 months old when they're discarded as waste. It's obscene.

I find this commercial egg business disgusting too. Same with commercial factory meat. .

Buying disposed hens that are bred to lay so much that it’s bad for their health is just not my cup of tea. But I do honour those who pay the price and give these poor creatures a good life after the misery they went through.

 

[BDutch]

Not really. Four new chicks of which three will will stay at the field. You've been reading that chicken math article where people cant count.


Nope. If the person who took the chick had said no it would be dead now.
If mums abandon chicks there is a problem. Sometimes the problem isn't apparent until the chick gets older. Sometimes, especially with badly staggered hatches the mum knows the late hatchers are not going to be able to keep up and will probably die anyway.

Last year I had a chick that struggled to hatch too. It was too far behind to get along with the rest because it was weak and wobbly after it hatched.

I took it inside, gave it water with good electrolytes (with honey, acv and a pinch of salt). Kept it warm with my body heat. In the evening I slided the chick under its momma. Next day the chick was stil a little wobbly but fine and could get along with the others.

 

[Molpet]

I see an ad for ex-commercial layers being rehomed at 72 weeks old. That's 1 year and 4-5 months old when they're discarded as waste. It's obscene.

I wonder if any countries still use spent hens for soup or other food? Since the CX the USA has shifted to using CX for soup also.
I intended to use my old hens for soup. Other than severely injured that hasn't happened. I have hens from 2016. They have nice red combs but I haven't seen them lay this year. 60+ hens and 2 DZ eggs a day . Well 5 are broody but still. Last year I was getting 4 dz a day. I appear to have started a retirement home