Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[HiEverybirdy]

This thread often touches on the topic of taming chickens. I usually feel like a black sheep because our chickens are very, very tame.

While preparing for our first birds, I kept seeing articles that said beginner keepers should handle chicks so they'd be easier to work with as adults. There were "horror" stories about skittish chickens roosting in trees, making health checks impossible, and so on. Heaven forfend!

The same articles advised to start with "docile breeds," another past favorite topic on this thread Anyway, that's why we started with Brahmas, Langshans, and Easter Eggers. The latter prefer not to be picked up but like a lap nap and loooove to be underfoot. My shadow, Miss Raisin:

Articles or not, those first chicks would've been tame. I sat with them for hours and hours, enthralled. Even now, I'm with them so much the squirrels and rabbits around the chicken yard are tame, to a startling degree.

I'm not sorry our birds are hyper domesticated. It's been easier for me to care for them and connect. Our loved ones have expressed interest in keeping chickens after having Brahma Donna or Miss Eula nap on their lap, or handing fruit to Stilton to share with the hens. Those who know our birds have become more mindful of where they source eggs and meat. That's good.

Meanwhile, @Perris recently had birds returned for being skittish, indicating those chickens had more agency to live simply as chickens, not as teaching tools or pets. That's also good.

If anyone around here ever goes broody, I certainly won't be handling those chicks much. They may not be as quickly crate trained or ever learn to roost on the couch. Though I'll probably be present enough that they'll be okay with the occasional crop check.

Wait, we do have one broody...cardinal The chickens pointed her out last week. They were staring at a tree until I had to join to see what the big deal was. The nest may have gone unnoticed otherwise. Telephoto lens for the win.

 

[fuzzi]

This thread often touches on the topic of taming chickens. I usually feel like a black sheep because our chickens are very, very tame.

While preparing for our first birds, I kept seeing articles that said beginner keepers should handle chicks so they'd be easier to work with as adults. There were "horror" stories about skittish chickens roosting in trees, making health checks impossible, and so on. Heaven forfend!

The same articles advised to start with "docile breeds," another past favorite topic on this thread Anyway, that's why we started with Brahmas, Langshans, and Easter Eggers. The latter prefer not to be picked up but like a lap nap and loooove to be underfoot. My shadow, Miss Raisin:

View attachment 3845328

Articles or not, those first chicks would've been tame. I sat with them for hours and hours, enthralled. Even now, I'm with them so much the squirrels and rabbits around the chicken yard are tame, to a startling degree.

View attachment 3845331

I'm not sorry our birds are hyper domesticated. It's been easier for me to care for them and connect. Our loved ones have expressed interest in keeping chickens after having Brahma Donna or Miss Eula nap on their lap, or handing fruit to Stilton to share with the hens. Those who know our birds have become more mindful of where they source eggs and meat. That's good.

Meanwhile, @Perris recently had birds returned for being skittish, indicating those chickens had more agency to live simply as chickens, not as teaching tools or pets. That's also good.

If anyone around here ever goes broody, I certainly won't be handling those chicks much. They may not be as quickly crate trained or ever learn to roost on the couch. Though I'll probably be present enough that they'll be okay with the occasional crop check.

View attachment 3845327

Wait, we do have one broody...cardinal The chickens pointed her out last week. They were staring at a tree until I had to join to see what the big deal was. The nest may have gone unnoticed otherwise. Telephoto lens for the win.

View attachment 3845349
View attachment 3845348
View attachment 3845347

I'm in-between taming chickens as pets and a total hands-off approach. I am the giver of grapes, and my first bunch, the Sussex, will land on my lap if I possibly have treats. The Dominiques are a little skittish but willing to eat from my hands. I wasn't able to spend time with them napping on me as the older Sussex made it difficult.

I'm interested in seeing how the broody-raised chicks respond to me. They're lower in the pecking order, so rarely get to take food from me directly, but their momma did.

Martha's bunch, boys, so auction bound:

Blue band too, though I might change my mind if it continues to look and act more like a pullet than the others, which are openly demonstrating their sex by sparring frequently.

 

[Molpet]

Poults hatched May 1st are fighting already

 

[fluffycrow]

Here, it really depends on the pen.







The free range pen, about the only bird I can get somewhat close to is the brahma×aseel. The others need to have food to approach me enough. Even then, there are a couple that don't dare go near me.







In the mix breed bantam pen, I can go near Ursula amd pick her up if need be. I've had Cruella for over a year, and I've touched her less than 10 times. 9 of those were from all the times she's gone broody. Once was when she got in the free range pen. She will accept food from me, especially when she's raising chicks, but her idea of contact is a nasty peck whenever I try to touch her chicks. She's still my favourite bird. Her offspring have never been touched by any human.







In the serama pen, everyone's friendly, and able to be handled.







In the Aseel and brahma pen, Big Red is my "baby". I know I personally don't love that term for chickens, and know that some people on this thread feel the same way, but that's what he is. He is about to turn two, but every time he sees me, he will walk up to me and make soft coos. At that point, he expects head and wattle scratches. After that's done, he'll be waiting to fly to my arm, which he does the second I let him. He will tolerate other people if I'm around, but he's definitely picked his favourite. His two brahma hens tolerate me. They don't like having any sort of contact with me, but will gladly accept food from my hand

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good afternoon one and all!

Tea is ready.

Temperature is in the 90s sunny high UV.

Have a great day!

 

[BDutch]

from a reputable brand

So were mine.

 

[Shadrach]

This thread often touches on the topic of taming chickens. I usually feel like a black sheep because our chickens are very, very tame.

While preparing for our first birds, I kept seeing articles that said beginner keepers should handle chicks so they'd be easier to work with as adults. There were "horror" stories about skittish chickens roosting in trees, making health checks impossible, and so on. Heaven forfend!

The same articles advised to start with "docile breeds," another past favorite topic on this thread Anyway, that's why we started with Brahmas, Langshans, and Easter Eggers. The latter prefer not to be picked up but like a lap nap and loooove to be underfoot. My shadow, Miss Raisin:

View attachment 3845328

Articles or not, those first chicks would've been tame. I sat with them for hours and hours, enthralled. Even now, I'm with them so much the squirrels and rabbits around the chicken yard are tame, to a startling degree.

View attachment 3845331

I'm not sorry our birds are hyper domesticated. It's been easier for me to care for them and connect. Our loved ones have expressed interest in keeping chickens after having Brahma Donna or Miss Eula nap on their lap, or handing fruit to Stilton to share with the hens. Those who know our birds have become more mindful of where they source eggs and meat. That's good.

Meanwhile, @Perris recently had birds returned for being skittish, indicating those chickens had more agency to live simply as chickens, not as teaching tools or pets. That's also good.

If anyone around here ever goes broody, I certainly won't be handling those chicks much. They may not be as quickly crate trained or ever learn to roost on the couch. Though I'll probably be present enough that they'll be okay with the occasional crop check.

View attachment 3845327

Wait, we do have one broody...cardinal The chickens pointed her out last week. They were staring at a tree until I had to join to see what the big deal was. The nest may have gone unnoticed otherwise. Telephoto lens for the win.

View attachment 3845349
View attachment 3845348
View attachment 3845347

This batch of chicks are different in their behaviour towards me than the last that pair Fret hatched. This could be because Fret is a lot more trusting, to the point of giving me a gentle warning peck, rather than immediately moving off with the chicks or going full battle order. It's more "don't do that you're upsetting the kids" kind of peck.

I don't really want lap chickens but being able to catch and handle them if necessary is a great help. It's finding that balance that I find difficult. They don't all respond to the same way to attempts to befriend them.

When it comes to my job as part of the team, making sure the chicks have sufficient food and water is routine. The bit that never seems to be rountine is negotiating the ramp to the coop. All the full sized coops I've built have been off the ground, so all have had ramps. It's been rare in my experience when doing the make sure the kids get home at night bit, for at least one and often all to give a distress call as soon as I capture one. Then mum barrels out of the coop... Now you've got one hand holding the chick and the other trying to block mums attacks.

This lot, not a peep. Keep my hand low, slide it under one and it steps onto my palm. They wobble a bit during lift, but didn't panic.
Maybe they'll grow up more friendly than Dig and Mow.

 

[Shadrach]

Half hour this morning and three this afternoon. It stayed dry and was sunny at times.

The view this evening sitting in the chair in the allotment run.

 

[MrsNorthie]

We made a decision today, while we were debating the positioning of the gate for the turkey 'trot' and the chicken run expansion. We want to give both the chickens and turkeys the maximum space so instead of expanding the run, we are tearing it down.

We are going to use 8 ft t-posts and chicken wire to fence in about 3 acres and divide it down the middle, chickens on one side, turkeys on the other, with little huts for them to hid under in the event of an aerial attack and this will keep them from getting near the road.

They will still have their coop and be shut in at night and we are going to build a couple of smaller, separate coops to give them options and one can be used as a broody coop if needed. The turkeys will have an open air roost that we can add panels to, if needed in a particularly cold winter.

My only concern is the pond. Has anyone had an issue free-ranging their chickens where they had access to a large-ish body of water? Should I fence off at the edge of the pond to keep the chickens from drowning themselves or, since they don't swim, will they avoid it naturally? They will have watering stations in a multiple locations so they won't need to drink out of the pond.

 

[notabitail]

So were mine.

Oof. I have a small Seagate one that makes a lot of noise and sounds like it's dying. The bigger ones usually last longer.