Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

A couple of hours around lunch time and four more later in the afternoon and evening.
Everybody except Carbon who is still picking her feathers and now has a slight limp seems pretty healthy.
Mow decided that it was her turn to peck at the chicks at roost time, naturally chaos ensued.

I think this young pullet is going to turn out to be a rather attractive hen.

This young cockerel was the third to hatch and has overtaken the rest in developement.

This is the one who got left in the nest.

This is the shy/less confident one believe it or not.

 

[MaryJanet]

They're all nice looking youngsters.

 

[MrsNorthie]

I think this young pullet is going to turn out to be a rather attractive hen.

She is a beauty, but I love them all!

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good afternoon one and all!

Tea is ready.

Temperature is in the 80s mostly sunny.

Have a great day!

I would like to know if a hen is able to move an egg from one nest to another that have dividers between each nest?

My chickens lay in all the nests, although at times I find all the eggs are in one nest with a hen setting on all of them.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I h

Ex Batts good afternoon one and all!

Tea is ready.

Temperature is in the 80s mostly sunny.

Have a great day!

I would like to know if a hen is able to move an egg from one nest to another that have dividers between each nest?

My chickens lay in all the nests, although at times I find all the eggs are in one nest with a hen setting on all of them.

I have had a broody collect all the eggs (including the fake eggs) into one nest. I have heard, but have not seen, that if there's a divider they will hold the eggs under their wings to maneuver around it.

 

[RoyalChick]

I h
I have had a broody collect all the eggs (including the fake eggs) into one nest. I have heard, but have not seen, that if there's a divider they will hold the eggs under their wings to maneuver around it.

If I could find it I have a video of my Bernadette taking someone else’s egg up and over a divider. She tucked it under her chin.
But in moving Tassels off the nest so she got a daily feed and bathroom break I nearly lost an egg because she had it tucked under her wing, so I would not be surprised if they do that.

 

[Shadrach]

Ex Batts good afternoon one and all!

Tea is ready.

Temperature is in the 80s mostly sunny.

Have a great day!

I would like to know if a hen is able to move an egg from one nest to another that have dividers between each nest?

My chickens lay in all the nests, although at times I find all the eggs are in one nest with a hen setting on all of them.

Yes they can do that. I've had a hen move an entire clutch of four eggs from one outside nest to another a few metres away. I don't know how she did it.
I've seen them tuck an egg under their chin, the base of the egg supported by their crop. LaurenRitz mentions above tucking an egg under a wing which would seem a more comfortable option. Some hens are very determined.
When one considers the skill involved in just turning an egg in a clutch by a broody hen and that they can take an unwanted egg right out of the nest it isn't far fetched that they can carry their eggs around as well. For some reason I find it rather lovely and I wish I had some pictures of manouvers.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

On the topics of roost-time routines and the habits chickens teach each other: Langshan hens Bebe and Frida have recently combined habits to develop a collaborative evening ritual.

Bebe's been last to the roost ever since she found out a few years ago that crickets come out at dusk. Meanwhile, one of Frida's quirks is she loves water on her feed. So much that, when there's only dry feed, she'll alternate between the feeder and waterer for a few beaks of food, a few beaks of water, food, water, food, water. Like so:

In the past month, Bebe decided she likes Frida's water/food habit, and Frida decided to start staying up late like Bebe, maybe because it's easier to go back and forth to the waterer when the run's less crowded (especially when Beakwipe [me] keeps moving the dish waterers further from the feeders to keep Frida from gunking them up with crumbs ).

They do this every night for 10-15 minutes after everyone else has roosted. By the time they roost, it's pretty dark, and I'm pretty bugbitten from waiting on them, but it's adorable to watch.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

If I could find it I have a video of my Bernadette taking someone else’s egg up and over a divider. She tucked it under her chin.
But in moving Tassels off the nest so she got a daily feed and bathroom break I nearly lost an egg because she had it tucked under her wing, so I would not be surprised if they do that.

I know I'm not the only one who would love to see the video of Bernadette carrying an egg under her chin.

 

[Shadrach]

The chicks all went in on their own tonight a bit after 9.30pm.
I'm rather relieved to be frank. I had some serious doubts that the rescue chick would manage it. I didn't want to take a picture in case I ruined what had been a ver peacefull roosting. The female got on the roost bar next to Henry and the other grey chick got up besider her. The two boys roosted on the other bar Mow roosts on.
They all fret before going to roost looking for options other than the coop. The female chick and grey chick fret most but the grey chick usually takes the plunge before the female. I'm assuming the rescue chick went in last. I didn't see. I just noticed the extension roost bare where they were was empty and when I checked the coop later they were all in.

C has done something about the goose run at last; rather C has got a bunch of volunteers to do it for them. It had got seriously bad in there. The two other coops have gone and with them the rats that lived under them. The plastic pool that just stank and leaked is gone as well. The fence has been repaired and the bulk of the run stripped. It did need doing even if it looks ver bare now. Hopefully, now that's it's in a mangeable state, C will maintain it.

The volunteers also started on the large community plot I've been discussing with C. My objective is to try and return the field to a smallholding and away from the current allotment style. So much land is wasted in pathways, underused plots and the rest of the field, particularly the orchard gets ignored on the not my problem basis.
I think sixteen volunteers came.

While all this was going on the chickens had to stay in the coop run. I did get them out from 6pm to 9.30pm after the people had gone.