Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

I know many of our hens' vocalizations, too (and of course can tell the rooster crows apart).

Some are especially distinctive. Miss Eula makes a high-pitched, fingernails-on-chalkboard sound that doesn't match her big form. Bebe does a deep, "I'm planning your death" honk when she doesn't get her way.

I talk to the chickens as much as they talk to me, which is to say, a constant babble back and forth. I'm sure they know it's me by my voice but can't point to why.

Easier to prove that the roosters know bird voices, as they'll reply specifically to their hens and ignore calls from other groups.

Even when Andre's hens have flown over the fence and gone foraging on their own, 100' yards away and out of sight, when they bakaw in surprise at the greenhouse chipmunk, Andre immediately yells back from across the field while the other roosters ignore them.

Tax: coloratura soprano Eula and contralto Beebs.

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You sound as barking mad as me. I chat to them all afternoon. I also have a very simple call sign I give when I approach them, just like they do.
Of course they can recognise voices. I often think they're hearing is as important if not more so than their eyesight.
Include the infra bass sensors in their legs and they can pick up quite a range of frequencies. Each voice is different. They may even accents according to breed for all I know.
Both Henry and Fret know what I call them; Carbon I'm not so sure about.
Juveniles sometimes respond to "you hooligans."

 

[notabitail]

You sound as barking mad as me. I chat to them all afternoon. I also have a very simple call sign I give when I approach them, just like they do.
Of course they can recognise voices. I often think they're hearing is as important if not more so than their eyesight.
Include the infra bass sensors in their legs and they can pick up quite a range of frequencies. Each voice is different. They may even accents according to breed for all I know.
Both Henry and Fret know what I call them; Carbon I'm not so sure about.
Juveniles sometimes respond to "you hooligans."

In Albis is the mischief maker here. She responds to calls of "BOXYYYYYYY" (nickname siblings gave her) especially when she sees my head and knows she's not supposed to be in the area she's in. A few of my others do respond to name calling.

 

[SimpleJenn]

My chickens definitely know their names and have unique voices. My favorite is Ash (FatAsh or Asher) who does a "braaaaaawcawcawcawhawhawhawwww" like she's breaking into a fit of laughter.

 

[fluffycrow]

I know many of our hens' vocalizations, too (and of course can tell the rooster crows apart).

Some are especially distinctive. Miss Eula makes a high-pitched, fingernails-on-chalkboard sound that doesn't match her big form. Bebe does a deep, "I'm planning your death" honk when she doesn't get her way.

I talk to the chickens as much as they talk to me, which is to say, a constant babble back and forth. I'm sure they know it's me by my voice but can't point to why.

Easier to prove that the roosters know bird voices, as they'll reply specifically to their hens and ignore calls from other groups.

Even when Andre's hens have flown over the fence and gone foraging on their own, 100' yards away and out of sight, when they bakaw in surprise at the greenhouse chipmunk, Andre immediately yells back from across the field while the other roosters ignore them.

Tax: coloratura soprano Eula and contralto Beebs.

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View attachment 3909370

Glad to read I'm not the only one.

With the roosters, it's much easier; there are only three! The hens are a bit more difficult to tell apart, but I get by.

Kolovos has a "broken" crow. He crows, then it's a millisecond of very muffled sound, and then the crow continues. Big Red's crow doesn't stop in the middle, but I'd does end more abruptly.

I explain this to many different people, but they all look at me like I'm mad . "Both crows sound the same, are you stupid?" Is very common.

Lady Gaga is obviously very easy to tell apart, given he is a tiny serama. When it comes to escort calls or normal vocalisations, Big Red's voice is very deep. Lady Gaga's is very high-pitched. Both boys are big chatters, talking almost all day. Big Red will not raise his voice, however. He always sounds very calm, even when he is in distress. Kolovos tends to be more expressive; he will not vocalise as much as the other two (probably due to how experienced he is, being so vocal while free ranging isn't always ideal) but he will typically raise his voice a lot more when he does vocalise.

When it comes to the hens, some I have not managed to "decode" yet. The pure brahma hens are almost silent, but when they do speak it's a very quiet "Honk".

The brahma mix pullet has inherited attributes from both parents; she will honk, but she is much more vocal and her honks are louder and more expressive. With this whole broody experience this summer I've gotten to know her very well, and apart from the boys, she is the one I can understand the most.

The Tsouloufati hens give me the most trouble. I can somewhat tell two to three apart.

The bantams are slightly easier. Ursula is also very big on talking. Back when she was not broody, she would squawk about every little thing she disliked. I put nesting material in the nests, squawk. I didn't put more food in her already full feeder, squawk. I was late to let the Tsouloufates out so she was burdened with having to watch them for longer, squawk. It soon became a game of me yelling "shut up!" and her responding with an even louder and longer-lasting squawk.

Cruella is a tough one. I've heard her voice once, when she saw a dead mouse in her pen the first few days of having her first brood. Other than that, only small "cluck clucks" when she's broody.

The serama hens are quiet too. I can only tell when Scary Spice is sounding escort or alarm calls, and that's because Lady Gaga will always respond to them; her voice is too quiet to hear otherwise

This probably makes me look a lot crazier, but it's fine. Chicken people weren't ever sane to begin with

 

[MrsNorthie]

You sound as barking mad as me. I chat to them all afternoon.

I chat to them all, while doing the chores or sitting with them, entire conversations, including lecturing the boys on being a bit more gentlemanly towards their ladies.

A few of my others do respond to name calling.

It is mostly my boys that respond to their names, and my sweet Gracie, she is still my most social hen, happiest on my lap, but they are all attentive to my chattering and coo or cluck back.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

I don't own any jeans though I have sweatpants and leggings that I don in the winter if it gets cold. I wear the same jean skirts every day, t-shirt, crew socks and sneakers. Sometimes I wear a pair of plastic clogs if it's especially wet. No big changes in my wardrobe from mid spring to late autumn.

I wear shorts, light weight shirt, and sandles all year.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

Tea is ready.

Temperature is in the 80s mostly cloudy 91% chance of rain.

Have a great day!

 

[fluffycrow]

Something very unexpected (at least to me) happened while the chickens were doing the last bit of foraging before roosting.

Kolovos tried to mate one of the pullets. Not last year's pullets, but the pullets that are just over three months old. I never expected such behaviour from him.

The hens and mature pullets have been giving him a hard time lately, not letting him mate too much with them. Before he tried mating with the pullet, he got rejected by 3 of his girls. Still, this seems quite extreme. He's not a hormonal cockerel, not even a one or two year old rooster.

This didn't seem like a correction or boundary setting either. He's not big on corrections in general, and when he does correct, it is very mild. This looked just like how he approach his females to mate.

He came behind her while she was crouched trying to nibble something, he put a foot on her back, grabbed her with his beak and tried to hop on. The pullet freaked out, and started screaming and trying to get away. After a few seconds, he let go. Then we went and tried to mate with one of his girls again.

I don't know what to make of this

 

[Shadrach]

Three and a half hours today. Dry, 18C with light SW wind.
Fret improved further over the last 24 hours. I had a look at her feet again and another coating of Betadine/Vaseline mix is going on tomorrow. There are some raised scales, not quite sure why, and the tops of her feet have some cracks that are healing up but the mix will help them along.
She's much more confident about keeping up with the others now. I must say, Henry has been pretty good in that he keeps an eye on her. At one point today he lost her and went looking.
The adults are becoming more tolerant of the juveniles. I may even get a month of minimum drama with the juveniles before one of the males tries to mate. The shit will hit the fan at that point. I'm going to be less tardy than last time about removing a cockerel if they stress the hens out.

I'm not going to let Fret sit gain this year and possibly not again. The first time she sat she developed a limp, and had a limp although mild, after the last sit. There's a weakness in one leg which at some point she aggravated it seems. She's gone from barely being able to walk, to out foraging and able to run for treats and dodge round the others to ensure I don't miss her out.
Hopefully Mow will go broody again. Not ideal being junior hen but I'm not left with much choice. I'm just very pleased to see Fret recovering. I've been worried about her. It is foolish to believe any creature will recover from some illnesses and injuries. Leg problems are usually difficult. In Catalonia a broken leg was a death sentence. Gloria the vet wouldn't treat chickens that are free range for broken legs and believed it kinder to kill the chicken.

It's interesting to consider that when the chicks were old enough to take a guess at their sex I thought I had three males and one female and moan that Fret wasn't hitting the statistical average. I was wrong, she did and lovely looking hens at that.
It was only through circumstance that the abandoned male got to live. I was ready to kill him that evening. Now I've got two juvenile males heading towards wanting to mate rather than one; double the problem in fact. Whats more the rescued male is not the full ticket; nothing that would prevent him thriving in his current keeping circumstances, but obviously different from the others.
That's twice now I've done the save the chick route and it's come back to bite me. It's not like I didn't know better.

Anyway, here he is.

I would, if I was able, split Mow and the white male juvenile from the others. I think they would make a good couple.

I cleared a bit more from the compost heap. Might even get the new bins made this month. The chickens are delighted to have access again, Mow and Fret in particular. It seems there is lots to eat in there.

Henry and Fret eating a courgette I cut open for them.

Gave Fret a half dose of Ibrufene just before roosting this time hoping it might improve her sleep.

 

[fuzzi]

You sound as barking mad as me. I chat to them all afternoon. I also have a very simple call sign I give when I approach them, just like they do.
Of course they can recognise voices. I often think they're hearing is as important if not more so than their eyesight.
Include the infra bass sensors in their legs and they can pick up quite a range of frequencies. Each voice is different. They may even accents according to breed for all I know.
Both Henry and Fret know what I call them; Carbon I'm not so sure about.
Juveniles sometimes respond to "you hooligans."

We're all quite mad here...

As I approach the run I say "Hellloo chicks!" in a singsong, ending in a high pitch. If I have food, as I unlock the door I say "OOOH, chicks!" The emphasis is always on the word "chicks". I talk to them by name and they vocalize back at me. The Sussex chatter, but the Dominiques make a nasal honking sound.