Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

congratulations to you all!
Are they tsouloufati?

 

[fluffycrow]

congratulations to you all!
Are they tsouloufati?

Thank you!

No, they're not. This was kind of an impromptu hatch, one that would not have happened if Galadriel's hatch had been successful. She went broody on two eggs laid by her sister(s) and one possibly of her own, I said "why not" and let her hatch.

This was pretty much as hands off as possible. I only candled once, and that was when the rest of the girls were still laying in her nest, to avoid a staggered hatch. Apart from the very short candling on day 5 or 6, I haven't intervened at all; so far my most successful broody hatches seem to be the ones I let the hens figure out for themselves.

Apparently I wasn't as diligent as I would have liked, and Scary Spice seems to have sneaked in an egg the last day she was in the serama pen. I don't know if that egg is viable or not, but I'll have to out it under Ursula

 

[ManueB]

Most of our boys have a long way to go before becoming Henries.

Henry himself is pretty amazing, but the way Shad treats him and goes by supporting him has also played a role in the excellence of Henry, is my guess. Major, Cillin (I hope I spelled that right), Treacle, etc would not have been great males in their own right as well

Perris has had similar success with her males.

Both have a "laisser-faire" approach to how they treat their chickens, offering mostly supportive care. I am sure that this treatment plays some role in how their males turn out such good group bosses.

I don't know about others, but I constantly struggle to find the balance between helping too much, and not helping enough.

I also question myself a lot on whether or not to intervene / interfere.
Sometimes I decide to let things be, and it doesn't turn out well, so I regret it ...and sometimes I feel I'm just making things even worse by interfering .
There is a wide range of possibilities between being completely off hand and treating the chickens like beloved pets. Both Perris and RC have reminded me that it's usually wise to at least wait a while before intervening ; and that real emergencies where a few hours will make a life saving difference are not that common.

As for roosters, I'm not sure how much human intervention is determinant versus personality and even more the relationships between the chickens. I also find Shadrach's approach wise and it seems to have helped most of the roosters he encountered to find a balance. It didn't stop Dig from becoming dinner, and part of that balance comes from culling when he believes it to be necessary.

Congrats with your lovely hens (im a bit behind because I had no WiFi part of our vacation, and I lost updates of this threads a couple of times). 1 year is a milestone for a chicken!



Not dumb… ridiculous.

Temps are just great for you over here in France today. Anjou - 35C.
For me too hot to undertake anything but swimming , drink lots of water and enjoy a book/chat in my hammock.
View attachment 3915936

Hey, I'm sorry your holidays are right in the middle of the heat wave. I'm sure it's Macron's fault . Hope you can still enjoy some of the local wine. They are usually slightly lighter in alcohol than wine vintages from further south.

Busy day yesterday. It was Hafod's and Whitford's 2nd birthday, and hatch day for Idris & Rhondda's clutches.

Bit of back story required: Rhondda went broody in the nest box next to Idris about 2 weeks ago, and since this is a big improvement on her secret nest in the hedge, I didn't want to break or otherwise discourage her this time. So I shared Idris' clutch between them, leaving Idris with her own 3 eggs, and giving Rhondda her own egg plus Maria's in the box next door.

All eggs hatched on schedule, all chicks seem 100%, but one that was cheeping loudly yesterday was dead in the nest this morning; I've no idea what the problem was. Carefully examined it for clues, but found no deformities, looks perfect, no blood or other sign of being pecked anywhere, no ectoparasites, no breaks. It had absorbed and apparently consumed its yolk (no bulge in that area). It seems to have had Amadeo’s colouring – grey and lemon down and yellow skin, so I guess that was one of Idris' 3, though it was in Rhondda's nest. Shame it didn’t make it.

The other four are a little black chick - that must be Maria's; a dark brown chipmunk; and two regular chipmunks. The two broodies seem to be getting on fine, side by side on the coop floor, feeding whichever chick responds to them, and sheltering them likewise. This is my first experience of co-brooding, and it seems to be going well so far. It also satisfies two broodies' instincts, with relatively few chicks Photos to follow.

How cute they are ! Congratulations to both Mammas!
Sorry for the light chick. I was also hoping to see one that looked like Amadeo.
Is there such a thing as cradle death syndrome for birds ?

@fluffycrow you are near the fires right ? I hope you are not too seriously impacted ?

 

[fluffycrow]

I also question myself a lot on whether or not to intervene / interfere.
Sometimes I decide to let things be, and it doesn't turn out well, so I regret it ...and sometimes I feel I'm just making things even worse by interfering .
There is a wide range of possibilities between being completely off hand and treating the chickens like beloved pets. Both Perris and RC have reminded me that it's usually wise to at least wait a while before intervening ; and that real emergencies where a few hours will make a life saving difference are not that common.

As for roosters, I'm not sure how much human intervention is determinant versus personality and even more the relationships between the chickens. I also find Shadrach's approach wise and it seems to have helped most of the roosters he encountered to find a balance. It didn't stop Dig from becoming dinner, and part of that balance comes from culling when he believes it to be necessary.

Hey, I'm sorry your holidays are right in the middle of the heat wave. I'm sure it's Macron's fault . Hope you can still enjoy some of the local wine. They are usually slightly lighter in alcohol than wine vintages from further south.

How cute they are ! Congratulations to both Mammas!
Sorry for the light chick. I was also hoping to see one that looked like Amadeo.
Is there such a thing as cradle death syndrome for birds ?

@fluffycrow you are near the fires right ? I hope you are not too seriously impacted ?

Very wise words. Almost every time I've intervened because I thought it was an emergency, I've looked back and realised that I could've done nothing and things would have ended up the same, or worse

Yes, I am near the wildfires. These past few days we've been on high alert. Thankfully we're OK, but it is close. A very large part of Attica is burned. Every summer it's the same crap. They're a bit better about taking care of them, but it's still not enough

 

[Molpet]

Yes, I am near the wildfires. These past few days we've been on high alert. Thankfully we're OK, but it is close. A very large part of Attica is burned. Every summer it's the same crap. They're a bit better about taking care of them, but it's still not enough

I seen this on the news and was wondering too .
Glad your ok and prayers it stays away.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

Tea is ready.

Temperature is in the 80s sunny.

Have a great day!

 

[fluffycrow]

I seen this on the news and was wondering too .
Glad your ok and prayers it stays away.

Thank you. The chickens are what I worry most about. Not easy to grab 30 or so free ranging and not birds, most of which are not human friendly, when you're trying to save your life.



Thankfully this particular wildfire seems to be somewhat contained now...on the third day

 

[fluffycrow]

Things with Kolovos are better. Only one minor run-in yesterday, and no run-ins whatsoever today.

I had forgotten something that Kolovos values quite a bit; giving food to him and him only. Every day I supplement the group with meat, either from scraps, or from canned dog food. The hens and juveniles go crazy for it. Instead of giving this high value treat to Kolovos first, I just dispersed it around the coop. Makes sense that he'd be pissed about it. Today I offered him the bites, and he even took one from my hand. The rest I threw right in front of him. Seems like our relationship is somewhat on the mend.

That said, Galadriel cut her toe pad somewhere, and I had to grab her to clean and treat the wound with some betadine last thing before roost time. I hope he won't be too mad about that tomorrow.

His mating attempts are still as off-character, though. Three days ago he tried to mate with another pullet. Today I saw him jump down from a roost and violently grab the back of one of his hens, while she screamed and ran. Don't know what's up with that, stress is starting to seem all the more probable, given he changed his roosting spot once again to make room for the juveniles.

The overgrown spurs are definitely playing a part in this, but maybe not as big as I thought

 

[Shadrach]

love it!

One of mine (Frida) prefers to imitate a high wire walker and tiptoes her way along implausibly slender branches till she can reach them

It seems an odd evolutionary handicap in the chickens that I've known dont get grab branch, or tread on a plant in beak and then stand on it. If they can drag it down they are heavy enough to stop it going back up. A lot of birds can do it.

 

[Shadrach]

here we are: Hensol (black chick) just visible behind the others, and the two broodies sitting quietly side by side
View attachment 3916568

They look very Legbarish.