Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Molpet]

Good to know, thanks. I've just been using zip-ties through the grommets and the hoop coop frame. No issues so far. I thought about putting up wooden slats but I like the option of rolling up/down the cloth depending on the weather and season.

I use ball bungee . This brand has held up the best. They are just starting to wear out. Others went bad in less than 2 years

https://a.co/d/03j91I4

 

[Sally PB]

You almost have to know a beekeeper personally to get the good stuff.

I get my honey from the beekeeper at the field.

I used to think beekeepers made a lot of money selling honey.

No, they don't. Maybe after they've been doing it for years and have all the equipment and experience, but the operative word in that sentence is "years."

I pay a friend of mine $50 for a gallon of honey. I know his is the real deal because sometimes I get to help him with the bees. I say "get to" because I learn something useful/helpful every time.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Tax time. Marans Miss Plumbus is a beautician. Every day, Hazel and Lorraine stand in front of her for preening. Lately, molting Marans Merle has been extra interested in Plumbus' soothing services.

This candid-camera video was taken through the drying aster and wingstem stalks over a couple mornings. It also shows an adorable tendency this group has to nap chest to chest.

Look closely to see Hazel's feet below Merle's crop for most of the video, patiently waiting her turn.

Next, Speckled Sussex Peck is much more white after her 2nd molt at 20 months. I've read they become more speckly as they age, but has anyone else seen a change this dramatic?

Before & after. The feathers are still growing in, but they're definitely white.

Another after. Look at that chest.

Lastly, last week I attended an immersive mural class at a craft school. We completed a collaborative 16x10' mural with exterior latex paint (not pictured) and played with other media like spraypainting. A classmate caught me tagging the practice wall with a favorite subject

 

[HiEverybirdy]

I use ball bungee . This brand has held up the best. They are just starting to wear out. Others went bad in less than 2 years

View attachment 3984735

https://a.co/d/03j91I4

These are very useful.

 

[Shadrach]

Tax time. Marans Miss Plumbus is a beautician. Every day, Hazel and Lorraine stand in front of her for preening. Lately, molting Marans Merle has been extra interested in Plumbus' soothing services.

This candid-camera video was taken through the drying aster and wingstem stalks over a couple mornings. It also shows an adorable tendency this group has to nap chest to chest.

Look closely to see Hazel's feet below Merle's crop for most of the video, patiently waiting her turn.

Next, Speckled Sussex Peck is much more white after her 2nd molt at 20 months. I've read they become more speckly as they age, but has anyone else seen a change this dramatic?

Before & after. The feathers are still growing in, but they're definitely white.
View attachment 3984792

Another after. Look at that chest.
View attachment 3984791

Lastly, last week I attended an immersive mural class at a craft school. We completed a collaborative 16x10' mural with exterior latex paint (not pictured) and played with other media like spraypainting. A classmate caught me tagging the practice wall with a favorite subject
View attachment 3984795

Great video. Love the other hen's head popping up.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Love the other hen's head popping up.

That and her little feet behind Merle, perfectly still for most of the video Hazel is a trip.

I just went down memory lane and dug up a video from 3 years ago, of Hazel and Plumbus in their salad days, proving Plumbus' dedication to her vocation as beautician.

Skip to :26 to see Hazel make sure Plumb gets the other side.

 

[no fly zone]

That and her little feet behind Merle, perfectly still for most of the video Hazel is a trip.

I just went down memory lane and dug up a video from 3 years ago, of Hazel and Plumbus in their salad days, proving Plumbus' dedication to her vocation as beautician.

Skip to :26 to see Hazel make sure Plumb gets the other side.

 

[kcan2]

These grooming vids are heartwarming! @no fly zone that beard grooming technique looks like it got pretty serious! Pretty sure I've had some dental hygienists with a touch like that white hen's

 

[Shadrach]

10/11.
I saw the sun today. First time in a week.
Transport problems meant I spent just over an hour and a half at the field.

 

[BDutch]

I found Quincy in the tree and got her down before the coops were closed tonight; I hope it doesn't take too long to get this tree-hugging habit nipped in the bud. And Puffin laid a normal large dark egg today.

It took me up to 6 weeks to break a habit like this.
Therefore I like to have a run to lock the chickens in, before sunset.

I have been buying honey at the farmers' market, from local beekeepers and now have several jars in a top kitchen cupboard since honey, real honey, has unlimited shelf life.

If you keep it on the shelf for a long time most types of honey changes from liquid to ‘sugarisch’ bc it crystallises.
Sometimes I get honey from an acquaintance / from a friend who are both beekeepers. I buy specials like clover honey, forest honey or pine honey from the old mill who sells local organic products or a bee house nearby. https://www.bijenhuis.nl/honing

When I opened the coops at sunrise yesterday, found a hen with a twisted neck and bloody face and an eye missing... footprints on her back and a young cockerel standing by her. She was worse this morning. Wouldn't eat or drink, so I dispatched rather than suffer.
Not sure if she fell off the roost and hurt her neck or if she was bullied by hens or the cockerel. Her liver was fatty and fell apart so that could have contributed.
She wasn't laying but one yolk was bigger than the rest; She was probably 4-6 years old.

Sorry this happened. Strange and nasty. I never read a story like this before. I wonder if you can do anything to prevent such a thing happen again in the future. Mayby more roost space? A poop board under the roost?