Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[MrsNorthie]

I still purchase and offer chick crumble, which the flock will eat from the feeders but prefer eating it on the ground. I supplement their diet with whatever I have on hand, some freezer-burned meat, greens from the yard and garden, bugs I have collected from the gardens, stale breads and crackers (very small amounts), old vegetables, fruit, day-old salad, and cat food.

Martha got a cutworm over the weekend, she inhaled it like spaghetti!
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That is a BIG snack! I am sure she was quite pleased with that! I am actually surprised that she didn't run around to show it off a bit before swallowing though.

I do feed the chicks a wet-ish mash and offer the chick feed during moulting, the only one they will eat is the Blue Seal, starter grower, they typically won't touch it at any other time, but they forage all day long except for the mid-afternoon siesta.

 

[fuzzi]

That is a BIG snack! I am sure she was quite pleased with that! I am actually surprised that she didn't run around to show it off a bit before swallowing though.

I do feed the chicks a wet-ish mash and offer the chick feed during moulting, the only one they will eat is the Blue Seal, starter grower, they typically won't touch it at any other time, but they forage all day long except for the mid-afternoon siesta.

There was no way she was going to risk losing it, she's smarter than that. Martha's one of the matriarchs, but the pullets are shameless, they will snatch something out of an older hen's beak!

 

[MrsNorthie]

There was no way she was going to risk losing it, she's smarter than that. Martha's one of the matriarchs, but the pullets are shameless, they will snatch something out of an older hen's beak!

None of my girls behave very lady like where treats are involved. I always distribute the treats to the boys, but most of the time, they get bumped out of the way and the girls just take what they want. The boys basically just come stand by me and start tid-bitting. LOL I have actually gotten pretty good at blocking the girls to give the treats to the boys, and they are exceptionally wonderful lads. They NEVER eat a treat themselves until the girls all have treats.

 

[fuzzi]

None of my girls behave very lady like where treats are involved. I always distribute the treats to the boys, but most of the time, they get bumped out of the way and the girls just take what they want. The boys basically just come stand by me and start tid-bitting. LOL I have actually gotten pretty good at blocking the girls to give the treats to the boys, and they are exceptionally wonderful lads. They NEVER eat a treat themselves until the girls all have treats.

Mine are like that, too. Zack is the main roo, he tidbits consistently. Silas sometimes tidbits, but he's prone to gobble up whatever I offer, forget about the hens!


I was talking chickens today on X, and showed a photo of my two roos, getting along. I got a semi-lecture about needing 10 hens per rooster .

I decided to not respond.

 

[fuzzi]

Pre-tax!

 

[Shadrach]

How did you match the curve of the Solway coop when you added the extension?

Did you just wrestle the cattle panels around, with or without loud cursing, or did you make a template of some kind?

I foresee something like this in our future, and I like the idea of echoing the existing roof curve. Thanks!

The roof of the coop protrudes over the walls. I put the floor frame together, roughly cut the mesh allowing a bit extra on the length. Fixed one side to the floor frame after pushing the mesh underneath the roof overhang. Cut the other side to fit and fixed that to the floor frame.
I still swore a lot.

 

[Shadrach]

 

[ChaosMom]

The roof of the coop protrudes over the walls. I put the floor frame together, roughly cut the mesh allowing a bit extra on the length. Fixed one side to the floor frame after pushing the mesh underneath the roof overhang. Cut the other side to fit and fixed that to the floor frame.
I still swore a lot.

Thank you!

I’m mulling over an extension to the Nestera this summer (a Nesterannexe? Nesteratrium?) to capture some winter sun. It would be useful to extend it along the Nestera’s main axis, but with a higher roofline.

(Shh, don’t tell Perris)

 

[MrsNorthie]

Mine are like that, too. Zack is the main roo, he tidbits consistently. Silas sometimes tidbits, but he's prone to gobble up whatever I offer, forget about the hens!


I was talking chickens today on X, and showed a photo of my two roos, getting along. I got a semi-lecture about needing 10 hens per rooster .

I decided to not respond.

That is what even most of the hatcheries say too. For people that are new to chickens, that is what they believe and in some cases that may be true. Every where your read, except in this group, they recommend anywhere from 5-12 hens to 1 rooster. Even if they do their due diligence, to learn all they can about chicken care, there is a lot of overly generalized or even bad advice out there.

That is how I ended up with so many . I don't have a 1:10/12 ratio though but, luckily, I do have room to give them ranging room and we are expanding territories again. There are enough boys to have one with each group of girls when they break off to go foraging in different directions and they are all super attentive to the ladies.

Ultimately, as long as someone is willing to care enough to learn and are willing and able to adapt, for the betterment of the chickens lives, it all works out. Backyard/homestead chicken keeping is the best way to raise awareness to how bad corporate run chicken farms are. Once you get to know chickens, you love them and just want to provide them every chance to be happy and healthy (unless the person is just a giant POS, of which there are several.).

 

[Shadrach]

Cold, grey and bleak and we are all sick of it.
One and a half hours today. Everyone went to roost half an hour earlier than they would normally.