Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Skyeknight]

Normally I like to read a thread all the way from the beginning, but that is quite hard to do when its 2784 pages long...

So I thought I'd jump in now since the current subject of creating the right natural environment so your chickens don't decimate all your grass is something I am very interested in.

Currently I am creating a run which already has several fully grown alder trees. Furthermore I am planting an array of native willow species. The ground is mostly covered by English ryegrass and I am planting some chicory carrots to at least get some non-toxic flowers for chickens in there. Ofcourse this means I am missing the most important part of bushes and shrubs in there. I am planning to place a few wooden structures for that purpose. My options are very limited since my run is a part of our sheep pasture that I have fenced off. So if my chickens ever have to move all plants need to be at least sheep friendly too.

 

[Perris]

Tomatoes (just can't get good tomatoes in the UK even those I've grown have just hit the okay mark)

Most of those for sale in UK supermarkets were picked when the first hint of colour appeared and are then ripened in sheds with precision gassing. They look fine, but taste of little, and don't have the nutrients of a tomato that ripened in the field. But they are impossible to transport far, or for long, so don't suit modern supply chains.

They also deteriorate in flavour and nutrient value in a fridge; ideally they should be stored above 10 degrees C to keep their chemical compounds intact.

Tinned tomatoes. (I buy Mutti which I've found to be reliable in taste and sweeter than other brands I've tried)

Are Mutti really worth the cost? They are about twice the price of standard tinned tomatoes I'm familiar with. The good news for all tinned tomatoes (and tomato paste) is that since they are not picked until they have ripened in the field, and are then processed immediately, and the processing makes the lycoprene more bioavailable, they are both more flavourful and more nutritious than fresh tomatoes, surprisingly.

I love growing heirloom tomatoes for their flavors

I've not heard of any of the varieties you mention, but I don't have a greenhouse, so tomato growing options are very limited here.

 

[Perris]

Normally I like to read a thread all the way from the beginning, but that is quite hard to do when its 2784 pages long...

you can do it if you pace yourself There's really very little dross in this thread. That's why we're all here

 

[Perris]

which already has several fully grown alder trees

if your alder is like the one here, it could self seed all over the place, and can withstand most things, so can be kept small by trimming. Half one of our hedges is alder; it makes a decent hedge base. I recently re-laid it even though the uprights were well past 'sapling' stage, and this is a photo of its regeneration as of about 10 days ago

(I mean the green wall closest to the camera. The tall stuff behind is growing on the bank dropping away behind, and was left to provide some shelter this year while the relaid hedge gets established. That stuff at the back will be brought down next year.) So if your alders aren't too chunky, you might be able to make an instant short hedge? Probably too late in the year to do it now though; it's a job for when it's dormant. And it probably wouldn't work if 'fully grown' means very substantial.

This is what the above area looked like, from the right end, before completion, so you can see the sort of size uprights I cut part through in order to lay horizontal to create that green wall, and which appear to have survived it, even though they were too big for laying according to trad wisdom on these things.

Maybe something like that would be possible in your sheep pasture cum chicken run to create a shrub-height and -width patch of cover?

 

[L-plate chicken mum]

if your alder is like the one here, it could self seed all over the place, and can withstand most things, so can be kept small by trimming. Half one of our hedges is alder; it makes a decent hedge base. I recently re-laid it even though the uprights were well past 'sapling' stage, and this is a photo of its regeneration as of about 10 days ago
View attachment 4105219
(I mean the green wall closest to the camera. The tall stuff behind is growing on the bank dropping away behind, and was left to provide some shelter this year while the relaid hedge gets established. That stuff at the back will be brought down next year.) So if your alders aren't too chunky, you might be able to make an instant short hedge? Probably too late in the year to do it now though; it's a job for when it's dormant. And it probably wouldn't work if 'fully grown' means very substantial.

This is what the above area looked like, from the right end, before completion, so you can see the sort of size uprights I cut part through in order to lay horizontal to create that green wall, and which appear to have survived it, even though they were too big for laying according to trad wisdom on these things.
View attachment 4105220
Maybe something like that would be possible in your sheep pasture cum chicken run to create a shrub-height and -width patch of cover?

Years ago I was volunteering with the local countryside officers & one of the local farmers came up with this: https://www.rwtwales.org/sites/defa...ying (Aylesbury Vale Countryside Service).PDF
If you have space & the kit it does work certainly in the short term. However, the council is now a unitary authority (no more aylesbury vale district council) &, due to financial constraints there is no longer a countryside service in Buckinghamshire therefore no way of finding out how it works in the long term.

One of my pet peeves is people not dating documents like this my best guess is 1998/99 maybe early 2000s - it’s a long while ago

 

[Skyeknight]

So if your alders aren't too chunky, you might be able to make an instant short hedge? Probably too late in the year to do it now though; it's a job for when it's dormant. And it probably wouldn't work if 'fully grown' means very substantial.

That won't be possible since the branches are not close to groundlevel at all. I do have a lot of saplings so maybe in the next few years it will be possible. Luckily willow grows relatively fast and how it grows is quite easy to manipulate.

This is what the above area looked like, from the right end, before completion, so you can see the sort of size uprights I cut part through in order to lay horizontal to create that green wall, and which appear to have survived it, even though they were too big for laying according to trad wisdom on these things.

Maybe something like that would be possible in your sheep pasture cum chicken run to create a shrub-height and -width patch of cover?

I don't exactly know what you mean by this. Are you suggesting I lay a few big tree trunks for cover?

I do have a wooden fence on one side that I may be able to work with. As in as long as it keeps being a barrier for both chickens and sheep it is allowed to be as overgrown as can be. Although stuff like brambles is not great since they get stuck onto the sheep wool because of the thorns.

 

[Perris]

I don't exactly know what you mean by this. Are you suggesting I lay a few big tree trunks for cover?

No no; that old trunk has been rotting there slowly for years. I mean the young thinnish tree trunks in the centre of the photo; you cut 1/2 way through such a trunk on the diagonal, near the ground, and bend the top part over till it's horizontal, then fix it in place by whatever method suits. If it's too mature it won't bend, it'll resist until it breaks.

Luckily willow grows relatively fast and how it grows is quite easy to manipulate.

Indeed it does. And by sticking whips in the ground you can create art with them! or garden arches, or other decorative features. I don't think they support as large a food web as alder though.

 

[L-plate chicken mum]

No no; that old trunk has been rotting there slowly for years. I mean the young thinnish tree trunks in the centre of the photo; you cut 1/2 way through such a trunk on the diagonal, near the ground, and bend the top part over till it's horizontal, then fix it in place by whatever method suits. If it's too mature it won't bend, it'll resist until it breaks.

Indeed it does. And by sticking whips in the ground you can create art with them! or garden arches, or other decorative features. I don't think they support as large a food web as alder though.

Oh for the space to play with willow sculptures https://www.motherearthgardener.com/diy/living-willow-sculptures-zm0z17szfis/.
Scrolling through the pictures is interesting, maybe a chicken dome for them to hang out in?

 

[Skyeknight]

No no; that old trunk has been rotting there slowly for years. I mean the young thinnish tree trunks in the centre of the photo; you cut 1/2 way through such a trunk on the diagonal, near the ground, and bend the top part over till it's horizontal, then fix it in place by whatever method suits. If it's too mature it won't bend, it'll resist until it breaks.

Oh okay got it! Sadly out of the full grown alders I have at least half is already rotting away. So should probably work with the willows instead.

Indeed it does. And by sticking whips in the ground you can create art with them! or garden arches, or other decorative features. I don't think they support as large a food web as alder though.

Male willows are famously known here by beekeepers as they produce a lot of pollen and nectar for their bees. And as long as they are native species a big array of other insects should also be able to make use of them.

 

[Shadrach]

Hello Skyenight.
A couple of things. This thread has a tax system. It was introduced to try and keep the thread on topic; that topic being chickens. It works like this.
Off topic posts (anything that isn't about chickens) needs to be accompanied by at least one picture of the chickens the poster keeps. There is some slack but most here abide by the rule and it helps to keep the thread free of one liners and off topic posts.

While I appreciate someone new to the thread will find wading through hundreds of pages it is important that the poster at least reads the first few pages in order to understand the nature of the thread.

You write you keep sheep and chickens in the same area. The bad news is the sheep are likely to destroy anything planted that's even remotely edible.
This is what the sheep field looked like in Catalonia where I cared for the livestock on a smallholding.