Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[RoyalChick]

those looking to improve their yard forage might find this useful
https://modernfarmer.com/2025/04/mushrooms-improve-soil/

Oooh. I might try this. I am too ignorant and fearful to forage the many mushrooms that spring up around the place, but I love mushrooms, so maybe I should indeed grow some.
Hmmm!

 

[RoyalChick]

I built two pollinator gardens at my church last summer, one on the dry and sun-blasted south side. The soil wasn’t even soil, just dirt, and it was the only time in my life of digging holes here and there that I never came across a mycelium network. Or a single invertebrate, worm or insect. Like planting on Mars or something.

My raised beds started that way because the soil in them was what was excavated for the septic tank. Way below topsoil. Nasty hard stuff. It is amazing how little I have really had to do to transform them. The chickens have been a big help with scratching up the surface and I just top dress with leaves and chicken muck each year. Now I have a really thriving soil that is full of life.

 

[fluffycrow]

I'm revising my view on this, having had quite a bit of experience with it now.

All I'll say at this point it that none of my hens or pullets has had a bare back or head for a couple of years now.

Much like you have said/theorised in the past, it makes sense for your feed to (at the very least) help in that regard.

Three junior hens here have minor feather damage on their backs, while one has quite a lot of feather damage on her back. Feed is 50% layer feed, 50% chick feed with added grains. They get table scraps multiple times a week (meat and fish included), as well as whatever they can find while foraging.

Seems like the feed can’t fully sustain the bodies of juvenile hens in their most productive year by itself, hence the feather breakage. The older hens don’t have any feather damage. Possibly due to their rank, or due to the fact that they are not quite as productive. Both Lucia and Galadriel (who were pullets not too long ago) both had feather damage on their backs last year; both have grown in completely with their first adult molt, and have remained completely covered since then

 

[Mother of Chaos]

My raised beds started that way because the soil in them was what was excavated for the septic tank. Way below topsoil. Nasty hard stuff. It is amazing how little I have really had to do to transform them. The chickens have been a big help with scratching up the surface and I just top dress with leaves and chicken muck each year. Now I have a really thriving soil that is full of life.

Our “soil” was construction fill from a previous fix for drainage problems. Well, they definitely dried things up.

Ha, I would love to turn the chickens loose on the hill. Release the kraken(s)!

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Found a “before” picture of the south slope on the left. In the interim, much had died out, and the only things that did bloom did so in the spring. The camera exaggerates the slope, but not by much.

 

[fluffycrow]

Yesterday eleven out of sixteen birds, the two boys included, from the Tsouloufati group turned one .

Settled on a name for the mixed rooster. Elrond. Following his mother’s theme, I thought an Elven name from Tolkien’s universe would be a good fit

 

[RoyalChick]

Our “soil” was construction fill from a previous fix for drainage problems. Well, they definitely dried things up.

Ha, I would love to turn the chickens loose on the hill. Release the kraken(s)!

I used to take the chickens down to the area where the ‘soil’ was dumped and let them do their thing while I worked on the beds.
They seriously were a big help. Those big strong feet of theirs really can break up big blocks of hard clay. Bad soil seems to make for good dust baths it seems.
Tax:

 

[Perris]

five more fluffy butts have appeared here

 

[RoyalChick]

Yesterday eleven out of sixteen birds, the two boys included, from the Tsouloufati group turned one .View attachment 4109431 Settled on a name for the mixed rooster. Elrond. Following his mother’s theme, I thought an Elven name from Tolkien’s universe would be a good fitView attachment 4109432

Such a looker!

 

[Shadrach]

I found it most useful for expanding my horizons as to what is edible and/ or medicinal and/or attracts pollinators and/or accumulates minerals.

Having sampled some, I understand why most of the novelties I've tried are not on the grocer's shelves And some the chickens eat long before I get there (e.g. primrose flowers). But there's a lot more perennial veg than I realized (the tradition of starting seeds at the beginning of the year and clearing beds at the end, in short, cultivating annuals, is really ingrained in our gardening culture I think), and I find it's a quick and easy reference work for the low down on anything I'm entertaining adding to the garden. Growing well here as perennials and you might entertain for your gaps are e.g. mallows (inc marsh) - and the chickens are very fond of their fruits btw -, angelica, perennial rocket, good king henry, sweet woodruff, ground ivy, lovage, sweet cicely, sorrels, plantains, solomon's seal (yet to try this; need to move fast if I'm not going to miss it, as the shoots have started breaking into flower), day lilies etc.

So far I've got hawthorn, rocket (the chickens have eaten some when I've grown it), primrose that may survive a transplant, wild garlic, rosehip, choisya, fennel and hopefully a branch cutting from the bush they are fond of sheltering under whose name I forgot a second after I got told it. If the branch cutting doesn't work out I've got the option of taking cuttings and rooting them. I'm taking the branch cutting by making a diagonal cut in the branch deep enough to bend the cut open, pasting rooting compound with ash into the cut, and wrapping the lot in some compost in a piece of cotton.
Some people use plastic but I've had more success with a cotton wrap.