Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Mother of Chaos]

A cockerel-raising question for @Shadrach and anyone else who does broody-raised chickening:

I read the guess-the-breed-and-gender thread for fun. There is often wailing and gnashing of teeth when a young chicken starts looking like a roo, accompanied by “it’s always the boys who are so sweet and affectionate!”

How do cockerels behave in purely broody-raised flocks with minimal human interference? Do they get chased off at some point (age) by older hens? Do they seem more comfortable with humans than are pullets? If so, why might that be, in terms of evolutionary pressures?

I’m always curious about how human participation in chickens’ lives affects their behaviors.

 

[Vulpes vulpes]

Because I don't have chickens at the moment, I'm real behind on my tax payments. In the interest of not having the chicken IRS pay a visit, here's some pictures of one of the in-laws' chickens. Unsure of genetics, some form of EE mutt. The curious thing about her is that she has an extra toe on only one foot, not both.

 

[Shadrach]

Warm and sunny. Got up to 25C for a while.
Three and a half hours mostly spent working. Cleaned out the feed bin, dug a tree out of someoens plot which should never have been planted there but was left to grow until forks and spades wouldn't shift it. Ten minutes with my fencers graft and we got it out.
Started weeding my plot. I'm going to have to use some of it having not made enough progress in the extended run to plant crops I plan to harvest.
Sylph is in a nest box.

 

[Molpet]

A cockerel-raising question for @Shadrach and anyone else who does broody-raised chickening:

I read the guess-the-breed-and-gender thread for fun. There is often wailing and gnashing of teeth when a young chicken starts looking like a roo, accompanied by “it’s always the boys who are so sweet and affectionate!”

How do cockerels behave in purely broody-raised flocks with minimal human interference? Do they get chased off at some point (age) by older hens? Do they seem more comfortable with humans than are pullets? If so, why might that be, in terms of evolutionary pressures?

I’m always curious about how human participation in chickens’ lives affects their behaviors.

yes


males are more fearless
dominate rooster will chase the cockerels to the fringe of the flock. There they can send out the first alert of a predator if they are paying attention.
Some hens will drive them off too...
at nightfall they sneak back in the coop.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Another random strawberry plant, this one in my pathetic excuse for a "backyard".
View attachment 4110981

"Mock" or "false" strawberry. Its little berries point upward (unlike wild strawberries, which hang down) and they aren't tasty.

In fact, even the chickens ignored them here until this year. Stilton's Hens, specifically, have decided false strawberries are good eating. They've already picked over this patch:

I've been thinking about how rainfall might affect palatability. There was good rain as these were ripening this year. Drought can evidently increase toxicity of plant matter like elderberry leaves, so it goes to reason that rain might dilute fruit enough to tip something borderline into an acceptable food source.

 

[fuzzi]

"Mock" or "false" strawberry. Its little berries point upward (unlike wild strawberries, which hang down) and they aren't tasty.

In fact, even the chickens ignored them here until this year. Stilton's Hens, specifically, have decided false strawberries are good eating. They've already picked over this patch:

View attachment 4111551

I've been thinking about how rainfall might affect palatability. There was good rain as these were ripening this year. Drought can evidently increase toxicity of plant matter like elderberry leaves, so it goes to reason that rain might dilute fruit enough to tip something borderline into an acceptable food source.

I have those "faux" strawberries all over the yard. Their blossoms are yellow, so they are not a true strawberry. My chickens go gaga (frantic) over them.

 

[no fly zone]

I have those "faux" strawberries all over the yard. Their blossoms are yellow, so they are not a true strawberry. My chickens go gaga (frantic) over them.

The ones in front have yellow flowers. The ones in the pot have white flowers (and much larger leaves).

 

[BDutch]

A cockerel-raising question for @Shadrach and anyone else who does broody-raised chickening:

I read the guess-the-breed-and-gender thread for fun. There is often wailing and gnashing of teeth when a young chicken starts looking like a roo, accompanied by “it’s always the boys who are so sweet and affectionate!”

How do cockerels behave in purely broody-raised flocks with minimal human interference? Do they get chased off at some point (age) by older hens? Do they seem more comfortable with humans than are pullets? If so, why might that be, in terms of evolutionary pressures?

I’m always curious about how human participation in chickens’ lives affects their behaviors.

In general I have female flocks only bc I can’t keep cockerels if they start to crow early in the morning. . I think it depends on the flock dynamics. I had broody raised chicks 7 times and only can tell what I have experienced.

Before the death of a few hens and the moment bossy Kraai came to live with the flock the juveniles were accepted to roost with the flock when mama and chicks were ready for it. The boys and the girls. After a while the cockerel started to crow and when he tries to mate he was accepted by some hens, sometimes. Other hens (sometimes) refused.

After Kraai the juveniles were no longer welcome in the roost area where the hens sleep. They started to sleep in the run until I made a second coop for them. Mingling during the day and mating was not a problem. And the same as described above.

 

[MrsNorthie]

yes


males are more fearless
dominate rooster will chase the cockerels to the fringe of the flock. There they can send out the first alert of a predator if they are paying attention.
Some hens will drive them off too...
at nightfall they sneak back in the coop.

I have actually found that Spud and Squeaky are very accepting of the cockerels and they all work together to make sure there is never a hen off by herself. With the most recent expansion, they are splitting off into groups more, but the boys all rotate through the groups of hens.

Goldie, on the other hand, will not tolerate another male. He and his harem are quite happy in their own space. So I think some of it is just the individuals personality.

 

[no fly zone]

Something murdered a squirrel in the "backyard" and left scattered squirrel chunks. Imagine I'm going to get tasked with cleaning up the crime scene.