Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Molpet]

Got some villains down there in NC

https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-ne...mer-searches-for-answers-warns-other-farmers/

Used to shoot russelers

 

[ChaosMom]

The final batch of introductions: meet Glais, Hay, Merioneth and Talgarth
View attachment 4116162
Their novice and long-suffering broody Oxwich was sitting for 5 weeks, because I waited for nearly a week before giving her eggs (the first few days to check she was serious, and then a few more days for desired hatching egg availability); then one week into the incubation, Polka went broody in the nest box next door; then another week in, they swapped boxes, so that 1 week later Polka got a brood of chicks after sitting for only 2 weeks, while Oxwich had to hang on for another week before hers hatched.

I have performed a lot of jiggery-pokery in the coop they share to try to avoid predictable tragedies, sometimes in responsive mode and not always successfully. One egg got knocked out the nest about the time they switched nests, and one fully formed chick was crushed apparently when half out of the shell, but O's surviving four pictured above and Po's five that I introduced last week (https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...rescued-chickens-thread.1502267/post-28576604 ; one of hers died around day 13/14, an unusual time for embryos to pass, but coinciding with the nest swap) seem to be coping with this pseudo-colonial brooding arrangement. It would be really interesting if these two broodies do join forces properly now that they're all out and about in the garden, and the 1 week difference in the chicks' ages gets less significant with each passing day. Oxwich is Polka's daughter or niece, so that might help.

Do things get complicated when both boxes are in use in the Nestera - as in, do they both easily fit? I see that a swap occurred.

The boxes don’t look very big, especially when (one day) a full-grown Buff Orpington lumbers on in.

(pic shamelessly stolen from Reddit)

 

[Perris]

Do things get complicated when both boxes are in use in the Nestera - as in, do they both easily fit?

yes; and yes. So tonight for example one coop has a broody plus 4 and 5 chicks in each nest box.
Sometimes I see two hens squeezed into one nest box, one laying on top of the other
Other hens are less sociable and scream blue murder if anyone even dares enter the coop she's in, never mind the nest box So it's all about the bird's attitude, not the space.

The boxes don’t look very big, especially when (one day) a full-grown Buff Orpington lumbers on in

All my birds are large fowl, but most of them are Mediterranean build rather than chunky bricks. I've never had an Orpington so I'm guessing they are similar to Welsummers build-wise; Janeka the Welsummer here has been broody a few times; she seemed to have no problem, though her tail did get quite ragged. She had 9 chicks in with her on one of those occasions.

 

[MrsNorthie]

In pursuit of better food I'm going to visit this place this morning. There are farmers markets in the area but often one needs a car to get to them. This place is on a bus route with regular buses. Catch the buses right and a three quarter of an hour journey time seems possible.

https://www.flourish-group.co.uk/glenavon-farm

That patisserie may cause problems. "all my fresh veg turned into cream filled pastry right in the bag on my way home." ;-)

 

[MrsNorthie]

Got some villains down there in NC

https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-ne...mer-searches-for-answers-warns-other-farmers/

Someone cut my neighbor's cattle panels the other night. I don't know if they were after their goats or the chickens. :-(

 

[MrsNorthie]

Used to shoot russelers

Still do here.

 

[Shadrach]

Helpers for setting the posts in concrete?

They're not too good with concrete. Fortunately it's just for the gate. I'm having to knock the rocks out with a chisel and point and they don't like that at all.

 

[Shadrach]

I suspect she might enjoy that!

I can't recal ever seeing Fret fly. Mow will and Tull and Sylph get off the ground on a regular basis. Even Henry would get off the ground from time to time. I have a feeling that Fret didn't get to learn about flying while young because she had very rarely been out of the coop run.

 

[Shadrach]

I've heard of ppl with tortoises putting one of those airpod trackers on them. guess they're accurate to within 10 ft or so.

Ten feet wouldn't have helped much when nest hunting. I've been a foot away from a nest and not seen it. I'm not entirely sure how the newer lightweight small size trackers work but I'm told they'll get one to within a foot of it's location.

 

[Shadrach]

he obliged this morning
View attachment 4116770
Have you found a solution for your girls?
And will you have to wait long to get your exam results? does whatever comes next depend on them?

If I were to buy a Nestera coop like yours I would make the legs longer. I wish I had raised the Solway coop another few inches. One thing I've noticed with the Solway is there is quite a lot of thermal expansion and contraction and not everything goes back to how it was. The panels tend not to butt together after a while creating drafts.
I have asked Solway if they would sell the bare outline cut panels so I could build a coop to the same general shape but reorganise a few things. Being able to buy a roof for example greatly increases the options of a covered run and with another end panel for example a secure open sided coop.
Solway didn't seem keen on the idea.