Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

I didn’t mean it in a derogatory way! More of a tongue-in-cheek term that a lot of my fellow Appalachian-Americans use.

If you've been singing in a choir for that long you must be half decent or they would have sacked you.

 

[Shadrach]

One of my hens has salpingitis. It is testament to the lack of any other symptom of a problem that I do not know which one it is. It's been going on for about a fortnight now, and she has passed at least 5 small lumps of caseous lash material during that time, twice from the roost overnight, and 3 together on the lawn this afternoon. For those not familiar with these things, this photo shows today's 3, with one cut open to show the interior
View attachment 4117075

That's very bad news.

 

[Shadrach]

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

I was carefull. I just looked around and didn't buy anything. I'm going back though.
There are similar looking health food shops in Bristol city. It all looks great until one reads the labels.
One of the things I hear from people I know who emigrated here is they can't buy a whole chicken. They want it all feathers, the lot. The Afghan man who runs the International store I buy from often says to me "bring me whole chicken. I pay good money for one not like the shop ones." A man who it seems knows what real chicken tastes like.

 

[Shadrach]

Four hours today. Warmer than yesterday but by the time I left the eldest and her husband after a quick cup of tea and chat it was getting chilly.
I didn't get around to taking pictures; a busy afternoon.

 

[ChaosMom]

If you've been singing in a choir for that long you must be half decent or they would have sacked you.

Haha, multiple choirs and choruses through that time…

One more concert to go (Chamber Chorus in 2 weeks), and then everything goes on break until mid-August, including church choir! This used to make me sad, but now it’s woooonderful. 4 hours rehearsal on Tuesday nights and an hour and a half on Wednesdays, whew.

 

[ChaosMom]

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.

Our Nestera is way off the ground, but only a few inches above its platform.

It does rack pretty easily (shift from side to side at a bit of an angle off 90°; don’t know if I’m using the correct term.) When I take the back off for cleaning or just airing out, the little nubs halfway down often don’t want to align with their slots. So I either swear a lot to help get it aligned again, or say to hell with it and just fix it at the top and bottom.

It’s not even needed for security, since so far, the run itself is predator-proof, courtesy of several quintillion feet of hardware cloth. But the girls don’t like it open at night, and they make loud, sarcastic noises when I go out after dark to close the door and then, oops, put the back back on.

Edit to add: I would KILL for the option to buy just a roof or two. It would really help the looks of a fresh-air expansion to have the same roofline. Oh well.

 

[Vulpes vulpes]

Even with the suboptimal chicken situation at the in-laws' place, interesting social dynamics can still be observed.

This crele guy with the muffs is absolutely beautiful, and the fact that he has 5 hens in his clique is very impressive considering that the sex ratio is almost 50/50.

This smaller blue boy is subordinate in the crele rooster's group (pictured). Not sure if he's a blood relative, but either way his presence is tolerated, even in very close proximity. Look at his little face!!!

Greg (I call him Gregory) is very friendly (read: always looking for treats) so it's easy to get pictures of him. He's a newcomer, acquired in a recent trade for fresh genes. That and his tender young age mean that he's still trying to find his place, but he's gentle and easygoing so I have hope that he can pick up some ladies soon. I've taken a liking to him immediately.

 

[Perris]

It does rack pretty easily (shift from side to side at a bit of an angle off 90°; don’t know if I’m using the correct term.) When I take the back off for cleaning or just airing out, the little nubs halfway down often don’t want to align with their slots. So I either swear a lot to help get it aligned again, or say to hell with it and just fix it at the top and bottom.

this suggests to me that it's not assembled quite right. Or it might be uneven expansion from the insolation you talked about where you are? In any case, I would use your finger to push or pull the nubs into their slots, for structural integrity as well as other reasons. There are lots of posts on BYC about predators getting into enclosures that their owners thought were secure.

 

[Perris]

If I were to buy a Nestera coop like yours I would make the legs longer.

I don't know if it was intended or not, but I've noticed that it suits hens better than roos, so sometimes hens dodging amorous roos use it as an escape route. Hens with chicks also rest under sometimes, especially when it's wet (though weirdly that's barely happened this spring - where's all the rain gone?)

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.

Not an issue with the Nesteras. Another reason for the difference in price perhaps.

 

[BDutch]

One of my hens has salpingitis. It is testament to the lack of any other symptom of a problem that I do not know which one it is. It's been going on for about a fortnight now, and she has passed at least 5 small lumps of caseous lash material during that time, twice from the roost overnight, and 3 together on the lawn this afternoon. For those not familiar with these things, this photo shows today's 3, with one cut open to show the interior
View attachment 4117075

Does salpingitis mean she has an internal infection?