Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[BlindLemonChicken]

I found a hawk caught between my run and the neighbors’ fence once. I think he tried to fly into the gap…? It was odd. No chickens were harmed but his ego took a beating

 

[MrsNorthie]

This is really bad news
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/12/research-reveals-24000-megafarms-across-europe

It is so disgusting! These horrendous mega corporate farms are exactly why we are trying to become completely self-sufficient. We won't buy meat from the grocery store, knowing that the animals lived their entire lives in deplorable conditions is just too depressing.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Someone tried eating my mustard egg. I don't think they liked it...
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Yessss! 1-0 for the good guys!

 

[Skyeknight]

It is so disgusting! These horrendous mega corporate farms are exactly why we are trying to become completely self-sufficient. We won't buy meat from the grocery store, knowing that the animals lived their entire lives in deplorable conditions is just too depressing.

Yeah, here in the Netherlands welfare is becoming more important. Although pigs are more forgotten on that end. With chickens in the early 2010s a campaign was started by an animal rights organization to get rid of the "plofkip" which means something along the lines of exploding chicken. This was highly effective and all supermarkets now sell chicken meat with way better living standards that grow slower. These are Hubbards and from the same company that is behind the genetics of the freedom ranger. We still do have Ross 308 mostly for international stuff and other types of businesses like restaurants. I own a few individuals of both of these and the behavioural and physical difference is pretty big. One of the wordt thing about living in the Netherlands is that the welfare of animals in other countries is basically always worse.

Btw is processing weight for American farms/companies with CX around 4 kg? Cause here in the Netherlands its almost 3 kg, meaning less legs problems.

 

[BDutch]

Always an adventure!

Do you have any guesses as to why the magpie didn't just fly out? Did the hens swarm it so quickly? Or is this a covered area of the run, and it was trapped?

I have strong netting for and against birds of pray on top of the main run. Sparrows and other small birds fly in and out through the 4 cm mazes.
The magpie must have come in this way while standing on the net and diving through. To fly out again is more difficult. I saw it trying and not succeeding.

We have 1" plastic aviary netting over the shady portion of the "yard-range," and so far it's working to keep them in and other birds out. I regularly have to go rescue butterflies and bumbles who get trapped and confused, though.

The bird netting they sell here is very thin and flimsy. Many years ago I used it over fruit bushes and strawberries. Birds got tangled in it and died. Poor creatures.
It was impossible to tension the net properly to ensure that animals do not get entangled in it.
I hated this so much, I stopped using it and share my fruit with the birds now.

I suppose the fruit netting is not strong enough to keep predators, like foxes, polecats and birds of prey, out of the run.

Edit to add: Oh, and the cat gets trapped in there too.

I put 3 cm maze cat netting with a thin metal core on top of the extra run we build later. ™ Trixie. It’s strong, flexible and easy to tighten with the rope that comes with it (for more or less permanent constructions).

 

[Perris]

Cadle, Edfu, Ipo and Wig are 10 weeks old today

Ipo, as usual, continued foraging while the others RnD'd

Cadle has been roosting out a week now and I still don't know where she goes

 

[BDutch]

This was highly effective and all supermarkets now sell chicken meat with way better living standards that grow slower.

This only applies for unprocessed food.
Anything that has meat, cheese or eggs in the products doesn’t follow the (minimal) Dutch standard's of wellbeing (unless its labelled otherwise).

But it’s true that people in the Netherlands are probably more aware of animal abuse in factory farming bc we have organised action groups and even a political party that are committed to animal rights. Supermarkets were ‘forced’ with campaigns to offer better products.

Unfortunately there are still many mischievous wrongs going on behind closed doors of factory farming, and the food industry as a whole.

 

[Perris]

And Glais, Hay, Merioneth and Talgarth are 6 weeks old today, and again I couldn't get all 4 in the same shot

I might have found new homes for some of these; time will tell. Meanwhile Rhondda has decided the flock needs to grow further Now she and Xmoor, who's still broody though I'm sure she knows she's on fake eggs (and is easily bullied off them by more or less any other hen wanting to lay where she is), are occupying both nest boxes in one of the coops.

Daily egg laying has dropped from approaching a dozen to nearer half a dozen With a bit of luck the first broodies will get laying again before the regulars slow down and the oldies stop to moult, and if any of the pullets start laying before winter, we might even have eggs years round, like last year, which would be nice.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

And Glais, Hay, Merioneth and Talgarth are 6 weeks old today, and again I couldn't get all 4 in the same shot
View attachment 4147325
View attachment 4147326
I might have found new homes for some of these; time will tell. Meanwhile Rhondda has decided the flock needs to grow further Now she and Xmoor, who's still broody though I'm sure she knows she's on fake eggs (and is easily bullied off them by more or less any other hen wanting to lay where she is), are occupying both nest boxes in one of the coops.

Daily egg laying has dropped from approaching a dozen to nearer half a dozen With a bit of luck the first broodies will get laying again before the regulars slow down and the oldies stop to moult, and if any of the pullets start laying before winter, we might even have eggs years round, like last year, which would be nice.

Your 10-week-olds should be laying in another 10-12 weeks, shouldn't they? Our EE started at 19 weeks, and at least one of the other two started just before 21 weeks. I think we have two from the Barred Rock and one from the Buff, because one is a bit pinker than the other two, but it's still confusing. Whoever is laying the non-blue eggs, they're doing it first thing in the morning (8:30-9:30 ish), so unless I give up a big chunk of the morning to see who vanishes into the coop, I remain baffled.

After chickening for 3 months, beginning with 7 1/2 week old pullets, we're somewhat stunned to actually be getting eggs!

 

[Perris]

Your 10-week-olds should be laying in another 10-12 weeks, shouldn't they? Our EE started at 19 weeks, and at least one of the other two started just before 21 weeks.

Not 'should' but 'could' be; I've had to wait 11 months in the worst case (for a Norfolk Grey; she was a good layer once she got going).

I actually prefer it if they don't start laying very young. The birds that have had no glitches - straight into laying proper shelled eggs, rather than soft-shelled or other defects at the start - have typically hatched in summer, and don't start laying till Christmas or the following spring, pushing into a wait of 8 months or more for the first egg. The best of them then carry on the whole year (continuing through the winter), and personally I'd rather have eggs in winter than asap.

Fayoumis have a reputation for maturing quickly, and they were an early April hatch, so it'll be interesting to see how Edfu and Ipo fare. I'm pretty sure they're both pullets. I am hoping they'll start before the autumnal equinox, which some old manuals consider a bit of a threshold for winter laying.

we're somewhat stunned to actually be getting eggs!

I hope that feeling never wears off