Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Mother of Chaos]

I would say that I haven’t seen any of mine become unhealthy. One time Tassels lost about 15% of her body weight.
With hindsight I may have been overly worried about that. She never lost condition if that is the right way to describe it. What I mean is she never looked ill, her feathers were in good condition, and she wasn’t lethargic when not sitting.
And in reading I have done subsequently I have learned that 15% body weight loss may be normal.
I think I just lost my nerve!

Thanks, this is good to know!

Maybe I need to go broody...

 

[RoyalChick]

Thanks, this is good to know!

Maybe I need to go broody...

You and me, both!

 

[Perris]

In non-reproducing small flocks, with just a few nest boxes, broodies can be disruptive to flock life

I can assure you that they can be disruptive in reproducing flocks too! Some of my hens shout long and loud about it when 3 out of 8 boxes are occupied by broodies, especially but not only if they have taken the wannabe layer's favourite box(es). Venka will go right on in and shout in their faces about it. Others just stand outside moaning about it. Loudly.

potential health impacts of extended broody behavior.

It seems a legitimate question to explore.

It is. Personally I suspect the idea that broodiness can be bad for a hen's health stems from the conflation of evidence of hens who are broody with that of hens who retire to nest boxes because they are poorly. Some of whom get very ill and even die; some of whom are tagged as failures as broodies; and some of whom are more or less successful broodies. It's a difficult topic that I've been thinking about tackling for some time. And suggestions from anyone as to methodology gratefully received.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Let us know if you decide to weigh pullets and hens when they start exhibiting broody behavior! Videos would be great!

Seriously, it would be a fascinating experiment, but awfully difficult to set up (accounting for varying seasons, breeds, prior broody behavior, maybe with/without eggs, etc.)

 

[fuzzi]

I'm gonna add my absolutely novice 0.02$ because this is a forum after all lol

My Tilly (Copper Maran, known for broodiness (little did I know))tried broodyness three times. The first time, I let her sit on eggs. I candled them at 7 days and 10 days and they looked weird (to my newbie eyes) so I chucked (viable!!!!) eggs and she broke soon after.

Second time, I just let her sit on nothing for 3 weeks and picked up deposited eggs. She stopped on her own (after 3 weeks)

Third time, same as second time exactly ^^^

Fourth time, I put 8 eggs under her and decided to LEAVE HER ALONE. The only thing I would do, was check for deposited eggs.

Ginger, then Harriet both decided to go broody at around the same time - within a week.

I put 2 under Ginger
I put 3 under Harriet

I checked every hen every day for deposits. I did NOTHING else.
8/8 Tilly's hatched. Immediately great mama. \o/

A couple days later, Ginger's hatched - went 1 day and then, for some weird reason, she pecked the ever loving shit out of one and chucked it out of the nest -- I just *happened* to do a walk by a few minutes after it happened, rescued the chick. She's fine, lost an earlobe (permanently) but otherwise is good. I waited until her other egg hatched and then grabbed it out from under her and stuck it in the brooder with the injured one. Those two chicks are hella cute and friendly.


Harriet was about a week behind Tilly's expected hatch date. But since Tilly was taking out the babies, Harriet felt the urge to be with those babies too... and mother them. Ginger too, wanted to, but was kinda told off by Tilly -- but Tilly is a sweet hen and isn't too mean so eventually, Ginger wormed her way in. 3 hens mothered 8 chicks.

During that last week, Harriet's eggs were just basically abandoned all day in her nest. I thought for SURE they were not gonna hatch.

HAHHAHAH surprise surprise. I candled them one day and they were alive. So, I left them alone and on 'lockdown' put them in my incubator. 3/3 hatched.

It's so freakin hot in NC those eggs didn't need a mama sitting on them all day.

In just ONE go, I learned a ton.

In the 6 weeks since Tilly hatched her babies, I've not done a SINGLE thing other than watch her. She's already done being a mama and is back laying. Harriet is still hanging on. Ginger was done about 2 weeks ago and is back laying. Those chicks are fully integrated with the adult flock, unlike every other younger flock that I have integrated myself.

Chuck, our Rooster, fwiw, never did a thing with the chicks.

But I did notice that all our adolescent Cockerels are super sweet to chicks in general and never, ever, peck at them to get out of the way. I love that about cockerels

So next year if anyone goes broody, I'm gonna let em sit on eggs and not mess with a dingy darn thing -- I'll even let Ginger try it again and see if she won't try and kill one again lol

umm, sorry for that novel. >< edit; tax Harriet two nights ago lolololol

View attachment 4172756

I liked your novel.

 

[Perris]

Seriously, it would be a fascinating experiment, but awfully difficult to set up

I was thinking more of a sort of meta study (trawling the existing posts and threads) rather than just basing it on my own flock.

And I don't handle them unless they're too ill to object, so we'd be off to an exceptionally difficult start with weighing! I don't think weight is a great indicator of health anyway.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Alert, completely random topic:

Yesterday the cat (La Chat Lunatique) carried a captured young bunny to the deck. I thought it was dead, but when she dropped it (she is an incredibly incompetent hunter), it began running around and of course, made it into chicken territory. The cat couldn't follow, and the chickens went crazy chasing (also incredibly incompetent hunters.)

I could see them catching a skink that wandered into the run, but does anyone ever see them running down and killing a rabbit?

(I finally caught the rabbit, which didn't seem too injured and kicked mightily while I held it, and dropped it over the fence into the neighbor's yard.)

 

[Perris]

I liked your novel.

I did too.

 

[Perris]

does anyone ever see them running down and killing a rabbit?

on the handful of occasions I've seen a rabbit in the garden here, the chickens have completely ignored it.

 

[thistlewick]

Alert, completely random topic:

Yesterday the cat (La Chat Lunatique) carried a captured young bunny to the deck. I thought it was dead, but when she dropped it (she is an incredibly incompetent hunter), it began running around and of course, made it into chicken territory. The cat couldn't follow, and the chickens went crazy chasing (also incredibly incompetent hunters.)

I could see them catching a skink that wandered into the run, but does anyone ever see them running down and killing a rabbit?

(I finally caught the rabbit, which didn't seem too injured and kicked mightily while I held it, and dropped it over the fence into the neighbor's yard.)

omg haha

my chickens forage with the bunnies that come out in the evening -- one day I will get a little pic or video of it, it's PRECIOUS