Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[BDutch]

Due to Big Red taking the top position in the group, and aggressively driving away the other two, both of those very mature (in temperament, not age) males have returned to a cockerel-like state, of forcefully grabbing any hen that comes near them. On top of that, Big Red is still very aggressive with his matings, a fact that I have stopped believing could change at 3 years old.

Poor hens. I feel so sorry for them. Please confine this rapist to a prison or dispatch him. I have no experience with roosters but it just sounds awful what he he is doing. I surely wouldn’t want him in my flock.

 

[BDutch]

Caution, random question coming in:

For those of you (in the British Isles maybe) who eat a type of pea called mange-tout (French for “eat it all”), which of these do they look like? Trying to translate an English recipe :

Basically, are they flat or fat? Both are “eat it all”, but their flavor profiles are very different to me.

snow pea in US (flat):
View attachment 4183373

snap pea or sugar snap pea in US (fat):
View attachment 4183375


Edit to add a pretty feeble tax payment:
View attachment 4183379

I have been eating the flat snow pea (peultjes in Dutch) since childhood. My mother grew them in our veggie garden. When I had my own garden I grew them too. They are a not for sale in the supermarket. Some vegetables shops sell them in the season.
I often let them grow are a teeny bit older as in the photo. To eat them I take off the ‘thread’ on the side.

Sugar snaps are a bit different, sweeter, were introduced much later and are probably commercially more interesting. The supermarkets sell these in season and frozen.

Typo

 

[Shadrach]

26/07.
Three hours. Dry but cloudy.

This is what I would like at least some of the extended run to look like.

Something in the ground that's edible.

On their way home.

 

[fuzzi]

I don't remember my paternal grandmother. She passed away when I was 18 months old. However, about a week before she died, she and I were out in her garden. I've been told there were lots of giggles. The proper way to eat peas is picking them in the garden, splitting open the pods, eating the peas and throwing the pods at someone else. I taught my younger siblings this. I can only surmise (my parents were not out with us) that the giggles were from throwing empty pea pods at my grandma.

I wish I'd known my paternal grandfather. He died just after my dad had his mind/heart smitten with my mom. He was a gardener, a career salesman who wanted to be a farmer. During WWII he had an acre under cultivation, a Victory garden. And chickens.

Wonder where I got it from? DNA?

And tax...Rahab moved her bunch from the brooder to a nesting box last night.

 

[fuzzi]

How a cockerel or rooster treats his hens is what decides for me whether he stays or goes. I don't really care about his behaviour towards me, mostly there is way to come to an understanding.
It reads to me that you've kept Big Red because you like him, not because the hens do and that in my view is the wrong way around.
Rips under a hens wing can happen with any rooster and it's why one should file the points off their spurs; not much, just round them off from a pin point to a pin head, yup, that little.

I am going to do that with Silas, as I suspect Tamar's injury (and demise) may have been caused by overzealous mating.

 

[fluffycrow]

How a cockerel or rooster treats his hens is what decides for me whether he stays or goes. I don't really care about his behaviour towards me, mostly there is way to come to an understanding.
It reads to me that you've kept Big Red because you like him, not because the hens do and that in my view is the wrong way around.
Rips under a hens wing can happen with any rooster and it's why one should file the points off their spurs; not much, just round them off from a pin point to a pin head, yup, that little.
I expect a rooster of three years old to behave in an appropriate manner. If they're not sorting themselves out between one year old and eighteen months old I'm concerned.
You might be able to keep him if you have enough room to provide him with a coop away from the others with a couple of the hens that cope with him best. As I have often written, you're looking at an acre per tribe. I know people write everything's been fine with a lot less space and maybe it is for a while. Some people just don't see the problems in time, or at all and end up with dead or badly injured males and unhappy hens.
Eat or rehome Big Red and see how the other two get sorted.

Thank you. You’re right, I’ve given him way more chances than I have any other males in the past that had problems with the hens.

He actually had a spur injury two years ago, and one spur has not grown normally since, so I file that point down for his comfort, and the other point stays rounded on its own.
His massive size seems to be enough to cause problems for the hens. He can’t even properly mount the smallest from the group.

Thank you again. I know what I have to do, as painful as it is for me.

 

[fluffycrow]

I love it! She was very cooperative with me again today when it came to putting the chicks in the coop. Having a broody that trusts you is quite the feeling!

Especially if said hen/pullet doesn’t want anything to do with you on a normal basis. It’s a very special feeling, that I got to experience twice with my favourite hen Cruella. Her broody journey is quite similar to your NavyBeans.

I miss her a lot

 

[Skyeknight]

This is what I would like at least some of the extended run to look like.

I think this looks absolutely beautiful! Love all the the different plant species. Trying to get something similar with all edible plants in my CX run instead of only grass species...