Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[rural mouse]

They are very variable. But I can vouch for this one; it's really good.
https://www.thevegspace.co.uk/courgette-chutney/

Oh, that does sound good. There's a couple of things mentioned in the "why I like this and variations" part that I'm wondering about. Being as Americans call courgette "zucchini" and aubergine "eggplant", what are "marrow" and "freekeh"?

 

[Perris]

Oh, that does sound good. There's a couple of things mentioned in the "why I like this and variations" part that I'm wondering about. Being as Americans call courgette "zucchini" and aubergine "eggplant", what are "marrow" and "freekeh"?

A marrow is a courgette that got away and freekeh is a kind of wheat dish
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freekeh

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/giant-marrow

 

[RoyalChick]

A marrow is a courgette that got away and freekeh is a kind of wheat dish
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freekeh

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/giant-marrow

You beat me to it. I was going to say courgettes become marrows if you blink!
I didn’t look at the recipe yet but I found marrows better than courgette/zucchini for chutney because they have firmer flesh.

 

[rural mouse]

A marrow is a courgette that got away and freekeh is a kind of wheat dish
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freekeh

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/giant-marrow

Ok. Freekeh I'm unlikely to be able to find. I've had the giant zucchini/courgette before. Flavor definitely changes a bit. Good to know at least 1 dish it can be used successfully in, and a way to find more specifically for the runaway garden produce.

 

[RoyalChick]

Ok. Freekeh I'm unlikely to be able to find. I've had the giant zucchini/courgette before. Flavor definitely changes a bit. Good to know at least 1 dish it can be used successfully in, and a way to find more specifically for the runaway garden produce.

Freekeh is available on Amazon in the US.
https://a.co/d/646RZdM

 

[Molpet]

It says:

. No normal person can watch their flock the whole day. Free ranging may even be safer than being locked in, in such a non-electrified fence if there are no proper hiding places and you don’t have an alarm system.
I don’t know much about the typical US predators. But foxes and dogs can easily dig underneath or jump over it.

It might work as an extended run to give the flock extra run space at the end of the day, if you are out and about, or working in the garden.

And what about aerial predators?


I doubt this too. It certainly isn’t a fort Knox you can trust during the night imho.

I have a neighbour with a mini-pig in a pen with electrified netting. When the grass against the netting is high (reaches the first electrified thread) and its raining, it often fails to work properly. Can’t even remember how many times she broke out.

They started with a solar panel and a battery. But it didn’t charge enough in winter. Now it’s on electricity with a cable from the house.

This is all true.
I have coyotes that can jump over 6 ft fence easily. The training with bacon is necessary.
I Have trees. They help with discouraging hawks and eagles. Also makes it difficult to cover.
Definitely lock the poultry up at night.
The biggest problem I have is moving the fence every time I mow. I have 7 fences on 3 sides of the poultry yard. When I got covid I couldn't manage.
I had 2 solar I would swap out in the winter.
I bought most of this used 2017 and it's starting to breakdown. It's supposed to last 5 to 7 years I believe.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

We just recently moved one side of each fenced area to let the chickens have more grass. (Alas, they didn’t go for crabgrass at all.) Moved them back yesterday.

One inch (2.5 cm) avian netting has been spread over the “forest” area. No birds, songbirds, crows, or hawks, have made it through, although it certainly captured a lot of Cabbage White butterflies at first. The main protection is the plant cover, of course.

Now that the wild birds have wiped out the last blackberries (ironically never protected with avian netting), we will be moving the fencing to let the chickens forage in the blackberry bed.

The portable fencing is perfect for a fenced backyard situation. And I can certainly see it in a more open space where people are working, mowing, gardening, etc. Sort of a daytime-use chicken tractor with human proximity.

 

[fuzzi]

My flocks love squash, no matter what you call it. I slice it into large disks, like plates, at least an inch thick so it stays flat on the ground. First they eat the seeds, then go back for the flesh. Eventually all is left is a tough shell, rind. It gets buried in the deep litter, and composts.

Roosting last night. The OEGB chicks are cuddling up to Abigail, who wasn't their broody momma! One chick is under Naomi, THE broody. Esther on the left appears to be laughing, and Silas looks like he wishes he were somewhere else, away from the drama.


The cockerels are headed for auction tomorrow. Things should quiet down then.

 

[fluffycrow]

Thank you Shad and all for helping me with the rooster situation. Big Red is no longer here, which I have needed some time to process.

Along with him, the serama cockerel went to live on an acquaintances farm, where he’ll get to free range. It wouldn’t be a fluffycrow decision if there wasn’t a mistake, ish. Along with Big Red, also went Elrond. To no fault of his own, he was just too big for all but one of the girls here (his mother). That left the pure Tsouloufati rooster, an incredibly respectful, and much smaller rooster. Well, Tuesday morning, he was showing the same symptoms as his father. Couldn’t stand, half the comb purple, very weak. By mid day, he had passed. I’m pretty sure it was heart related, as he had similar symptoms (though not as extreme) once before.

That means that we no longer have roosters here, for the first time in over five years. On the bright side, the hens are feeling much safer. Some have already started growing back feathers. Today I saw one bathing; I have not seen that in months, they refused to sun bathe out of feet of being mated. Not the outcome I had hoped for, but an outcome that has left the hens much more relaxed than before

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Thank you Shad and all for helping me with the rooster situation. Big Red is no longer here, which I have needed some time to process.

Along with him, the serama cockerel went to live on an acquaintances farm, where he’ll get to free range. It wouldn’t be a fluffycrow decision if there wasn’t a mistake, ish. Along with Big Red, also went Elrond. To no fault of his own, he was just too big for all but one of the girls here (his mother). That left the pure Tsouloufati rooster, an incredibly respectful, and much smaller rooster. Well, Tuesday morning, he was showing the same symptoms as his father. Couldn’t stand, half the comb purple, very weak. By mid day, he had passed. I’m pretty sure it was heart related, as he had similar symptoms (though not as extreme) once before.

That means that we no longer have roosters here, for the first time in over five years. On the bright side, the hens are feeling much safer. Some have already started growing back feathers. Today I saw one bathing; I have not seen that in months, they refused to sun bathe out of feet of being mated. Not the outcome I had hoped for, but an outcome that has left the hens much more relaxed than before

Oh, I’m so sorry about Tsouloufati! It’s horrifying how quickly some of them go.