Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

Janeka, the 6-yr old Welsumer who is the only bird in the flock who ordinarily declines mealworms, has a huge appetite for them now she is moulting. She is even copying Maria and coming to the backdoor when it's quiet in search of them, though (thankfully) she just waits patiently and quietly till I come along (rather than shouting at the top of her voice, as per Maria, demanding to be let in ). I wonder what's in the mealworms that she really needs right now and that's missing from her regular diet and forage...

 

[kattabelly]

One of my Sussex cockerels has taken to wearing the other as a hat every time I come close, since the trauma of me grabbing them last week to pen them up separately ahead of our upcoming dinner date.

 

[BDutch]

wearing the other as a hat

This is an expression I didn’t know until now.

We have one thats quite different.
Wearing two caps (or hats). Meaning someone who takes a decision (like in a meeting) isn’t objective because he has other interests than doing whats best for the company he (should) represent right now.
Do you have such an expression in English too?

 

[kattabelly]

This is an expression I didn’t know until now.

We have one thats quite different.
Wearing two caps (or hats). Meaning someone who takes a decision (like in a meeting) isn’t objective because he has other interests than doing whats best for the company he (should) represent right now.
Do you have such an expression in English too?

It's not really a common expression but I think Shadrach has described it that way before when it was Henry and Fret.

We talk about wearing two, or multiple, hats in relation to someone performing different roles but I don't think it's so strongly associated with someone being biased or not objective. Or maybe it is, but not so much as a negative thing you'd say about someone else - I think I mostly hear it from people talking about themselves, to explain whose interests they're representing or where their point of view is coming from at that moment. Living in a relatively small island community where everyone does a bit of everything, it's something I hear and use quite a lot.

 

[Perris]

One of my Sussex cockerels has taken to wearing the other as a hat every time I come close, since the trauma of me grabbing them last week to pen them up separately ahead of our upcoming dinner date.

do you have a schedule for harvesting the males?

 

[kattabelly]

do you have a schedule for harvesting the males?

Not really. I separated the two of them at the weekend (so at 15 weeks old, I think) once they started hassling the others, although it was actually pretty two-sided - the Sussex pullets are feisty! Seemed like they were initiating squabbles and chases about as often as the boys, as far as I could tell when I don't really speak chicken. They're hopefully terrorising some manors into the Barred Rock boys who are three weeks younger, now.

The Sussex cockerels felt like they were at that skinny teenage growth spurt phase they seem to go through, so they're penned up together but away from the others and on a higher protein turkey feed in the hope it'll put a bit of meat on their bones. They'll stay there until they've fattened up and/or the hassle of keeping them separately outweighs the hassle of hand-plucking relative to the meat I'll get off them. One has had his name on my sh!tlist for ages but the other was really good up until his teenage d!ckhead phase - and grew and feathered out really fast as a chick, which is something I'd want from future generations - so there's still a chance I'll end up trying him back in with the others in a few weeks, once Dead Boy Walking is dinner and the pullets are laying or about to start.

I'd be more organised about it if I was raising them specifically for meat but it's primarily a flock management thing with the odd roast chicken just being a tasty bonus.

 

[Perris]

LOL Perris has a merry-go-round of broodies.

You prompted me to count them up, and this is the 8th different hen to go broody this year. 3 early ones were given clutches of homegrown or purchased eggs (Fez, Oxwich and Polka); 3 were left to sit but not given any eggs (Rhondda, Aberglasny and Xmoor); Janeka tried 3 times with hidden nests but each one was predated; so Paprika is no. 8. So I think I get more than my fair share of broodies @Mother of Chaos

 

[RoyalChick]

You prompted me to count them up, and this is the 8th different hen to go broody this year. 3 early ones were given clutches of homegrown or purchased eggs (Fez, Oxwich and Polka); 3 were left to sit but not given any eggs (Rhondda, Aberglasny and Xmoor); Janeka tried 3 times with hidden nests but each one was predated; so Paprika is no. 8. So I think I get more than my fair share of broodies @Mother of Chaos

As a % of total flock I think I got my fair share. 60% of my flock broody for most of the last 2 months.
Mostly all in the same nestbox.

 

[Sally PB]

I agree with Perris. If there is a common factor I think age of the hen may be it. Certainly in my experience younger broody hens that didn't hatch recommence egg laying faster than an older hen.

This has been my experience too. I only have one hen who has gone broody, but she does it about 3 times a year.

After the first time, she was laying again after a week or so. The other two times that year, it was about 10 days. Last year it was about two weeks.

After this most recent broodiness, I don't know for certain that she has laid. It's getting late in the season, so she might be done until next year.

 

[Skyeknight]

Janeka, the 6-yr old Welsumer who is the only bird in the flock who ordinarily declines mealworms, has a huge appetite for them now she is moulting. She is even copying Maria and coming to the backdoor when it's quiet in search of them, though (thankfully) she just waits patiently and quietly till I come along (rather than shouting at the top of her voice, as per Maria, demanding to be let in ). I wonder what's in the mealworms that she really needs right now and that's missing from her regular diet and forage...

It is probably the protein. I am in a Facebook group for keeping CX as pets (one of very few good sources for keeping them alive well into adulthood) and there they advise to add a bit protein in their feed when moulting/loss of feathers occurs.

Here in the Netherlands layer feed has about 14% protein, while all flock has around 15%. If the UK is the same then they could use the extra amount when moulting. If you have extra eggs you could also boil and crush those and feed them back to your flock.