Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Mother of Chaos]

I really can't talk, I have chickens roosting (by choice!) out on a plastic garden chair or on scrap wood inside an old propcorn barrel some nights and I still need to finish bodging something together for the two more plus possibly some older retirees arriving tomorrow

Good luck with all that!

 

[notabitail]

Leg bands are switched out. Dinah and Julia only fussed a little, but Phoebe was screaming as if she were being tortured!

Needing comfort after the ordeal!!!
View attachment 4215099
View attachment 4215100

It looks like she grew some jet engines from those wings.

 

[BDutch]

I'm always telling people they need a spare coop so I'm only taking my own advice.

For the Ini mini/Amrock family, an extra coop worked wonders when the old (breeding) prefab coop for small bantams became too small.

For years, the chickens in the main coop (attached to the original coop) bullied any young newcomers who tried to sleep with them. Purchasing an extra coop (a modified childrens playhouse) was a truly wise investment to prevent tensions.

Now they all sleep where they prefer. Sometimes they like a change for whatever reason. Last week Kraai decided to move into the playhouse coop.

 

[Perris]

Gwynedd, Llandeilo, Oxwich, Rhondda and Tintern are 2 today

 

[Perris]

In other news, Killay has lost his tail, and perhaps not coincidentally Hensol appears to be the (I assume temporary) dom at the moment. Which is a surprise, because Hensol is actually the youngest of the mature males here.

Since few have multiple roos perhaps I should explain the dynamics. Most of the flock is moulting, but Hensol's not. I guess that's why he feels sufficiently spunky to stand up to K despite age and size (H is a bit smaller than his dad K, even when puffed up for a standoff). Fforest (the normal No.2) always hangs back at first sitting waiting for K to finish before he moves in to eat, and that continues whether he's moulting or not. Next in seniority are G and T, who hatched together 2 years ago today, as mentioned in prior post.

Last week Gwynedd was giving Killay the runaround, standing his ground instead of giving way, and they were flaring at each other at meal times. But Gwynedd is usually more interested in sex than breakfast, so he was chasing hens who were milling around the outside and not already stuck into breakfast, instead of indulging in the bluff and bluster of roo display, and he wasn't competing with Hensol or anyone else at breakfast. Tintern meanwhile has no tail and is getting out of all other adult males' way, is focused on eating, and moving to the next available food bowl as required.

Nefyn, who's a tad older than Hensol and is moulting, gives way to anyone senior to him, but won't tolerate the cockerels eating with him (unlike more senior roos who will, usually). So the pattern there is similar to hens' pecking order, in that the one most conscious of their position, and unpleasant to upcoming members, is the one at the bottom of the adult ranks who does not want to be pushed further down by new arrivals.

And the cockerels, as I think I've mentioned already, are mostly keeping their heads down in the food bowls, and eat alongside easy going roos and hens or move off to another bowl if and when a demonstrative one turns up.

Anyway, I do think the presence or absence of tail feathers means more to roos than I hitherto realized. I shall continue watching as K's new tail grows.

And in case it isn't obvious from what I've written, none of these encounters could reasonably be described as 'fighting'. Occasionally the flaring is accompanied by some jumping and kicking, but no-one wants to risk injury (I think they all witnessed it with Erddig) so one or both back down before it gets serious, and no blood has been drawn. And absolutely none of it threatens me; they run round me like a referee who's in the way during a football match

 

[BDutch]

Congrats Perris!
Nice read about your roosters. Amazing how they get along.

 

[Vulpes vulpes]

Not sure if this been posted here (it's a 13 year old study) but it finds that 18% protein is a marked improvement over 16% in regard to serum health markers in molting layers. It's contradictory to North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Tests that repeatedly find that molting hens don't need as much protein as active layers, which is the thought process that myself and multiple people here appear to follow. A 1991 study found that 13% and 16% were both better than 10%, but otherwise mostly identical. One core difference, though, is that the North Carolina tests and the 1991 study use post-molt laying performance as a metric, while the 2012 study measures chemical stressors in the bloodstream. Granted, many people feed an 18-20% protein diet already, so an increase in protein would still probably be unnecessary in those cases. The 2012 study also found that probiotics were helpful to molting birds, but this study was conducted with caged hens, which aren't exposed to the same ambient microbial diversity as free-ranged birds

 

[Perris]

Amazing how they get along

Yes it is isn't it. It suggests to me that our preconceptions - how we expect them to behave - are not well founded.

I imagine that most here come to BYC as novices with questions and worries - I certainly did - and our initial ideas about chickens are then based on the answers we find here. Now most posts about roosters on BYC leave me cold; they don't fit with my experience much, if at all. But it's very clear that the keeping conditions make a huge difference.

 

[thistlewick]

Yes it is isn't it. It suggests to me that our preconceptions - how we expect them to behave - are not well founded.

I imagine that most here come to BYC as novices with questions and worries - I certainly did - and our initial ideas about chickens are then based on the answers we find here. Now most posts about roosters on BYC leave me cold; they don't fit with my experience much, if at all. But it's very clear that the keeping conditions make a huge difference.

I second this,

I have SO many boys - but I free range and all the chickens have access to 24 acres -- they use about 6 of that in total, and really, probably more about 3 in direct/tight usage but 6 for roaming.

No fights so far.

Just got rid of 8 boys, have 5 for sure boys left, and 4 possible babies that are looking very much like cockerels but I am not 100% yet. They all get along. Even the 8 I removed got along.

I don't know much, but I just don't see them fighting ever ever ever and that's against what most people would say is "supposed" to happen.

 

[BDutch]

Not sure if this been posted here (it's a 13 year old study) but it finds that 18% protein is a marked improvement over 16% in regard to serum health markers in molting layers. It's contradictory to North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Tests that repeatedly find that molting hens don't need as much protein as active layers, which is the thought process that myself and multiple people here appear to follow. A 1991 study found that 13% and 16% were both better than 10%, but otherwise mostly identical. One core difference, though, is that the North Carolina tests and the 1991 study use post-molt laying performance as a metric, while the 2012 study measures chemical stressors in the bloodstream. Granted, many people feed an 18-20% protein diet already, so an increase in protein would still probably be unnecessary in those cases. The 2012 study also found that probiotics were helpful to molting birds, but this study was conducted with caged hens, which aren't exposed to the same ambient microbial diversity as free-ranged birds

I know the researches for farmers often have economics as a main goal. And hens that moult around 20 months old are considered to be spent hens.

In several countries in Europe they start a new research with an attempt to breed laying hybrids who lay longer and start to moult later. Up to around 24 months . Economically doable so they get killed a few months later
They conducted a pilot previously with promising results.

Interesting. But I wonder, is this really better?

About the project , translated with google. :

Spoiler: About the omelette project

Participate in the Interreg project to extend the lifespan of your laying hens

Laying hen farmers who want to extend the lifespan of their flocks and improve their performance can participate as a pilot farm in the European project Interreg NWE Omelette. This cross-border project brings together Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and France, with the goal of promoting longer and healthier lives for laying hens through proactive management.
Participating poultry farmers can compare their own management practices with those of their European colleagues.
Participating poultry farmers can compare their own management practices with those of their European colleagues. Photo: Poultry Farming Pilot Farm
By: Landbouwleven
Published on: 12/08/2025 09:33
:

Since November 2023, Poultry Farming Pilot Farm has been working with 10 partners from 5 countries on the longevity of laying hens, focusing on animal health and welfare. The research focuses on innovations that can be applied in practice, from lighting and barn enrichment to digital monitoring of hens.

Stimulating sustainable egg production

The Interreg NWE project Omelette aims to make local egg production in Northwest Europe more sustainable by extending the lifespan of hens. To achieve this ambitious goal by the end of the project in 2028, it is important to collect sufficient results from laying hen farmers in Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Pehestat and Poultry Farming Pilot Farm are committed to finding sufficient pilot farms in Belgium and the Netherlands. With this project, the project partners aim to advance the future of egg production, with concrete action plans for the participating farms and a widely shared knowledge base for the sector.

A wealth of information for participating poultry farmers

The benefits for poultry farmers of registering as a pilot farm are numerous. First, they can compare their own management practices with those of their colleagues in other European countries. In addition, they receive personalized support from the researchers and project staff involved in the Interreg project. This support is based on performance, health, and animal welfare indicators. Participating poultry farmers will learn more about their overall production figures and the intestinal health of their laying hens. The research also includes external parameters, such as comb color and the condition of the plumage and breastbone.

Become a pilot farm?

In an initial meeting, the current practices and results of the interested poultry farmer are discussed. This results in a customized action plan, in collaboration with technical partners. Participants can count on continuous support throughout the entire lifespan of their flock. Those who participate will receive useful tools to encourage a longer productive lifespan of their laying hens. Belgian and Dutch laying hen farmers are eligible for pilot farm status if they meet several conditions:

- Keep hens on an organically certified farm (code 0), in free-range conditions (code 1), in aviary systems (code 2), or enriched cages (code 3);

- Start a new flock between September 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026;

- Agree to share production data with Omelette partners (such as Pehestat and Proefbedrijf Pluimveehouderij);

- Allow regular follow-up visits to your barn;

- Want to extend the productive lifespan of laying hen flocks;

- Be open to evaluating current practices;

- Record production data daily. At a minimum, report on the number of eggs per category, water and feed consumption, and premature mortality.