Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

I'm interested in the idea of letting broodies sit in the autumn, since that's when the dampwood termites here have their nuptial flights. Apparently in the wild, red junglefowl will time their reproduction to line up with termite flights, so it might be a cool thing to try. I've never had a hen brood in the fall, so I'm curious if anyone here has experiences with this they'd like to share.

It's worked for me. I'm on my 4th September brood since 2019 (this year's were 3 wks old 2 days ago), and they've gone like any other in spring or summer. If a hen goes broody, I trust her that it's a good time to do it, and try to accommodate her with a few eggs.

 

[Vulpes vulpes]

It's worked for me. I'm on my 4th September brood since 2019 (this year's were 3 wks old 2 days ago), and they've gone like any other in spring or summer. If a hen goes broody, I trust her that it's a good time to do it, and try to accommodate her with a few eggs.

That sounds like a good way of going about it. I've heard that more wild type chickens like games are more likely go broody both in spring and fall

 

[gtaus]

Maybe ask @gtaus for advice?
He has cheap solutions for many things.
Like using free pellets for almost everything.

Thanks for the shout out. Well, I guess I fit the description that if I can solve a problem with free pallets, that is what I will try.

I've been thinking again. Yeah I know it's dangerous.
I built the frame the large Solway coop sits on out of wood and OSB board.
The board is already suffering from the elements and rat chewing.

Marine ply would help and the coops I built in Catalonia with marine ply fared better in all respects compared to ordinary ply. But, have you seen the price of proper marine ply these days!

This summer I had to replace some large sections of my coop floor. The OSB, under a linoleum sheet, had rotted out and actually broken through in a few spaces. It was soft and spongy in other spaces. My OSB lasted about 5 years, so I'm not complaining. But I think marine plywood would have lasted much longer. Like you, at the time, I was not willing to pay the high price for marine plywood for my chickens which I did not expect to have more than a couple of years.

I suspect my OSB flooring rotted out from the bottom up. Someone mentioned that if I simply painted both sides of the OSB before I put it down as floorboard, it would have lasted much longer. I think that is somewhat true, however, even my exterior OSB which is painted is starting to rot out after 5 years.

In any case, my solution for new floorboards this summer was to cut up a bunch of pallet wood planks and lay them on top of the old floor. My new pallet wood floor is much stronger than the previous OSB floorboard. I use dry deep bedding in my coop, so all the pallet wood flooring will be covered. That means I did not worry about some planks being thicker or thinner than other boards. In my case, I just cut them all to 32 inches long and tacked them down.

I did not bother to buy any linoleum this time. Since my pallet wood floor is free, I'll just replace any boards that eventually rot out. I clean out my coop bedding twice a year, so if I notice a bad board, I'll just pry it out and replace it with another. Since everything is cut to a uniform 32 inches, I'll just have to match up a board with the same width or rip it to the correct width. Either way, not much of a problem.

I built my chicken coop a few years before I got into using free pallet wood for my projects. My OSB lasted about as long as I expected, but it was not the best choice for a long-term project. Having said that, I truly thought I would have chickens for only a couple of years. But here I am at 5+ years with that coop and still enjoying a backyard flock.

Here is a picture of the first half of my chicken coop floor being replaced with pallet wood planks...

You can see I just laid the planks right on top of the old OSB flooring. I laid the planks in the direction that I sweep out the coop, in this picture, it would be from top to bottom. Since the planks are not all uniform in thickness, I thought sweeping out the coop litter would be easier if I had the boards laid out in the top to bottom orientation.

It's not a perfectly level floor, but since I will have 8-12 inches of dry deep bedding litter on the floor by the end of the winter, the difference in board thickness will never be noticed. The pallet wood floor on top of the old OSB is much stronger than the OSB floor was by itself.

Marine grade plywood starts at about $120.00 per sheet here and goes up from there. It would have cost me $360.00, or more, to redo my chicken coop floor with marine plywood. The pallet wood was free, and it's easy to replace any pallet boards that eventually rot.

I don't know about you, but $360.00 in my chicken budget will buy a lot of feed for a number of years. I go through about $10.00 of feed per month. I'm OK with a free pallet wood floor to save money.

 

[Perris]

That sounds like a good way of going about it. I've heard that more wild type chickens like games are more likely go broody both in spring and fall

I don't have games, though all mine live relatively wild. The current Sept broody is a Penedesenca (also in 2023). The previous one was a Norfolk Grey (2019, 2020).

 

[Vulpes vulpes]

I don't have games, though all mine live relatively wild. The current Sept broody is a Penedesenca (also in 2023). The previous one was a Norfolk Grey (2019, 2020).

Lucky! All the penedesenca stock I've seen in the US are "never/rarely broody." Often they hardly even look like a Mediterranean breed. I suspect the ones here have been crossed with production birds. I'm becoming increasingly jealous of the array of rare European breeds you guys have available to you around here you have to pray someone imported some and pray again that they're breeding them responsibly. There's usually a dance and a burnt offering involved (has to be a full moon).

Often one downsizes a flock in fall to have fewer mouths to feed through the winter. How are the logistics of going into winter with several hungry new birds?

 

[BDutch]

It would be nice to have at least one function working properly.

I am 55 this year, but surgery on my eyes, is terrifies me.

Maybe nice to know?
: Only 2% have complications (where I live), and most complications within the 2% are with people who have multiple eye problems. It’s very rare people have long lasting problems after a normal cataract operation.

ENC

this kind of abbreviations really need an explanation or whatever planation.

 

[BDutch]

That sounds like a good way of going about it. I've heard that more wild type chickens like games are more likely go broody both in spring and fall

It depends a lot on where you live. The climate (warm, not hot, not too cold) and what food is available for the chicks are very important.
Since we supply the water and feed they need, it’s merely the weather that’s important. …. if the other conditions like safety and housing is taken care of.

 

[Perris]

the array of rare European breeds you guys have available to you

but you have American breeds like New Hampshires, Dominiques and Buckeyes that we don't see often or at all here.

Often one downsizes a flock in fall to have fewer mouths to feed through the winter. How are the logistics of going into winter with several hungry new birds?

As the flock has grown every year since I've had them, all I can say is that I cover my costs, no matter how many extra mouths - and even with lots of roos.

 

[BDutch]

. I'm becoming increasingly jealous of the array of rare European breeds you guys have available to you around here you have to pray someone imported some and pray again that they're breeding them responsibly.

Where do you get this information from about Europeans? Its probably true we have more heritage breeds that fit the standards. And these breeds certainly haven’t been mixed with production hybrids for those who want to participate in contests. Many hobbyists who breed with chickens only have 1 or 2 breeds they work with, bc they need to keep them separated and need many coops /runs anyway.

There's usually a dance and a burnt offering involved (has to be a full moon).

Not all European's are witches .
Sadly enough the Spanish Inquisition made them extinct.

Often one downsizes a flock in fall to have fewer mouths to feed through the winter. How are the logistics of going into winter with several hungry new birds?

In England and a large part of western Europe we have no winters with lots of snow and many below zero days (< 0 °C ). The days are short though and there are not many sunshine hours. The weather is often wet and miserable.
But there is no need for them to stay in the coop.
More about the Dutch climate where many chickens heritage breeds have its origin: https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/netherlands

 

[Shadrach]

How high off the ground does the Solway sit?

About 60cm.