Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[HiEverybirdy]

Ditto

Definitely nowhere near as bad as moulting is making Henny feel!

Currently a rumpless scuffball and not her usual wild child persona…..
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Our wild child is having the worst, most rapid molt we've ever had here. Poor T-Pecks! It's distressing.

She's even more naked now than when these photos were taken. Her attitude and color have stayed good, though she's tiring easily.

Fortunately, days have been warm and sunny. She's eating very little commercial feed but is sufficiently stoked about sardines, mealworms, and scratch grains.

I suspected she was feeling the molt coming on when she chatted me up a couple times earlier this week. If Peck stops foraging to visit, it qualifies as a symptom/notification to be on alert. She's telling me something's up.

In this case, she was saying how dramatic this molt was about to be. This is her visiting on Monday. The molt photos are from Wednesday

 

[SimpleJenn]

My happy rafter roosting birds. I have to wait until they get down to go get grit for the feeder...I don't want to be poop bombed!

 

[Labsandchickens8]

So, I sat down to get some pictures of the girls. Lots of molting - especially Abigail, my barred rock. Then I noticed Louisa, my Speckled Sussex, had poop on her back - toward the back of her wing! I had to get it off. Normally I can pick her up but with her molt, she's been shying away. Did someone poop on her? So rude.

 

[Labsandchickens8]

In other news, I finally got the first pieces of an electric fence so the girls can start getting out of confinement for a couple of hours. My goal is to build good fencing so they ultimately have a very large outdoor area, but I have to take it in increments.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I'm very sorry for my contribution to off topic whining. I'll go get new chicken pictures in the morning and do a better job of staying on chicken topics.

Me too!

 

[Shadrach]

FWIW I used to use the Shad method. Now I just trim with a pair of round ended scissors. Takes no time at all.

The problem I've found with trimming feathers is often the shite clumps are at the feather base under the vent.

 

[Shadrach]

A vacation house of course. No way she knows that you bought it for a cockerel.

Do you have any idea when you can obtain the 2 ex batts. And can they sleep in the Solway right away?

I'll see how it goes with Glais and then sort some Ex Battery hens out. They could move in to the Solway coop if they want on arrival, depending on the shape they're in.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Even chickens understand what 5 o’clock means! One must take a break after an entire day of… well, something:

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Those of you with English breeds, or at least those available from US hatcheries: would you expect Sussexes to be bigger than Orpingtons?

I had thought that Orps were the ultimate chonk breed (outside of Brahmas, etc.), but here are Tessa, Speckled Sussex, 18 weeks, and Buffy, Buff Orpington, 9 months, side by side or butt by butt:

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Those of you with English breeds, or at least those available from US hatcheries: would you expect Sussexes to be bigger than Orpingtons?

I had thought that Orps were the ultimate chonk breed (outside of Brahmas, etc.), but here are Tessa, Speckled Sussex, 18 weeks, and Buffy, Buff Orpington, 9 months, side by side or butt by butt:

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I suspect that the Sussex is higher quality than the Orp. I’ve had hatchery quality of both but I’ve seen a quality Sussex before and it was a ball of fat speckled delight. I believe quality Orps are supposed to be the same way but I’m not an Orp person so I won’t pretend to know.