Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

Within the FAQ I found they recommend the use of diatom earth against red mites :

Yet further evidence that they don't really know what they are doing.

 

[BDutch]

Yet further evidence that they don't really know what they are doing.

I thought the exact the opposite, bc I have good results in avoiding a red mite infestation with DE (among other precautions).

 

[Shadrach]

Surely an improvement given the hassle the old auto-doors apparently caused. But now I'm wondering, could a dog/fox open it with its nose, if the keeper forgets to lock it shut, now that the pop door has a big solid handle and it won't shut automatically thanks to gravity?

It's cog driven so it shouldn't be a problem. The teeth on the cog lock into the small holes that can be seen in the middle of the door. I suppose a really strong tug on the handle could strip the teeth and allow the door to open. There's a test for someone, how much force does it take to strip the teeth.

I must confess, I don't understand the point of the locking knob because if the lock is engaged the door wont open automatically.
I need to have a better look at the design at some point. I may have missed something.

 

[Perris]

It's cog driven so it shouldn't be a problem. The teeth on the cog lock into the small holes that can be seen in the middle of the door. I suppose a really strong tug on the handle could strip the teeth and allow the door to open. There's a test for someone, how much force does it take to strip the teeth.

I must confess, I don't understand the point of the locking knob because if the lock is engaged the door wont open automatically.
I need to have a better look at the design at some point. I may have missed something.

I was talking of the horizontal sliding door rather than the auto version of it. I was contrasting that with the trad door that you and I have, which drops shut by gravity if the string is broken/bitten through.

 

[Shadrach]

I was talking of the horizontal sliding door rather than the auto version of it. I was contrasting that with the trad door that you and I have, which drops shut by gravity if the string is broken/bitten through.

Ah, I see. Not an option for me. In fact, I'm running out of options as I will explain in a post later.

 

[Skyeknight]

Do they close their eyes or just the second eyelid? Chickens have three eyelids; a transparent one that moves from side to side (a wiper lid that keeps the eyeball clean and moist) a second lid that closes from the bottom of the eye upwards and the main lid that closes from the top of the eye. When the top lid is closed they can't see and when roosting are properly asleep.

I don't remember if it's just the second (bottom) or if the main (upper) eyelid was also closed. I did quote a picture of them sleeping next to me that I send ages ago. But none of my photo's show the eyelids.

I will try to see which eyelids close if they ever decide to sleep next to me again.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I try not to touch the eggs at all. I don't understand why anyone would want to candle eggs that a broody hen is sitting on.

I definitely don’t want to lol. I am just not sure how long she has been sitting or if they’re fertilized. But after thinking it over I think the simplest answer is probably the correct one. She was laying eggs once or twice a week in the coop and I haven’t gotten an egg from her in about two weeks. she had been laying them in the coop but with all the molting and shorter days I didn’t think anything of it. So even though she booted a rotten one out of the nest she is most likely sitting on fertilized eggs and has been building the clutch since I got the new rooster. My meddling with her won’t change anything anyway. This was my dream scenario so it results in a few healthy chicks!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Tax: wild pancake

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I was curious and looked for measurements and more info. Just sharing:
There are 12 Nestera chicken coops in the shop. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...etricEnglish_Unit-compressed.pdf?v=1757067532
But they all seem very dark inside and to lack ventilation.

The Aspen hen house can come with a sideways auto pop door, for an extra €199.
https://nestera.nl/en/products/the-aspen-chicken-coop

Within the FAQ I found they recommend the use of diatom earth against red mites :

My feeling when it comes to coops:

Well-ventilated, yes.

Bright, no.

Coops are bedrooms, meant for sleeping and nesting, both of which commonly occur in relative darkness. The rest of their run and the yard are for the daylight hours.

There is a streetlight on the side street that shines on the coop and indirectly into our bedroom. The moon also rises on a different side, shining into the bedroom. It’s lovely and all, but I’d really rather not be awakened at 4 by a shaft of moonlight!

 

[Molpet]

I try not to touch the eggs at all. I don't understand why anyone would want to candle eggs that a broody hen is sitting on. They may explode in an incubator; I wouldn't know, I don't use them. In 25 years of chicken tending I've never had an egg explode under a broody hen.

I have had persistent broodys that sit for months with eggs that blow up. Usually I can tell because the others are grabbing green uck from under her. One Time I was standing there telling her she needed to give up and hear a loud pop... The stench ran me out and hens in. They had it cleaned up and the hen was still sitting on uck covered eggs.

No need to worry, I have no intentions to forage for mushrooms to eat them anymore.

I did in the past, with friends and a mushrooms book with info about eatable mushrooms and safety . ‍ ? no.

If the book said resembles .,., and the look-a-like is poisonous, we wouldn’t eat them. Only the common mushrooms who were super clear and described with a good taste went into a pot. Never got sick. No-one died.

My guts tell me our determination capabilities were probably way worse than the app I use know.

There are 2 mushrooms in my area that don't have look alike . Puffballs are the ones I find on my property. There's some others in the poultry yard that they eat. So far no issues