Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[fuzzi]

I'd wager that it's an innate/instinctual understanding. Bear with me, I'm spouting a lot of this off from memory, and it's late at night so it might be a little clunky/ineloquent. The "I sting! Don't eat me!" black and yellow stripes is (from what I understand) a pretty much cosmopolitan form of Müllerian mimicry, which is where multiple organisms with similar defenses evolve similar aposematic traits. Aposematism allows potential predators to develop, through learning (short term) and evolution (long term), an aversion to an unpalatable/dangerous potential prey animal. Müllerian mimicry strengthens this association further, because if many different stinging insects use the same signals to advertise their stinginess, then predators only have to form that association once to automatically avoid all those insects. This benefits all species involved, since most predators don't like being stung and most insects don't like being eaten. In the wild, red junglefowl encounter multiple yellow-and-black striped wasps and hornets, and even have significant range overlap with several members of the genus Apis, including the very cool (and notoriously defensive) Apis dorsata. So while they wouldn't naturally encounter Apis mellifera (the Western honey bee) it wouldn't surprise me at all if it fits the chickens' inbuilt schema of "bee."

Sorry if this was too long winded, it's just a topic I really love. I'd have been an evolutionary biologist if I didn't love field work so much.

I enjoyed it. It reminded me of butterfly mimicry between Monarch and Viceroy butterflies:
https://njaudubon.org/monarchs-and-viceroys-a-tale-of-mimicry/

 

[kattabelly]

the topping on that second cake looks delicious - quite the change from icing and plastic santa!

It's just dried fruit and nuts, with a bit of apricot glaze brushed on the cake first to act as glue and a thick layer brushed over the topping while it's still hot enough to flow well and not tacky. (Glaze: heat and strain apricot jam - or you can buy pre-strained stuff - then add a good glug or brandy or other booze to taste, and check the set on a cold plate like how you would when making jam.) Really easy but a good option for marzipan refuseniks or folk who don't have a sweet enough tooth for royal icing.

The star is marzipan rolled out thin, very quickly grilled (= broiled I think in US English?) till it starts to brown and then quickly cut while it's still a bit soft. A chef's blowtorch should work too. Fun way to make cake or even tree decorations, or just tiny snacks to eat by themselves.

I don't even celebrate Christmas I just really like food

 

[notabitail]

the topping on that second cake looks delicious - quite the change from icing and plastic santa!

You mentioning plastic cake toppers reminds me:

Once upon a time, my aunt got us a cake (she loved doing that). Well, it had a big yellow bow. And Mom had no idea if that was edible or not. So she cut it up into pieces and we all tried a bit of it. It was plastic. I have no idea why no one realized that.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

I'd wager that it's an innate/instinctual understanding. Bear with me, I'm spouting a lot of this off from memory, and it's late at night so it might be a little clunky/ineloquent. The "I sting! Don't eat me!" black and yellow stripes is (from what I understand) a pretty much cosmopolitan form of Müllerian mimicry, which is where multiple organisms with similar defenses evolve similar aposematic traits. Aposematism allows potential predators to develop, through learning (short term) and evolution (long term), an aversion to an unpalatable/dangerous potential prey animal. Müllerian mimicry strengthens this association further, because if many different stinging insects use the same signals to advertise their stinginess, then predators only have to form that association once to automatically avoid all those insects. This benefits all species involved, since most predators don't like being stung and most insects don't like being eaten. In the wild, red junglefowl encounter multiple yellow-and-black striped wasps and hornets, and even have significant range overlap with several members of the genus Apis, including the very cool (and notoriously defensive) Apis dorsata. So while they wouldn't naturally encounter Apis mellifera (the Western honey bee) it wouldn't surprise me at all if it fits the chickens' inbuilt schema of "bee."

Sorry if this was too long winded, it's just a topic I really love. I'd have been an evolutionary biologist if I didn't love field work so much.

I'm sure I've shared this before, but on the topic of behavior coded from hatch: I was amazed when our first chicks – who were hatched by a machine and never met an adult chicken – gave the aerial-predator alert from the brooder when a butterfly flew past the window.

[Actually, at first I was intrigued because, new to chickens, I had no idea what the sound was. When I learned this is all chickens' alert for aerial predators, I was amazed in retrospect.]

The chicks didn't learn the alert; they knew it.

On bees: One of our apiaries sits next to the chickenyard. I was skeptical if this arrangement would work, but the internet said chickens and bees rarely give each other trouble. In this case, the internet was

I watched nervously one day as Baby Unquestioned and Most Glorious and Esteemed Head Hen Brahma Donna and little cockerel Cogburn tasted a bee. There was no hubbub. They pecked at it, spit it out, and that was the last I've witnessed of chickens harassing bees. Of course, BeBe and Lorraine were both stung in the face a few times in their first few years, so I was probably missing some bee/wasp tastings.

Anyway, maybe the chickens knew to avoid bees because of evolutionary visual cues. Also possible their leaders Donna and Cogburn communicated that bees aren't worth the work, and that message has been passed down to all the chickens who've joined the yard since.

Tax: Donna inspecting the forage with enforcer Eula and rooster Stilton in tow.

 

[kattabelly]

More food tax: Rognvald quite likes his processed commercial slop thankyouverymuch (there was liver and some other leftovers in there too, to be fair)

Not such good photos but I like the frenetic energy of these ones I took accidentally

Broody butt's been feasting on the blood of her enemies poor sister who just wanted to lay an egg, but graciously accepted some mash in between bouts of caterwauling.

Cheese tomorrow.

 

[ChickenshedStudio]

All this makes me want to make my own (I had no idea Cromwell banned mince pies - ‘right but repulsive’ indeed - not sure anyone will catch that reference).
But I am too late for this year

I've made mine exclusively in November or December for at least the last decade, and it always tastes good

 

[tranquiliti]

Cheese tomorrow.

I was expecting the whole shebang with abomasum!
(Why is there no rumen emoji? Or monogastric stomach for that matter.)

 

[kattabelly]

I was expecting the whole shebang with abomasum!
(Why is there no rumen emoji? Or monogastric stomach for that matter.)

No one will be lambing or calving here for a good few months yet!

Although I've just been reading recipes that use plant-based coagulants and now I'm thinking an egg incubator would be an ideal place to keep some milk and nettle leaves at 37°C for 24 hours...

 

[Shadrach]

I've never had Christmas cake, but my partner makes stollen, which is absolutely lovely. It apparently needs time to mature as well, but for us it's never survived long after it's come out of the oven (we eat it ravenously)

I used to buy supermarket stollen until I found out what goes into this particular brand; not that any brand is likely to be recommended by a dietician.
If you can find the time I would appreciate your partners recipe.

 

[Shadrach]

do chickens have an innate understanding that bees sting, or do they learn it?

I've read that chickens and many other creatures give yellow and black stripped insects a wide berth without having to experience getting stung.
I've also read the birds that do eat bees have a different type of feathering that the bee sting can't penetrate.