Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[fuzzi]

Wow, no metal handles Makes sense with as much winter weather as you have in Ontario. We have a fraction of that--high winds, 4-5 good snows, and 15-20 days a year when it doesn't reach up to freezing. Those days are exhausting, particularly if there's wind and snow on top of the cold.

That said, if I were any good at winter, Ontario sounds wonderful. Friends moved up a few years ago and have loved it.

Winter tax. When it finally reached 30 F / -1 C yesterday, restless chickens were ready to stretch their legs, and the light was nice.

Merle and girls didn't leave the coop at all Monday because it was snowing and 18/-8. I finally evicted Mr. Merle from the coop yesterday afternoon, and the hens followed out to join him, in tight formation as usual.

View attachment 4289874
View attachment 4289875

This is wind, not hackle flare.
View attachment 4289876

Donna's consternation
View attachment 4289877

This is hackle flare.
View attachment 4289878

Raisin mid-flap-run.
View attachment 4289880

Langshan iridescence.
View attachment 4289881

POW quality!

Personally I like #2 the best.

 

[Shadrach]

One and a half hours. Not bad weather until fifteen minutes before dusk and then it tipped down. They all came out but as I had to do some patching due to Mrs Psycho Chew A Coop and fit the new water holder, I didn't get to see much of what they were up to. They didn't venture far.

I'm going to have to cover the entire coop in this stainless steel mesh. I've got enough mesh to do the lot, just waitng on some self tappers and washers. I've had two traps out and caught one small rat.

 

[no fly zone]

Wow, no metal handles Makes sense with as much winter weather as you have in Ontario. We have a fraction of that--high winds, 4-5 good snows, and 15-20 days a year when it doesn't reach up to freezing. Those days are exhausting, particularly if there's wind and snow on top of the cold.

That said, if I were any good at winter, Ontario sounds wonderful. Friends moved up a few years ago and have loved it.

Winter tax. When it finally reached 30 F / -1 C yesterday, restless chickens were ready to stretch their legs, and the light was nice.

Merle and girls didn't leave the coop at all Monday because it was snowing and 18/-8. I finally evicted Mr. Merle from the coop yesterday afternoon, and the hens followed out to join him, in tight formation as usual.

View attachment 4289874
View attachment 4289875

This is wind, not hackle flare.
View attachment 4289876

Donna's consternation
View attachment 4289877

This is hackle flare.
View attachment 4289878

Raisin mid-flap-run.
View attachment 4289880

Langshan iridescence.
View attachment 4289881

you have some very photogenic birds.

 

[fuzzi]

:: poke poke::

Five Speckled Sussex hens getting a drink after I broke the ice and added fresh water.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

:: poke poke::



View attachment 4290925
Five Speckled Sussex hens getting a drink after I broke the ice and added fresh water.

Boy, if I could just have a bigger flock, with SS, BO's, and EE's...

 

[HiEverybirdy]

you have some very photogenic birds.

Yes, my middle-aged models Most of them have 5th and 6th birthdays in the next few months.

 

[Shadrach]

not much going on due to the weather. Had some dry mornings but the second I step outside heading for the field, the rain starts and doesn't really stop until morning.
They'll come out to eat if it's not pissing down. They seem to know when the rain isn't going to stop before roosting time and head off to roost earlier than they would if the weather was decent. It's not just the rain, it's the wind which is blowing hard enough as I type this to rattle the scaffolding sheets on a block of flats 100 metres away.
30/01

31/01

 

[kattabelly]

Mine have gone the opposite way and started taking advantage of the gale force winds to come out and scratch up all my very plot-proud neighbours' onion sets, while there's no humans around to chase them away

Yesterday I spent ages looking for the open thing of water Nora must've fallen in, before realising she'd apparently just been sitting out in the rain like a duck again.

 

[Shadrach]

I had a medical appointment a couple of days ago. They took my blood pressure, pulse, etc.
My blood pressure read 106 over 63 with a pulse of 53 beats per minute.
The nurse asked me how I kept it that low, yaga, Tai Chi, and the other usual suspects were suggested. "Nope" I said, "don't do any of those anymore. I watch chickens instead."

I don't think the nurse took me seriously.

 

[BDutch]

Yesterday, just a little bit of snow but no chickens volunteered to free range.

Today.