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:D well done Fret! :clap

like when they go fishing then...? I love wildlife, but reading your bear posts made me appreciate anew the fact that I don't have to worry about large predators here. Your posts and your wonderful photos show that chickens are perfectly capable of free ranging even with such predators...

stunning photos and wonderful story @HiEverybirdy ! Do you really think a bear could catch one of your chickens?

thanks for the vote of confidence @BDutch , but I can't see it happening. I already know more about commercial feed than I wish I did, and if I start getting into the sort of coops that some people think adequate, I might get really depressed. But maybe you would have a go at that topic, or...

exactly. I am trying to keep in mind the difference between modern industrial layers, and backyard chickens. This thread is about ex-industrial layers, and started with some of them, but relatively few posts that I read on BYC are about industrial layers. By accident, ManueB had some that were...

I agree. But I don't think many (any?) people reading BYC have such productive hens with such needs. There is really not so much difference between old and new breeds. The contemporary broiler breeder hen lays about 150 a year. Compare these breeds from 150 years ago...

Happy birthday Fez! 🎉 the wild child is 1 today 🎂 Killay is paying her very close attention, and my hunch is that he too thinks she's going broody, so he is keen to ensure his paternity of her clutch, so he's not letting the other roos near 🤔 If she does go broody, this might turn out to be...

I don't know if there is any truth in it, but some old poultry manuals assert that there will be a preponderance of males in early clutches and of females in later clutches. I have not looked for any proper modern study on why that might be, if it is indeed true.

You are right! It was an attempt to: which is what I was trying to do there, because I am now convinced that commercial feed is inadequate/positively harmful by default. That some people have healthy old birds despite eating it all their lives I don't doubt, but I'm also sure that the forage...

thanks for the support. So many people seem to misunderstand the points I'm trying to make, or apparently struggle with any kind of logic, that I sometimes wonder why I bother. Also I'm sure plenty of people are really fed up with the topic - to whom I apologize sincerely. I just can't bear to...

what none of them will engage with is that there are significant inconsistencies in the ME figures given for the raw materials. They write as if the numbers were written in stone, not that they vary with the raw material, the methods of testing used, the birds they run the tests on etc. etc...

Fez is huffing and puffing and strutting about the place this morning; going broody again methinx. It's her birthday tomorrow - she becomes a hen! - so I'm inclined to let her sit this time. As long as she chooses a nest box, not a flower pot, of course :D

This is true. I should probably point out they're only skittish with strangers-cum-predators. They come barrelling towards me like a certain someone's avatar if they think I come bearing gifts :D I have lost count of the number of photos of idyllic scenes ruined by my opening the door to take...

For those interested, I've just published an article reporting on the year and updates to my feeding regime. It's here https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/wholesome-homemade-feed-2.79307/ I've been planning to do it for a while, but with yesterday's thread in mind...

Hooray! At last! https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/27/post-office-scandal-police-to-deploy-80-detectives-for-criminal-inquiry

you'd be more than welcome to one if I could!

a story to make you grin or fume, depending on your point of view :D https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/may/26/out-of-control-flock-of-100-feral-chickens-torments-village-norfolk

another one's gone broody here :th

me too. It's my favourite part of chicken-keeping.

I see an ad for ex-commercial layers being rehomed at 72 weeks old. That's 1 year and 4-5 months old when they're discarded as waste. It's obscene.