Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[no fly zone]

It is so lovely to watch and listen to Tina taking care of the three little ones. Primo (the early hatchling) is doing great and completely accepted by mama and siblings.

I've only had the opportunity to see one other hen -- Cheri -- hatch and mother chicks, and while she was a good mother, she was more efficient and businesslike about it. She directed, she instructed, she protected, she moved on. But Tina is different. She covers them and coos like a dove. She strokes them with the underside of her neck. She lets them pick food from her beak. She even looks like she's smiling. I was a bit worried because her temperament before was so flighty -- kind of bonkers actually -- but as a momma hen she is so sweet and nurturing. I could sit with them all day.

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I really wish the one time Skeksis sat on eggs they would have hatched. She has only been broody once in her 4 yrs of life.

 

[janiedoe]

Chick integration successful so far...!

This morning my kindly neighbor Maribel brought the chick who hatched 2 days before his siblings. She took excellent care of the chick and he (or she) appears healthy, active, and eats and drinks. I took the other two and the mother out of their nest to peck at food and put the first-hatched chick (let's call him Primo) in the mix to see what would happen. Primo joined right in and the mother accepted him. When they went back to their nest, Primo went too. At first he didn't know what to do -- he wasn't familiar with going under Tina (the hen) to warm himself. So I tucked him in under a wing. He poked back out, looked around, then I guess he decided he liked the feeling of the hen's body, and went back under. I checked later and everyone seemed to be just fine. Im very happy Tina finally has her little ones to take care of, she seems very content with them.View attachment 3489308
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I love Tina's "hair" All my naked neck hens have longer feathers on their crowns.
I wish I could breed Tina to Goliath.

 

[janiedoe]

Not the most helpfull reply but close to the truth, anything a chicken makes rather than a human. That bantam hen Cheepy in the picture I posted earlier with ten chicks features in this article.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...e-make-a-sitting-hens-job-so-difficult.74389/

The article also shows what is not a good hatching nest; fine for just laying an egg in though.
The hen needs to be able to form a hollow in which she lays the eggs. The hollow has a number of functions.
a) the eggs can't roll out of it.
b) a deep hollow helps maintain the temperature and humidity in the nest because the hollow sides shelter the eggs and the hen sitting on top can create a dome in effect over the eggs by her sitting position and the pancake shape they create on the nest.
c) the eggs should touch each other
d) the hollow means when the hen turns the eggs the eggs don't roll away from the other eggs and/or out to the edges of the nest.
e) the best hollows I've seen are dug into moist earth, surround by grass/vegitation.

The deepest hollow I've measured has been 70cm.
Hens do manage to hatch in all kinds of nests but in order to have the best chance of a maximum hatch rate the hen needs to be able to control the position of the eggs. This is almost impossible on a hard flat surface.

Edit,
This article goes into some depth about hatching.
https://www.scielo.br/j/rbca/a/ZFYLhJkZ8VSVpXZSJmCcKvr/?lang=en

I like the little giant plastic nest boxes, for my broodies. The bottom is slightly curved. With a good amount of straw in it, my hens seem to have better hatch rates than they do on a flat surface nest box. They are easier to clean also.

 

[janiedoe]

I recently got a trail camera and I haven't got the hang of it yet, but I have got a couple of shots of Killay strutting his stuff, and showing a clean pair of heels (that boy can run!) As will be apparent, there was no lasting damage from the foot wound btw.
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Those are awesome pictures!

 

[TropicalChickies]

I love Tina's "hair" All my naked neck hens have longer feathers on their crowns.
I wish I could breed Tina to Goliath.

I love all chickens, but I have to admit I'm partial to naked necks. My Cleo has the perfect punk mohawk

 

[TropicalChickies]

I really wish the one time Skeksis sat on eggs they would have hatched. She has only been broody once in her 4 yrs of life.

Tina had already been broody five times before she had the chance to hatch these eggs. And she's less than 2 yrs old. I felt so badly for her and glad our new young rooster did a good job fertilizing some eggs! She really wanted to be a mom...

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

Found another chicken dead in the run yesterday.

Don't know what has happened.

That means I have lost 2 of my RIR.

Have a great day!

 

[no fly zone]

I love all chickens, but I have to admit I'm partial to naked necks. My Cleo has the perfect punk mohawkView attachment 3491375

Skeksis has her floppy comb and a laced cravat.

 

[janiedoe]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

Found another chicken dead in the run yesterday.

Don't know what has happened.

That means I have lost 2 of my RIR.

Have a great day!

I'm sorry! Do you think it was age, illness, or predation? Any clue at all?

 

[Ladies-Eight]

I'm sorry! Do you think it was age, illness, or predation? Any clue at all?

She was 2 years old.

Not sick that I know of.

Maybe predation???????