Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[fuzzi]

Good point. I had a really heavy clay base in the mid Atlantic US, but not too many stones. Instead of double digging -- once I signed off on doing so much hard work -- I would dig to one spade length, take out the soil, and gently open the clay base with the tines of a pitchfork, rocking it with my body weight to loosen it up a bit. Then I'd layer in the soil I took out with compost, aged horse manure, a bit of broken up lime mortar from an old outdoor fireplace -- I was more of a forager than a shopper when it came to finding garden amendments. My idea of productivity is "How much is this producing relative to how much effort/$/time I put into it?" I wasn't relying on selling the output, so as long as I had something fresh to eat every day, I would sacrifice a bit of productivity to be satisfied with less work and just using free stuff.

I've done that method, dig and then use a spading fork to break up the clay/hardpan below. I just can't do it anymore, too much arthritis.

When we first moved to South Carolina in the 1980s we discovered the soil was red clay, much of it hard, "adobe brick" as my dh said. It was nearly impossible to dig, bent my spading fork trying. A regular rototiller would bounce off the ground, and it took a big tiller (Troybilt Pony) we borrowed from a friend to loosen up the dirt to start a garden.

We managed to hand dig small holes next to our rented mobile home, then we added pureed watermelon rinds and other fruit/vegetable scraps. Within a fairly short time I was able to plant some flowers in those spots!

 

[MrsNorthie]

When we first moved to South Carolina in the 1980s we discovered the soil was red clay, much of it hard, "adobe brick" as my dh said.

That is why we do raised beds for the garden. We have some areas that aren't too bad after heavy tilling and amending with our compost, but a majority is hard as rock.

 

[MrsNorthie]

This can pose a choking hazard, especially if your chickens try to swallow the peas whole.

I thought that was a bit odd considering the size of the bugs I have seen them down in one, but maybe that was a general COA disclaimer. LOL

 

[ManueB]

For whatever reason, this statement reminded me of the amazing zone attack our chickens organized on the Junebugs this year.

In late June, when swarms of beetles were buzzing in low circles above the grass, the chickens would form a line across the orchard reminiscent of a search & rescue operation: a chicken every 10', the line slowly advancing. When a beetle flew through the line, the nearest chicken would dive for it. They'd do this for an hour at a time. It was amazing to watch.

Of course I forgot to take a video but here's a photo of some of the hunting pack from that timeframe, back when it was lush and green.

View attachment 3688746

Now it's brown and crunchy, and life has been a special kind of nerve-racking as drought reached a point where southern Appalachia has started to catch on fire. It's reminiscent of 2016, which didn't end well.

Photos of smoke from the past week. The fire that caused this was 10 miles away. Fortunately, the chickens appeared unconcerned even when it rolled in this thickly. Can't say the same for me.

View attachment 3685897
View attachment 3685896
View attachment 3685895
We chose to live on a rugged property and are aware it's not guaranteed we'll escape fire if high winds are involved. In 2016, 14 people died during a "mountain wind wave" that rolled into Gatlinburg from the National Park.

So when a mountain wave was forecast a few nights ago, and drought conditions made for a high likelihood of fires (high enough that schools were closed pre-emptively the next day), we prepared for the possibility of rapid evacuation of ALL family members, including feathered ones, packing chicken/dog/human supplies into a trailer, strategically storing flammable items away from buildings, and running sprinklers for hours over the crispy-dry landscape.

@Shadrach, you'll be pleased to know that after dirt near the coops was wet down, rooster Andre immediately plunked down for long dirtbath. Forget the fluffy, dry dust the ladies love. He was so pleased to find freshly dampened soil.

***

After a long day in an apocalyptic headspace, I let myself feel cautiously optimistic as forecast winds were 5, 6, 7 hours late in arriving. I cracked an adult beverage and headed to the hottub, but no sooner had I dipped a toe than the valley was filled with sirens. A fire had ignited 2 miles away.

This was me pretending to relax in the hottub as I pulled up the scanner app on my phone to listen to wildland squads fighting fires for the rest of the night.

View attachment 3689302
Long story short, the 2 biggest nearby fires were contained at under 30 acres, and our first steady rain in months started at 4 a.m. and lasted 36 hours. I'm still catching up on sleep from the mountain-wind-wave night of vigilance. Living in nature is lovely but not exactly relaxing all the time.

Glad you are all safe ! It seems now so many places can potentially be in danger of natural hazards, that you could certainly live somewhere much more urban and less beautiful, and still be at risk. But having animals make things a lot more complicated and stressful.

 

[TropicalChickies]

For whatever reason, this statement reminded me of the amazing zone attack our chickens organized on the Junebugs this year.

In late June, when swarms of beetles were buzzing in low circles above the grass, the chickens would form a line across the orchard reminiscent of a search & rescue operation: a chicken every 10', the line slowly advancing. When a beetle flew through the line, the nearest chicken would dive for it. They'd do this for an hour at a time. It was amazing to watch.

Of course I forgot to take a video but here's a photo of some of the hunting pack from that timeframe, back when it was lush and green.

View attachment 3688746

Now it's brown and crunchy, and life has been a special kind of nerve-racking as drought reached a point where southern Appalachia has started to catch on fire. It's reminiscent of 2016, which didn't end well.

Photos of smoke from the past week. The fire that caused this was 10 miles away. Fortunately, the chickens appeared unconcerned even when it rolled in this thickly. Can't say the same for me.

View attachment 3685897
View attachment 3685896
View attachment 3685895
We chose to live on a rugged property and are aware it's not guaranteed we'll escape fire if high winds are involved. In 2016, 14 people died during a "mountain wind wave" that rolled into Gatlinburg from the National Park.

So when a mountain wave was forecast a few nights ago, and drought conditions made for a high likelihood of fires (high enough that schools were closed pre-emptively the next day), we prepared for the possibility of rapid evacuation of ALL family members, including feathered ones, packing chicken/dog/human supplies into a trailer, strategically storing flammable items away from buildings, and running sprinklers for hours over the crispy-dry landscape.

@Shadrach, you'll be pleased to know that after dirt near the coops was wet down, rooster Andre immediately plunked down for long dirtbath. Forget the fluffy, dry dust the ladies love. He was so pleased to find freshly dampened soil.

***

After a long day in an apocalyptic headspace, I let myself feel cautiously optimistic as forecast winds were 5, 6, 7 hours late in arriving. I cracked an adult beverage and headed to the hottub, but no sooner had I dipped a toe than the valley was filled with sirens. A fire had ignited 2 miles away.

This was me pretending to relax in the hottub as I pulled up the scanner app on my phone to listen to wildland squads fighting fires for the rest of the night.

View attachment 3689302
Long story short, the 2 biggest nearby fires were contained at under 30 acres, and our first steady rain in months started at 4 a.m. and lasted 36 hours. I'm still catching up on sleep from the mountain-wind-wave night of vigilance. Living in nature is lovely but not exactly relaxing all the time.

Glad you are ok and that it finally rained. I really relate to your last sentence.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Excellent. It's one of those things that I know to be true from observing every rooster I've known and reliable reports from many others. That roosters do have this preference is interesting on it's own, but more interesting would be to know why.
Dustbathing seems to be one of those subjects that is not well understood in general.

Ahhh, I forgot to mention that about two weeks ago I noticed that when Lucio flapped his wings I saw some dark stuff stuck to the feathers underneath. I literally groaned. Just got rid of the lice and now he has mites? Ugh. But when I took him off the roost at night for further examination, there were no mites. No lice either. I looked and looked. No bugs at all. Just clumps of dirt clinging to the ends of the downy feathers under his wings, legs, and underbelly.

So I remembered what you wrote about roosters bathing in moist soil and the next day hunted around in the chicken "hang out" areas. I had to search for awhile because they move around quite a bit. Anyway, I finally found his spa -- a big Lucio-sized hole, obviously made him, in some very soft and clumpy damp soil under a tree.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Hi folks,
Maybe you recall Han Solo -- one of the cockerels I gave away about 3 months ago. I gave him to a chicken keeper in the village a few km away. This is the same chicken keeper I bought my healthy hens from so I knew he was going to a good place, but didn't know how long they would keep him (before eating him.) The keeper said he was a good size and "raza" and she would keep him for breeding and see how he worked out.

Solo at about 2 months old with mum Patucha.

Well, Solo lucked out. He's grown big -- huge actually -- and handsome and taken over as the dominant male at their farm. The ladies love him.

Solo now at 8 months old. I'm glad I kept little Tobias instead, because Solo would almost certainly would have fought Lucio while Tobias seems content to be a satellite.

One of Solo's lovely wives. Uh, love is blind, apparently. The keeper was kind to send me these pics.

And here's Tobias, my junior male to Lucio. He uses treats and attention to attract females (maybe because he can't catch them with his short legs ). But he does pretty well for himself.

 

[fluffycrow]

About wet and dry soil. Up until very recently, there were no places of dry, dry soil where the birds could bathe in, I think I wrote something similar in the article too. Well, very late this summer I dug a little in the driest part of the property, which is right behind the serama pen. That soil is bone dry, and even a grown hen cannot dig through it, so the shovel was the only way. No takers. Not a single bird would use it to dustbathe. Then I decided to let the serama out for the first time. Lady Gaga started bathing there, and then his girls followed. They kept this up every day, until they were probably 4 months old, at which point they all moved to one of the dustbathing spots with moist soil, and have not come back to it. The other birds still don't touch it

 

[MrsNorthie]

I have just ordered a bunch of heritage seeds that I will germinate in egg cartons that can then be planted directly in the soil without disturbing the roots. They should be self germinating ~ or @ the very least, the seeds harvestable & viable, unlike most of what is sold in nurseries these days.

We started only getting heirloom/heritage varieties and seed saving a couple of years ago and it is very satisfying. We have been working at becoming as self-sufficient as possible, at this rate, we, and our nearest neighbors, will live well off of eggs and veg if required.

The best part is that everything tastes a millions times better. The process of harvesting produce before it is ripe, spraying it with stuff to make it "look" more appealing, then shipping it all over the world, really sucks all the flavour out of the food. The eggs from our BYC are also more tasty.

 

[L-plate chicken mum]

In case anyone is in the market for a Chicken Guard auto door in one of the areas of the world they sell to maybe their 30% off is on there as well as in the uk….