Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

Ah. They mixed up their roosting positions!

They did! Mow is roosting with Fret again tonight. Something going on there I don't understand.

 

[Shadrach]

Henry deserves some self-time. It is amazing that he feels safe enough to take time to find a quiet patch of comfort and happiness!

Henry looks too happy to care about the classic looks of confusion cast by his attentive side crowd. May we all find something nice to burble about today
Looks like Mow decided to give Fret some roosting company for the night!

I suppose Henry is well aware Shad is hanging around to pay attention too.

I dare say he's just taking a little break to himself! Bucket Boy is there to watch the hens for a few moments.

Henry, he's a good rooster despite his reputation when I turned up. He's got a really nice temperament balance. He's not friendly but he's not hostile either. He will let me touch him during the day and we dig side by side to the extent that sometimes he's trying to scratch my boot away.
I have picked him up a few times now. He doesn't like it but he doesn't kick off which is handy because he's quite large to have flailing around on the palm of a hand.
I've gently grabbed his tail feathers when he's been close for a long time now and he doesn't even twitch now. I stroke him most nights when I shut them in. Some nights he doesn't even pull his head out from under his wing.
That's about as tame as I would want. I've had tamer roosters and frankly they can be rather clingy at times.

One has to bear in mind he's never ranged but compared to the roosters in Catalonia he's not that clued up on keeping his hens in a group. He does answer an escort call. I've seen him do it a few times with different hens.
I realise the field must seem like home ground to some extent for Henry but it's not safe. It's only been the past few months where I've seen Henry trying to lead the hens from cover spot to cover spot when moving around the field.
He knows I improve life for him and his hens, not just with food but also he seems to understand that I'll be there with him and without me he and his hens wouldn't get out. They could all fly over the tiny fence around the allotment run, but they don't. They wait for me to open the gate and on those rare occasions I don't let them out onto the field they will stay in the run.
I still offer him food first which he usually drops for the hens, that's if Carbon hasn't snatched it out of his beak before he can let go. I always call him for food and the hens have to wait until he turns up. He doesn't steal food. The hens will steal from each other and from my hand if I don't keep them in mind. He taps my leg with his beak when he knows I've got something interesting or different.

I used to speak to an old Catalonian man in the local village who had many years ago a small farm around which the rest of the village had expanded and modernised. This man kept chickens all his life and as bits of the farm land got sold off and developed until about half an acre was left with a tatty od farm house stuck in the middle. The past few years only the man and a rooster lived there and it was watching a performance one early morning that led me to talk to the man. The man comes out of the house. The rooster charges at him in full attack mode, screeches to a halt a couple of feet away from the man and stands there shouting at the man. The man shakes his fist in the air and shouts back at the rooster. They stand there for a few moments, wheel round almost simultaneously and go about their business. Apparently they had been doing this every morning for years. The rooster lived in the yard the man told me and he thinks he owns it.
I call that a happy relationship.

 

[Shadrach]

Two and a half hours today. It's still not warm enough to be really enthusiastic about standing around and the on and off light drizzle didn't improve matters. We still went out. I got a bit of weeding done and the chickens had a short dustbathe and a forage. My corriander starter plants are looking sad; not enough sun.

 

[fuzzi]

Remember the chick that was badly pecked, left unconscious? It's still smaller than the others, but it keeps up with its nestmates.

I hope it's a girl:

You can see where it was wounded, just to the right of the eye.

 

[kcan2]

I stroke him most nights when I shut them in. Some nights he doesn't even pull his head out from under his wing.
That's about as tame as I would want.

Glad to know I am not alone in administering occasional goodnight pats and/or "back boops" to roosting chickens. Not sure what they think about the practice, but my rooster tolerates 2-3 boops well:

Remember the chick that was badly pecked, left unconscious? It's still smaller than the others, but it keeps up with its nestmates.

Little chick is looking good!

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

Tea is ready.

Temprature is in the 70s with strong gusty winds.

Have a great day!

 

[LaFleche]

This reminds me I meant to compile a burble video.

When Unquestioned & Most Esteemed Head Hen Brahma Donna is about to lay, she turns into Most Cantankerous Head Hen. Scolding, running others out of the coop, etc. Stilton sometimes steps up as mediator, providing Donna with the Head-Hen-level egg-laying escort she deserves.

While Stilton serenaded and nested for over 20 minutes, Donna chased her friends, took a walk, had a bite to eat, and (as expected) settled into the only nest Stilton hadn't recommended. Stilton eventually purred himself to sleep in a nest box. The vocalizations are a hoot.

Hilarious!

 

[SimpleJenn]

Love the burblies from the roosters! I'm considering getting one still, I think a polish or bantam boy would be nice to have. I'm very jealous of all the neighbor roosters crowing. We're adding another run to the current set up but I know the ladies would love to free range.

Here's tax in the form of the plush frizzle chicken I've been working on.

 

[LaFleche]

Love the burblies from the roosters! I'm considering getting one still, I think a polish or bantam boy would be nice to have. I'm very jealous of all the neighbor roosters crowing. We're adding another run to the current set up but I know the ladies would love to free range.
View attachment 3814014
Here's tax in the form of the plush frizzle chicken I've been working on.

It urgently needs a trim to allow for unobstructed view!

 

[Molpet]

https://inews.co.uk/news/welcome-uks-chicken-farm-capital-toxic-gas-polluting-air-3011693