Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[ChaosMom]

Foraging for food on the ground is what they are designed to do. Many farm and smallholding chicken keepers ground feed. Feeding them from some kind of tray or containor is probably really bad for them. They try to do the natural thing in many case, scratch the food out before eating it amd imitate foraging by picking up the spillage. The chicken is a forager, not a dinner plate eater and that foraging is part of what keeps them mentally and physically healthy. One cannot expect to restrict any of their major natural behaviours without a knock on effect in other areas.

I’m happy to sign on with this. As it is, each evening I dump whatever was left over in the tray onto the litter, and by mid-afternoon next day, it is not to be found.

 

[Shadrach]

Two warm sunny hours today.
When I arrived at the field Henry was under the shade box with Fret and Mow while Tull roosted in the coop extension and Sylph was napping on the floor of the extension. By the time I had put my bag down and taken the feed out they were at the gate in the picture. It's not food they are after although they'll eat some, it's the extra space, the grass under their feet and all those interesting places where live food and tender plants can be found.
Some days they charge right past the food trays up towards the goose run. Fret is the only hen that eats before foraging most days. Tull, Mow and Sylph are digging the ground before I've even put the food trays down.

They all went out on to the field.

After treats, straight into a bath. I've always been told one should bath on a full stomach or sleep. I wonder how all those Mediterranean people cope after the traditionl large lunch when they sleep through the hottest part of the day.
Dust bathing. Henry still knows to stand guard.

Out and about.

This is quite interesting. This is Henry going back to the coop to roost. As you can see, he looks like a healthy chicken unless one knows what to look for. I've watched him run back when he's had enough.

Sylph next to Henry again.

 

[Perris]

The most important point is while the chicken may have been bred into many different shapes and sizes, lay sometimes 300 more eggs than they used to, their brains and nature hasn't made the changes to go with the change in physical apects.

that's a really good point.

When one restricts the movement of any creature all sorts of behaviour problems emerge. We, humans recently discovered this with Covid.

and another one. With the same sort of justification in each case (protection). It's not obvious how to solve that dilemma though.

 

[L-plate chicken mum]

Bit of tax:

Bub-bub just trying to have a bath. Meanwhile the hens thought he was digging up tasty tidbits for them. No peace for this little rooster!

 

[BDutch]

When one restricts the movement of any creature all sorts of behaviour problems emerge. We, humans recently discovered this with Covid. The fallout from how Covid was missmanaged seems to have had far reaching consequences to the human psyche which we are still trying to understand.

No restricts and allowing humans and livestock to travel faster and further than natural was/is not clever either. . Bc this way Covid became a pandemic very fast. Other infectous deseases like a new HPAI strain will follow for sure.

But you have a point. In general, its very unhealthy to let animals and people live in crowded places with lots of stress. Transporting animals is one of the worst examples. If there weren’t walls/boundaries the world would look very different.

It would be better for sure if everyone would respect other animals/other people and wouldn’t try to make a profit over someone else’s live/labour.

Tax. Sleeping arrangements in the playhouse.

 

[Shadrach]

Great idea! The Orp especially will probably be happier in a carrier.

Wait till the next time the cat goes to the vet and discovers that we brought the girls home in her carrier. Bwah hah hah

Perhaps invest in another carrier.

 

[Shadrach]

Does this vary by terrain and number of potential nesting spots?

Probably, it's not something that has much research put in to it. The tribes in Catalonia expanded their territory as new tribes were established.