Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[ChaosMom]

You will. Bit by bit.

Three years ago I never could have envisioned myself building a hoop coop, and now I am almost finished with my second.
View attachment 4093633

How are your temps out your way? I just brought in (well, earlier) four flats of mostly native wildflowers that I bought over the weekend. I knew the cold was returning, but the plants would have been long gone by the time I got back to the garden center.

 

[fuzzi]

How are your temps out your way? I just brought in (well, earlier) four flats of mostly native wildflowers that I bought over the weekend. I knew the cold was returning, but the plants would have been long gone by the time I got back to the garden center.

We've had mild 70s weather, with early hot days (90F on Sunday) but forecast is for a chance of frost overnight. It's probably the last frost. Then back to 70s.

Covering, jic.

 

[ChaosMom]

We've had mild 70s weather, with early hot days (90F on Sunday) but forecast is for a chance of frost overnight. It's probably the last frost. Then back to 70s.
View attachment 4093650
Covering, jic.

You’re so far ahead of me! I need to get my butt in gear and start the veg and herb seeds (indoors over heat). Why is my time machine always in the shop when I need it??

 

[Perris]

once feeling the tools in my hand I managed to dig turn by turn with the eldests husband. Even dead, Henry has given me back a level of confidence in what I can still do. Thanks Henry. I've got some fencing that needs doing around the extended run which I have been convinced I probably couldn't manage on my own. I start tomorrow. It may be slow, but I'll get there.

glad to read this; a nice surprise is always a boost. Presumably you can leave the tools at your eldest's so you don't have to lug them back and fore, or is there a functioning and lockable shed at the field you can use?

She's slightly aggressive towards the others which I assume is part of her establihing herself as the tribe leader now Henry has gone. I feel for her.

She's recognized she needs to put on her big girl pants by the sound of it

stripped the rotting wood and bits of fencing dump the stuff

rott-ing/-en wood is essential for loads of insects in one or another stage of their life cycles, so if it's been there a while, it may contain lots of present and future goodies for the girls.

I think I am going to give up my vegetable plot and make a small bed in the extended run to grow a few veg and herbs. I'm also thinking about the extension to the coop run which would encompass the old fruit bush plot which is one of their prefered cover spots.

sounds like a plan. I recently discovered that red currant leaves contain lactobacilli - would not have expected that! I wonder what else is in fruit bush foliage...

what are your experiences with foxes? Do most birds that find refuge in the undergrowth, bushes and hedges survive land predator attacks?

I haven't forgotten you asked this @fluffycrow ; the answer will be too long and complicated unless I spend some time thinking about it (as Churchill sort of said)

 

[BDutch]

How are your temps out your way? I just brought in (well, earlier) four flats of mostly native wildflowers that I bought over the weekend. I knew the cold was returning, but the plants would have been long gone by the time I got back to the garden center.

I try to avoid to buy plants from the regular garden centres. The growers use a lot of poisons to keep them bug free. Even on the native wildflowers that are supposed to be bee-friendly the growers spray lots of poisons . NOT bee-friendly at all when newly planted.
The only bee friendly plants to be trusted from the garden centres, are the ones that are meant to eat.

So glad we have an organic garden centre at a 12 km distance.

Spoiler: ”Bee friendly under the microscope”

The bee-friendly plant under that microscope

Research by Pesticide Action Network Netherlands (Pan-NL), and previous research by Greenpeace from 2017, shows that many of the plants in chemical garden centers contain pesticides. This also found means that are prohibited. The Inspection Service therefore brought fourteen different plants with bee-friendly logos to the laboratory. Garden plants such as lavender, aster, daisy and skimmia, which are often sold at garden centers as bee-friendly, were all examined for the use of pesticides.

Neo-nicotinoids

Chemical pesticides were found on eleven of the fourteen plants; agents that are precisely intended for the extermination of insects. The amounts of chemical pesticides ranged from very low to relatively high. No less than six plants also had traces of neo-nicotinoids. These crop protectors attack the brain and nervous system of the bee, which causes paralysis and eventually causes death, according to British scientist Dave Goulson.

source: Inspection Service of value in the Netherlands : keuringsdienst van waarde (NL)

 

[Perris]

what are your experiences with foxes?

we haven't had a fox attack since 2020. They are all around, but they appear to not want to risk an engagement with the roos. When 5 adult roos stand shoulder to shoulder facing the perceived threat, I think most predators (including people) would think twice about it too.

Do most birds that find refuge in the undergrowth, bushes and hedges survive land predator attacks?

Again, this situation hasn't really arisen for years. The only 'land predator' we've had to deal with is dogs - a neighbour's and walkers' dogs off leads, who presumed to chase what they like, where they like, and whose owners were incapable of controlling them. In those cases, all flock members survived, though one or two lost a few tail feathers as they scarpered. One didn't return for 3 days, but she was apparently unharmed, physically at least.

There are multiple cats, rats, adders (seen several), and almost certainly weasels (I saw one once) around, and something predated Rhondda's nest in the hedge last year. The roos sound the alarm for terrestrial threats several times a week, and the most serious level calls (which prompt the flock to respond by drawing up in close formation) are normally months apart, so threats are regularly perceived, but not often seen as serious.

The last time I saw everyone scatter into the undergrowth, it was a cheerful and stupid dog having a whale of a time, so I don't think that really counts. I think the chickens too recognised he was just a goof; everyone was back out and carrying on with their day more or less as soon as he'd gone. This was in stark contrast to their being noticeably jittery after a real attack, when historically we had them.

So, the answer is yes, to my knowledge they've all survived land predator attacks since 2020, but I think that has more to do with the presence of multiple roos on the loose than it has to do with cover. A few birds have completely vanished, but not in the context of an attack, so I don't even know if they were predated, or just met with an accident, or even just 'left home' so to speak (as young wild animals disperse). The cover protects against the aerial predators, and that it does very well, though it has in the past also served as reliable refuge and hiding place from terrestrial marauders. It helps that my most of my birds have plumage that is natural camouflage.

 

[RoyalChick]

we haven't had a fox attack since 2020. They are all around, but they appear to not want to risk an engagement with the roos. When 5 adult roos stand shoulder to shoulder facing the perceived threat, I think most predators (including people) would think twice about it too.

Again, this situation hasn't really arisen for years. The only 'land predator' we've had to deal with is dogs - a neighbour's and walkers' dogs off leads, who presumed to chase what they like, where they like, and whose owners were incapable of controlling them. In those cases, all flock members survived, though one or two lost a few tail feathers as they scarpered. One didn't return for 3 days, but she was apparently unharmed, physically at least.

There are multiple cats, rats, adders (seen several), and almost certainly weasels (I saw one once) around, and something predated Rhondda's nest in the hedge last year. The roos sound the alarm for terrestrial threats several times a week, and the most serious level calls (which prompt the flock to respond by drawing up in close formation) are normally months apart, so threats are regularly perceived, but not often seen as serious.

The last time I saw everyone scatter into the undergrowth, it was a cheerful and stupid dog having a whale of a time, so I don't think that really counts. I think the chickens too recognised he was just a goof; everyone was back out and carrying on with their day more or less as soon as he'd gone. This was in stark contrast to their being noticeably jittery after a real attack, when historically we had them.

So, the answer is yes, to my knowledge they've all survived land predator attacks since 2020, but I think that has more to do with the presence of multiple roos on the loose than it has to do with cover. A few birds have completely vanished, but not in the context of an attack, so I don't even know if they were predated, or just met with an accident, or even just 'left home' so to speak (as young wild animals disperse). The cover protects against the aerial predators, and that it does very well, though it has in the past also served as reliable refuge and hiding place from terrestrial marauders. It helps that my most of my birds have plumage that is natural camouflage.
View attachment 4093746

Great picture!

 

[fluffycrow]

we haven't had a fox attack since 2020. They are all around, but they appear to not want to risk an engagement with the roos. When 5 adult roos stand shoulder to shoulder facing the perceived threat, I think most predators (including people) would think twice about it too.

Again, this situation hasn't really arisen for years. The only 'land predator' we've had to deal with is dogs - a neighbour's and walkers' dogs off leads, who presumed to chase what they like, where they like, and whose owners were incapable of controlling them. In those cases, all flock members survived, though one or two lost a few tail feathers as they scarpered. One didn't return for 3 days, but she was apparently unharmed, physically at least.

There are multiple cats, rats, adders (seen several), and almost certainly weasels (I saw one once) around, and something predated Rhondda's nest in the hedge last year. The roos sound the alarm for terrestrial threats several times a week, and the most serious level calls (which prompt the flock to respond by drawing up in close formation) are normally months apart, so threats are regularly perceived, but not often seen as serious.

The last time I saw everyone scatter into the undergrowth, it was a cheerful and stupid dog having a whale of a time, so I don't think that really counts. I think the chickens too recognised he was just a goof; everyone was back out and carrying on with their day more or less as soon as he'd gone. This was in stark contrast to their being noticeably jittery after a real attack, when historically we had them.

So, the answer is yes, to my knowledge they've all survived land predator attacks since 2020, but I think that has more to do with the presence of multiple roos on the loose than it has to do with cover. A few birds have completely vanished, but not in the context of an attack, so I don't even know if they were predated, or just met with an accident, or even just 'left home' so to speak (as young wild animals disperse). The cover protects against the aerial predators, and that it does very well, though it has in the past also served as reliable refuge and hiding place from terrestrial marauders. It helps that my most of my birds have plumage that is natural camouflage.
View attachment 4093746

Thank you Perris. This has been very helpful.

 

[Sally PB]

It's a lovely spot and he was laid from East to West so he will always see the rising sun.

I wish I had thought of this when I buried Snowbird last year, and Sunny last month.

 

[ksbkeys]

Henry died some time this morning; probably in the early hours.
View attachment 4092834View attachment 4092835

So sorry! So glad he had a good life with you! He was such a beautiful boy!