Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

Three hours today. Noticably cooler today at 19C max and feeling chilly by dusk.
Mow was fine today. she didn't stop from the moment she got let out of the coop run to the moment she got on the roost. I take Mow's thermostat isn't all it could be. She's a bit bigger than Fret but quite a bit short of a full Light Sussex hen so not really a big hen. Anyway, she got lots of excercise this afternoon.

A small amount of chopped Brazil nuts, hemp seeds and cooked rice.
Fret has taken over Hery's roll of being the one who tells me it's treat time.

Picked up the gate posts this morning. More digging.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

It's cicada-hatch time here, a.k.a. Chicken Christmas!

I was unaware of the hatch until Peck & Nugs challenged Shadrach's 1-1.5-acre rule by disappearing Monday morning I finally found them way down the driveway, snagging cicadas every few steps. Find the chickens in this image:

They found so many that Nugs started hunting them for sport She was pecking the bugs off the shrubs and leaving them for dead instead of eating them. Wasteful!

Anyway, we call this the Wildlife Superhighway, a great place to see bear, raccoons, foxes, skunks, hawks and owls, neighbor dogs and cats, copperheads...not a great place for unaccompanied chickens. It's where the bobcat pounced on the turkey hen (turkey won). One evening when I was down here quietly practicing long-exposure photos of fireflies, a coyote rushed out of the woods <10' away. Surprising for both of us.

Cicadas started hatching along the Wildlife Superhighway first, luring the voracious Speckled Sussex hens out or their normal foraging range. Over the week, freshly hatched cicadas drew them all the way across the lower property to Rattler Road (you can deduce why we call it that; it's a place you watch your feet).

Nugs, under the yellow arrow, has been showing no concern for staying with the group, so I've pulled extra chaperone duty to keep this adorable insect assassin from becoming someone's meal.

Fortunately, the rest of the chickens have been satisfied with the cicada bounty within their normal acre. We left the grass long this week to let the cicadas in the fields emerge in peace (besides the chicken attacks).

This spring has been awesomely verdant. All sorts of bugs and grass seeds are popping out, and the chickens do seem to be eating somewhat less commercial feed.

We mix several types of feed in their feeders: a 16%-protein mini-pellet and 18%-20%-protein crumbles. I've been noticing they consume more of the lower-protein pellets in the winter and begin to wolf down high-protein feed while laying. This week, they're more interested in the mini-pellets again. Likely the cicadas are covering their protein needs.

 

[ChaosMom]

It's cicada-hatch time here, a.k.a. Chicken Christmas!

View attachment 4113804

I was unaware of the hatch until Peck & Nugs challenged Shadrach's 1-1.5-acre rule by disappearing Monday morning I finally found them way down the driveway, snagging cicadas every few steps. Find the chickens in this image:

View attachment 4113803

They found so many that Nugs started hunting them for sport She was pecking the bugs off the shrubs and leaving them for dead instead of eating them. Wasteful!

Anyway, we call this the Wildlife Superhighway, a great place to see bear, raccoons, foxes, skunks, hawks and owls, neighbor dogs and cats, copperheads...not a great place for unaccompanied chickens. It's where the bobcat pounced on the turkey hen (turkey won). One evening when I was down here quietly practicing long-exposure photos of fireflies, a coyote rushed out of the woods <10' away. Surprising for both of us.

Cicadas started hatching along the Wildlife Superhighway first, luring the voracious Speckled Sussex hens out or their normal foraging range. Over the week, freshly hatched cicadas drew them all the way across the lower property to Rattler Road (you can deduce why we call it that; it's a place you watch your feet).

View attachment 4113820

Nugs, under the yellow arrow, has been showing no concern for staying with the group, so I've pulled extra chaperone duty to keep this adorable insect assassin from becoming someone's meal.

View attachment 4113934

Fortunately, the rest of the chickens have been satisfied with the cicada bounty within their normal acre. We left the grass long this week to let the cicadas in the fields emerge in peace (besides the chicken attacks).

View attachment 4113927

This spring has been awesomely verdant. All sorts of bugs and grass seeds are popping out, and the chickens do seem to be eating somewhat less commercial feed.

We mix several types of feed in their feeders: a 16%-protein mini-pellet and 18%-20%-protein crumbles. I've been noticing they consume more of the lower-protein pellets in the winter and begin to wolf down high-protein feed while laying. This week, they're more interested in the mini-pellets again. Likely the cicadas are covering their protein needs.

Good to know! The local 17-year brood is hatching around here now, and I’m
dreading it! The last time I lived through a bad one was in East Tennessee, and at its peak, the cicadas sounded like car alarms, and dogs were howling endlessly. But nice to be able to cut back on treats once they hit our yard.

 

[MrsNorthie]

Good to know! The local 17-year brood is hatching around here now, and I’m
dreading it! The last time I lived through a bad one was in East Tennessee, and at its peak, the cicadas sounded like car alarms, and dogs were howling endlessly. But nice to be able to cut back on treats once they hit our yard.

We had the cicadas, last year, I think.. A lot has happened since then. The chickens LOVED it! https://www.accuweather.com/en/weat...soon-emerge-is-your-state-on-the-list/1758706

 

[Sally PB]

Well, my state is not on that list. I don't know whether to be glad (because of the noise), or sorry (because my chickens won't get to snack on the cicadas).

 

[Molpet]

I had tons of cicada last year. I have a few gallon bags full in the freezer still. The poults I have pened can't find the extra protein bugs and it makes them friendlier when they take from my hand.

 

[fuzzi]

I was out of state for a couple days, and attended a huge farmers' "swap" in Virginia.

It was a lot of fun visiting with like-minded people, seeing the animals (chickens!), and all the crafts.

Rahab was not amused. My sitter checks feed and water levels, collects eggs, but doesn't provide wild strawberries.

"Where have you been?!?"

 

[Molpet]

farmers' "swap"

so far all the farm swaps in Illinois have been canceled due to AI

 

[Shadrach]

15C max and a lot cooler later. Back on with the heavyweight kit. I even put my neckwramer on.
https://www.buff.com/gb/merino-heavyweight-neck-warmer-buff-solid-black-stadr.html
It was down to 6C when I left the field.
Three hours today. The chickens stayed in the extended run for the first two hours. I had gate post holes to dig and some plant transplanting from another plot. Tull is a nightmare when I'm trying to dig with a spade. She's got absolutely zero patience.

I'm still missing finding Henry has turned up and was digging along side me. Funny the things one remembers about other creatures one has grown fond of. Not once did he scratch me even though my hand and his foot were often inches apart.
Fret.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

15C max and a lot cooler later. Back on with the heavyweight kit. I even put my neckwramer on.
https://www.buff.com/gb/merino-heavyweight-neck-warmer-buff-solid-black-stadr.html
It was down to 6C when I left the field.
Three hours today. The chickens stayed in the extended run for the first two hours. I had gate post holes to dig and some plant transplanting from another plot. Tull is a nightmare when I'm trying to dig with a spade. She's got absolutely zero patience.

I'm still missing finding Henry has turned up and was digging along side me. Funny the things one remembers about other creatures one has grown fond of. Not once did he scratch me even though my hand and his foot were often inches apart.
Fret.
View attachment 4114537

View attachment 4114538View attachment 4114539

The coop still looks empty without big, sleepy Henry.