Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Ribh]

Arriving late as I'm in a completely different time zone but my chickens have been in a number of different keeping situations: run & free range on the island; free range on a 1/4 acre block; free range on a 1/2acre block & presently I have over 3/4 of an acre. One third of that is my run as the girls were becoming a nuisance to the neighbours but as I have 5 fence hoppers they effectively free range, though they now stay close to home to be with the rest.

Space is the thing. I've never seen much fighting. Everyone has plenty of options where to go & when to eat plus I'm pretty sure my nutter is now lead hen & she's so laid back she let's them rip. Even Leonard can't keep her in line but he keeps a watchful eye on her just the same.

 

[fuzzi]

Speaking of roosters...

...I see a comb developing...maybe more.

I find homes for my excess boys, have only removed one from this world. I hope I can avoid a repeat.

 

[Molpet]

Sooo what do you all eat, if you eat meat, if you're not eating cockerels?
I want my food to have a good life. That's why I let the broodies hatch.
I have to admit I don't eat extra hens, I sell them. And I have a bunch of retired old hens and roosters that my life would be easier if I would put them in the freezer. But I figured they deserve a retirement.

 

[notabitail]

Sooo what do you all eat, if you eat meat, if you're not eating cockerels?
I want my food to have a good life. That's why I let the broodies hatch.
I have to admit I don't eat extra hens, I sell them. And I have a bunch of retired old hens and roosters that my life would be easier if I would put them in the freezer. But I figured they deserve a retirement.

I eat food. Beef, chicken, beans, butter, bread, eggs, everything. With the meat it's hard but The Parents buy organic since it's supposedly a bit more humane.

The eggs come from the backyard.

 

[Molpet]

I eat food. Beef, chicken, beans, butter, bread, eggs, everything. With the meat it's hard but The Parents buy organic since it's supposedly a bit more humane.

The eggs come from the backyard.

I don't like how commercial meat is raised. Organic in USA doesn't have a lot of room for them to live.
I trade turkey eggs and turkey hens with others that raise grassfed beef and dirt pork.

 

[Shadrach]

Same here.

You were one of the last people on my mind while typing that post. You’re a regular in this thread, for one, and besides you never struck me as someone whose natural response to “I have a cockerel for the first time” (let alone a “problematic” one) is “get rid of it”. You have had rooster and cockerel experience, and any time you have culled a male, it was to keep the peace in the neighbourhood, and each of those males found a wonderful home.

What I had in mind who people who have never had rooster experience, and are so adamant with the “cull it” advice, which they could not have gathered through any experience of their own

I used to get drawn into such threads. I realised I was getting very close to the point of writing something less than sympathetic on the "a rooster chased my little boy/girl/husband when I was itching to write, "keep the brats away from the chickens if they can't behave appropriately." When I was late single digits and early teens on my uncles farm it was made quite clear to me that it was my responsibility to avoid pissing the creatures of and looking after my personal safety. I got the tour, with script, numerous ear tweaks to reinforce this or that important point and left to get on with it.
Above all, it taught me to respect the creatures I interacted with and that has kept me relatively uninjured for the past sixty years. A wise view I though; they all bite and sting and eat each other but the human is the most vicious of them all and least able to defend itself naked like the rest of the creatures.

The worst injury I've had from a chicken was from lovely Bluespot when she had just hatched chicks and I was doing my best to encourage the chicks that hadn't made it into the coop with mum (Bluespot) up a ramp. I got one in I think and then the next shouted for mum. Bluespot fired out of the pop door, about the height of my head at the time because I was trying to catch a chick and flew at me feet first. I just managed to block her from my face and received a gash in my hand that required stitches. My bad.

On the other hand I've had numerous roosters try to flog me but I've been more alert, one gets to know the bad boys quickly, and batted the rooster away or just let it hammer into my leg and or boot.
The worst I've had from a rooster was from Major. We were sat side by side on the edge of one of the terraces watching Tribe 2 below us and reached across to stroke Major and he gave me a hard peck on the back of my hand with an open beak. Open beak pecks are meant to hurt. It did. I never tried to touch him with due warning and respect again and he never pecked me again.
See, I'm not to dumb to learn.

 

[Shadrach]

Arriving late as I'm in a completely different time zone but my chickens have been in a number of different keeping situations: run & free range on the island; free range on a 1/4 acre block; free range on a 1/2acre block & presently I have over 3/4 of an acre. One third of that is my run as the girls were becoming a nuisance to the neighbours but as I have 5 fence hoppers they effectively free range, though they now stay close to home to be with the rest.

Space is the thing. I've never seen much fighting. Everyone has plenty of options where to go & when to eat plus I'm pretty sure my nutter is now lead hen & she's so laid back she let's them rip. Even Leonard can't keep her in line but he keeps a watchful eye on her just the same.

Space is indeed the thing. The more space, the fewer problems, apart from one post I recall where the OP posted they had lots of space, over half an acre I believe and when they were asked if they could post a picture the space was one large bare lawn.
Getting people to understand the importance of cover, preferably natural, has proven quite difficult. It's a problem at the field, especially out on the plots and there is no obvious solution. I can fix, in time, the extended run.
Chickens like safe zones. It doesn't really matter if they need them for predator protection or not, they are a lot more relaxed and a lot more comfortable under stuff when they're not foraging.

 

[Shadrach]

Sooo what do you all eat, if you eat meat, if you're not eating cockerels?
I want my food to have a good life. That's why I let the broodies hatch.
I have to admit I don't eat extra hens, I sell them. And I have a bunch of retired old hens and roosters that my life would be easier if I would put them in the freezer. But I figured they deserve a retirement.

I eat meat. I would be a lot happier if I only ate what I had raised or swapped the chicken for another type of meat or fish that had been raise in a more natural manner than the majority of the meat producers manage.
For a start it tastes better, even if he or she has a name.
I find the only acceptable way for me is to eat the young that one would otherwise have to give to some stranger with no real idea of the fate that awaits the poor creature. I won't sell live creatures so that makes it more difficult to re-home.
Of course one can get around all this by not letting any hens sit and hatch and still keep roosters; not a course of action I would be happy with. I'm not really interested in another option which is a hen only group or a rooster only group.
I would have eaten Tull if in other circumstances. She had a heart attack so should be fine to eat.

 

[Shadrach]

Three hours today. Dry and sunny.

 

[SimpleJenn]

I eat the excess males, mean hens, and even held back tears as I butchered my wonderful bresse cockerel who died of heat stroke/heart attack in front of me. But then again, I lovingly raised a blind chicken as a child and mom made soup out of her...so I am able to eat pets I guess. Such is rural life.
Speaking of rural, I saved a beautiful snake from the chickens today.

Spoiler: Blue racer

Ungrateful

And relocated to the forest out back