Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

Henry flew today!

He managed to stay off the ground for almost three metres.

I imagine he's feeling it in those chest muscles today

They say a little high intensity exercise is worth as much as hours of jogging, so it might have done his heart and lungs some good too.

On the wind front, given that shelter belts take years to grow, do you think it might make any difference to use a beach-type windbreak popped in upwind next to one of their favourite forage spots while you're there? It seems a shame to go all that way just to sit in the coop extension.

 

[MaryJanet]

One and a half hours today. Bitterly cold in the wind with temperature barely above freezing. The chickens did go onto the field for half an hour but they hate the wind and after a brief forage returned to the shelter of the coop extension.
Henry flew today! He's normally fairly unruffled by the unusual but this evening a gust of wind caught one of the empty plastic compost bins and the bin went mobile in Henry's direction. Henry took off! He managed to stay off the ground for almost three metres. He's not a slender flighty sort of chap.
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At first glance, I read that as "three minutes" and befuddled myself

 

[Molpet]

Left is this year and right is last year

Turkey broke it up.

 

[Shadrach]

I imagine he's feeling it in those chest muscles today

They say a little high intensity exercise is worth as much as hours of jogging, so it might have done his heart and lungs some good too.

On the wind front, given that shelter belts take years to grow, do you think it might make any difference to use a beach-type windbreak popped in upwind next to one of their favourite forage spots while you're there? It seems a shame to go all that way just to sit in the coop extension.

I have thought about this but the wind makes having any sort of shelter that's portable a problem.

 

[fuzzi]

This morning, after I thawed the waterers...

Video version, under 90 seconds:

 

[Shadrach]

Two and a half hours today. A much better day than of late. Mainly dry, 6C and light winds.
The chickens got in some decent foraging from what I could see.
Henry flew again today, twice!

 

[Shadrach]

I got tired of egg breakages in transit from field to flat. Mow's and Sylph's eggs are of a similar size and an eggbox in a plastic containor is working well. I dropped a kilo jar of peanut butter directly on the egg box when loading my rucksack at the shop, it slipped. Eggs all survived.
The waste of a breakage is irritating enough; the cleaning up is tiresome.

 

[SimpleJenn]

I got tired of egg breakages in transit from field to flat. Mow's and Sylph's eggs are of a similar size and an eggbox in a plastic containor is working well. I dropped a kilo jar of peanut butter directly on the egg box when loading my rucksack at the shop, it slipped. Eggs all survived.
The waste of a breakage is irritating enough; the cleaning up is tiresome.
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Reminds me of the camping egg container my parents have. It's a locking plastic egg carton and it works well for them. Yours is a much thriftier option!