4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Dharma chick]

I am adopting 5 ex-bats in the next 4-6 weeks. I have been told that when they come they might not have many feathers and would have been used to the inside of the factory. My concern is that they will feel the cold and is there anything I can do to keep them warmer. They will be in an eg-cube.

[Tiggy]

mine snuggle up together & at the moment I shut my eglu door at night, it means I get up at the crack of dawn to let them out & they eat for England!!! I put layers pellets & mash in separate feeders at first because here on the forum someone said they only eat mash at first but they ate all of it - they quite like corn & seed mixes, lettuce & anything else they can get their beaks into. I've only had them a week - all that eating must give them plenty of energy & heat

[Janty]

I tried the knitting jumpers method but the only hen that really needed one wouldn't wear it.

 

When I got mine home, I kept them inside the conservatory for the first two nights. Then they went out into the polytunnel for a few nights( a shed would do fine ). They then spent the next three weeks in the fruit cage during the day with a small shelter rigged up in case of rain and at night I took them into the polytunnel and they stayed in a covered run with lots of straw and blankets over. Gradually I reduced the amount of blankets I used at night to aclimatise them to going out into the cube. It seems to have worked well.

 

When you do put them into the cube, try putting two or three into the run and the others into the cube. I did this and they picked up on what the ladder was for straight away. The first day that they were in the cube, they all took themselves off to bed up the ladder without the need for any persuasion.

[Guest]

we got ours in october and luckily, it was still quite mild weather-wise. We didn't do anything special, although 2 of them had a lot of feathers missing. The coop was warm and dry so they always had the option of sheltering in there if they needed to.

 

Their combs will be large and floppy as that is how they get rid of heat from their body. Their combs will start to shrink and get redder as they need to disperse less heat.

 

This time of year though, I think I would possibly consider little wooly jumpers if they are really bald. Get a child's jumper from a charity shop and just cut the arms off or something like that.

 

If they're just a little bit bald, I wouldn't worry too much. Just make sure they're sheltered from the elements and they should be fine.

 

At night you could always pop a hot water bottle in their coop (wrapped in a towel) but make sure it isn't too hot, just put warm water in it.

 

As long as you keep them dry and out of drafts, cover your run with a shower curtain or something, I think they'll be fine.

 

There's some BHWT people on here that will probably be along soon with some advice but you could always mail your co-ordinator and ask them too.

[Guest]

I put layers pellets & mash in separate feeders at first because here on the forum someone said they only eat mash at first but they ate all of it -

 

mash is what they've been used to eating. The BHWT fact sheet says it's fine to offer other food as long as they also have mash to hand, just in case they don't eat the other food.

[Guest]

ours started to grow their new feathers when we started to give them dried meal worms, they're full of protein and helps with feather re-growth.

[Dharma chick]

Thanks everyone for your help. This may sound like a silly question - the holes that cut out of the jumpers, is that for the girls wings to go through?

Thanks again

[Guest]

Thanks everyone for your help. This may sound like a silly question - the holes that cut out of the jumpers, is that for the girls wings to go through?

Thanks again

 

yep

 

they use their wings to balance and like to stretch them too.

 

keep us updated when you get your girls and post a few pics if you can, good luck.

[Jonny]

One of mine didnt have many feathers but she was fine. I was worried about her bare bum but it hasnt seemed to bother her.