Chicken bald back

[FruitandNutCake]

I'm waiting to hear from co-ordinator to find out when the next lot of ex-batts are due.

 

However, I've built my 9ft x 14 ft run, attached to the 8ftx6ft shed and I know I will start getting impatient.

 

Should I wait for the ex-batts and have them for a while before getting a couple of bantams, or would it be OK to get the bantams and introduce the ex-batts when they arrive?

[SAB]

I too have been in position of awaiting ex-batts, but have had to go ahead and arrange for my other chickens (including a couple of bantams) as it looks like it could be a long time before ex-batts available in my area - may be a good idea for you to ask your co-ordinator for realistic timescale for your ex-batts. It must be frustrating when you have put in so much work on their future home. Good luck with it all.

[Cinnamon]

Can't answer you question about which first,but I do know that its not always a success story when Bantams are put in with larger hens.Many of us who keep both keep them in seperate quaters.

It may be worth thinking about a couple of larger hens instead,if you are new to hen keeping

[FruitandNutCake]

Thanks, I hadn't thought of that. Are ex-batts a certain breed, or do they vary? Any recommended varieties to look at? I'm hoping to get speak to a local breeder later, so I'll ask what breeds he stocks then maybe just take a drive over next weekend to have a look and see what condition his stock are in.

 

I phoned two other local breeders advertised in poultry magazine, but one isn't selling any this year, and the other has only just hatched some and doesn't know if there are any hens yet

 

Maybe I should just try to be patient!

[Cinnamon]

Try a Meadowsweet agent for a good range of hybrids (your ex batts will be hybrids too,I think)

 

If you Google it,they will come up

 

If it were me,I would be tempted to get the ex batts first, as they may not be in the best of health (worms,lice,weak etc), so unless you can keep them seperated from the other hens,they may either spread whatever they have,or be picked on & not strong enough to fight back.

 

I have never had ex batts,but I am sure some of the many ex batt owners will be along soon to give you more advice

[Lovemychooks]

I'd definately get ex-batts. I've had 12 (at separate times) over a year and they are lovely chickens, so friendly and it's lovely to see them become more confident and nice to give them a good retirement. I say go for it !

[Tina C]

More and more people seem to be getting ex-batts as their first chickens but I am glad I had some experience before getting ours.

 

Everyone on this forum will understand your impatience and it is frustrating if you don't know when you will get your ex-batts (which is a good thing for ex-batts as there its because there is so much demand from people wanting to give them a happy 'retirement')

 

I think mixing ex-batts and bantams is a bit risky - especially if you get the bantams first as they can be quite feisty.

 

The ex-batts will need time to recuperate from the shock of being pulled out of their 'cosy' environment and into the real world.

 

I think you need to either try and be patient or, if you can't wait, get some hybrids first then rig up some temporary accomodation for your ex-batts - to give them time to grow strong before trying to integrate them.

 

Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do.

[Guest]

ex batts were our first but i did do a lot of research before getting them. i would advise you wait for the ex batts so they can recover before you get your other chickens.

 

v . good advice there from tina

[SAB]

Thanks for your advice Tina. In addition to feeling it would take a long time before there were any ex-batts up here in Scotland, I also thought I would rather have some experience with some chickens who were well and not traumatised first. I know that this will mean I will have to make temporary accommodation (and maybe even permanent accommodation) when we do eventually get ex-batts, but so be it. Our non-batts arrive mid-May and hopefully we will be more confident as chicken owners by the time some ex-batts eventually join our menagerie.

[FruitandNutCake]

Thanks for all your advice. It's a tough decision! I spoke to co-ordinator this morning. It sems there is such a huge demand about 600 on the waiting list, and I'm unlikely to reach the top of the list until June, but that is only 6-10 weeks away.

 

If I got a few hybrids now, would I have to keep the ex batts completely seperated, or could I let them free range together and just keep them seperate at night? Maybe I could get an eglu for the ex-batts so they have their own seperate place until they are well enough to be mixed?

 

Having trouble sourcing chickens locally anyway at the moment!

[abwsco]

If it helps I've been waiting impatiently since February and just found out I'll be getting my ex-batts at the end of May so I've another 6 weeks to wait

[Tina C]

In answer to the free-ranging question I think at first you would still need to keep them separate at first ie let one lot free-range, then the other lot.

 

My ex-batts had a compeletely separate area of the garden from the omlet girls at first. The omlet girls would be allowed to free-range around the ex-batts' netting for short periods and there were occasional spats through the netting.

 

Then we started letting the ex-batts free-range the rest of the garden first, then the omlet girls had their turn 'out to play'.

 

Next step was to let them all into the 'neutral territory together - they would free-range in separate groups for a while then the omlet girls would start the attack and we would put each group back in their own sections.

 

Later we moved the ex-batts so they were adjacent to the omlet girls but still separated by netting, with their own free-range area, but having time in the rest of the garden together. It was a good six months before we took away the netting dividing them (my girls very rarely have to stay in their runs but they are confined to only part of the garden).

 

At this stage they still lived in separate houses. But one of our ex-batts went to chicken heaven last month and now we have the two remaining ex-battts and the two omlet girls living together in the eglu at last.

 

I think you could say we were very cautious - and lucky enough to have the space to keep them apart. Once we took the netting away we had about an hour of skirmishes but all was calm after that.

 

I think you could easily make the process shorter but I guess what I am saying is its best to be prepared to keep them separate until both you and they are ready. One reason it took us so long was that we went on holiday in May and in July last year and we did not want our chicken-sitters to have to deal with any problems so we postponed the 'introductions' until we knew we were going to be around.

 

Hope this helps give you some ideas about what you could do. It is only my experience though, everyone does it differently.

[FruitandNutCake]

Thanks for the useful advice - I think I'll wait and get 6-8 ex-batts. 6 weeks will fly by!

 

Although I have a got a large 100ft + x40ft garden, which I could section off, I think it would make it more difficult fo the kids (their playground area is at the end of the garden!). And I'd like to have some plants! The chickens will already have the closest 30ft of garden for free ranging to start with.