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

[jos]

I'm picking up 5 ex batts on saturday and will be back home with them at around 4.30pm. (it's about a 2 hour drive). From what I've read it seems I should put them straight into their house and leave them in until the next morning, but I'm just concerned about them not having access to food, and especially, to any water for so many hours.

Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks,

Jos

[Egluntyne]

Hello Jos and congratulations on rescuing the hens.

 

You are right to be concerned about what you have been told/have read. I completely disagree with it I'm afraid.

 

They will need access to food and water as soon as they get home.

 

Just pop them in the run, have their layers mash and water there already, and leave them quietly to acclimatise and get on with things. There might be a few squabbles initially.

 

After a 2 hour drive they will be desperate for a drink at the very least, and at 4.30 there are still quite a few hours of daylight left for them to explore their run and new sleeping arrangement.

 

I rescued 3 ex-batts a few weeks ago and it is one of the most rewarding things I have done. I'm sure you will feel the same.

 

Good luck.

[jos]

Thanks, Egluntine, I will fell much happier knowing they can have some food and water after what will have been a traumatic day for them.

Jos

[Tina C]

My ex-batts had a long drive home too. It was getting dark when we got home so we put them inside their house (we had a wooden swiss chalet style house - this would be more difficult if you have an eglu) with water and mash and a couple of torches. They do have access to food and water after the rescue but they may have been too shocked to eat or drink much.

 

Rather than disturb them again after their stressful day we left the torches on until the batteries ran out. The idea was that we gave them time to acclimatise to where they were going to sleep. Which turned out to be the three next boxes - they always slept in the nestboxes until we moved them in with the omlet girls a few weeks ago.

 

In the morning they were a bit reluctant to come out so we left the food and water in the house. Dusty stayed inside most of the morning, but Petula laid an egg in the run.

 

However, by the end of the first day they realised that outside was quite a nice place to be and we removed the food and water that night.

 

Well done for rescuing some girls - I am sure they will settle in just fine.

[Abbey Road Girl]

Hi Jos,

 

I agree with the others that the hens should have food and water available during daylight hours!

 

You don't say what kind of accommodation your ex-batts will be in. If, by chance, they will be housed in a Cube or something similar, you need to consider how they will manage to get into and out of their coop as they are unlikely to be strong enough to manage something like the Cube's ladder.

 

The Omlet man put my Pepperpots into the Cube before he left at mid-day. He reckoned that they'd have to come down the ladder for food and water at some point and would then find it easier to go up the ladder at dusk.

 

Good luck with your rescued ladies--I'm sure you will love them dearly!

[Lydia]

Hi Jos

 

Sometimes it depends on the individual bird and you just have to go with the flow. When Volty came home she spent the best part of the first week holed up in the eglu - so we just moved food and water in there during the day and regularly kept gentle contact with her via the eggport. She came out in her own time.

 

By contrast when Bartel arrived she was desperate to explore everything, including the entire garden!

[Tina C]

Lydia (sorry to go off tpic) I have to ask about those names - ???

[Lydia]

Blame the husband for most of them

 

Ping and Pong were the originals - which was fine until you took one out of context or, even worse, took Pong to the vet and had her name read out to a packed waiting room Ping remains but now gets called Pingle (or Pringle).

 

Hatpin and Bartel are named after Australian Rules Football players who happened to be starring in my husband's fantasy team at the time....

 

Brian got her name because we have a lot of female pets and hubby was getting lonely, so she was named after an Australian friend of ours - the one responsible for getting hubby into Aussie Rules Football (are you noticing a trend here?).

 

Volty is a rather lame attempt by my sister at a battery joke - battery, volts - geddit?

 

And Brenda, the most sensible name of them all, was named after a good friend of mine.

 

And just to get this back on topic, very best of luck with your ex-batts on Saturday Jos. May they bring you lots of joy!

[littleredhen]

When we got our ex-batts we put them straight into their house until the next morning but made sure they had plenty of food and water in there with them. They have often been starved before rescue and mine spent the first 24 hours eating and drinking almost constantly. Good luck for Saturday, I am sure you will have so much fun with them.

[jos]

Thanks for all your replies..... I don't have an eglu but I do have a house up on a ladder so I am prepared to go into the run and help the girls up and down the ladder until they have the strength to do it themselves.

I am really looking forward to having them!

[SLK69]

Hi

 

All hens are different, I'd put them in the house with water and food - will be better than a cage any way, but leave the door open incase any want out for a look see? Then see what the next day brings.

 

I got home at night with mine so put them to bed with food and water in cube - didn't want to stress them anymore than they had been and next day them eventually came out the cube and have quickly turned into normal hen doing hen stuff.

 

Well done on resucing hens - I feel as humans have treated them so badly it is our moral duty to give them a decnet retirement - who knows how many 'hidden' battery eggs we have eaten in cakes, creme eggs etc

 

Susie

 

p.s. I had expected to lose one hen to stress - after reading about exbatts - but all are healthy and still standing 6 weeks on

 

must be the love ?

[*mummy_hen*]

Sorry to jump on this thread but I am collecting some ex-batts on the 23rd May and have also been a bit worried about this (where to put them when we first arrive home) I want to leave the house door open incase they want to explore as we will be back at about 2pm with them but am worried they won't be able to manage the ladder coming down and going back up - i obviously will keep an eye on them but do you think it will be safe to leave this open for them as don't want poor injured hens on the first day!!!

[Scotty]

We rescued our girls on the 15th of March. We brought them straight home (1:30 drive roughly) and put them in their Eglu pen water and food inside and out (just to make sure!)

 

They put themselves to bed, managed to get up the ladder themselves. they didn't come out for a couple of days; but that was I think more the weather being so awful rather then the girls not wanted to come out... Then on the 3rd day all four popped their heads out of the cube and trotted down the ladder into the pen. (actually I think some of them just fell off the ladder) but they all landed happily.

 

1 week later they were roaming around the garden - They learn very very quickly, they come running as soon as anybody walks out the back door and are happy to come for cuddles. They are a total delight to all our family, friends and neighbours. And I wish you as much fun with your girls as we have with ours.

 

xxx

[redhotchick]

Well done for taking in some ex batts. It brings a tear to my eye everytime I read things like "until they can manage the ladder" and "stayed in the eglu for days"

I am even more resolved to encourage people to buy free range eggs, or better still - keep a couple of chickens themselves!