daisymay Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Hi I got 2 rescue hens from someone who no longer wanted them (they didn't get on with the ones she had so was causing lots of problems). They are in a bit of a state with lot of bald patches on their fronts, around their tails and bright red bald bottoms (not what I was expecting at all). I red mite powdered them last night and covered the bald patches with purple spray - a little bit on there already. I noticed when i came back inside that i had a tiny bit of blood on my arm. My husband (who was putting the powder on them) noticed that the vent seemed to be pulsating. I let them out this morning and all seemed fine. I've just got back and seen the eggs. She has laid what I think is a huge egg (66g) but there is blood on it. I am a bit worried and not really sure what to do. I have a feeling something might've been wrong with them and i haven't been given the full facts...although this might not be the case at all. I've contacted the previous owner who said she has not seen such a thing before and just to keep an eye on them. Have just been to watch them and check inside the eglu and the poos in there look black (although right shape and consistency etc...sorry for the details!). Nothing dodgy on the ground in the run as far as i can tell. She seems to have a bit of poo around her vent. Any advice......please? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Their vents do pulsate do that is nothing to worry about. Often a large egg can cause a little internal tear, leading to lood on the egg. Again, ordinarily nothing to worry about. All you can do is keep an eye on them. You are doing a grand job so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisymay Posted June 14, 2008 Author Share Posted June 14, 2008 thanks egluntine...you are always there giving out great advice. have just been to see them and they are getting friendlier now. think they are settling in. they are huge compared to my little girls...big difference between 22ish weeks and 18 mths. will keep an eye on the blood thing. feel calmer now you said the vent does pulse....never seen one properly before as the my girls are all feathery! something else for you (fountain of knowledge....really, that's how i see you!). they've been here 36hrs now and are getting really aggressive towards my girls through the bars and keep knocking the grub off as they throw themselves towards the run wire/my other girls. i know this a totally different thing but do you think it will be a nightmare putting them together? i've got quite a large area where they roam (about 20ft by 25/30ft) and have 5 young girls (only 2 laying) roaming about plus these rescue ones. i think they have a bit of history being peckers.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Have a look at **these articles** which give general advice about introducing new hens to an existing flock. There is bound to be some aggression and pecking at first. I would take it very slowly and expect some minor skirmishes when you do mix them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 Sounds like you are doing a great job with them! I introduced two older hens (18 months old) to a group of 4 younger hens last year. Have to admit the older ones were a right pain. I think it was the combination of the change (being uprooted from their home of 18 months) and suddenly having other chickens around (mine had only ever known each other, at least yours were with others), but they did seem very antisocial. It did take a while to integrate the two groups, I had to do it very slowly and when they were together give them plenty of space to escape each other. But to reassure you, it did work and they are all one happy family now. I have since added other chickens to the group and the oldest two girls were absolutely fine about it! What I'm trying to say is just take your time with the introductions and they will be fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 Hi there, Sorry the girls are a bit aggressive - to be honest they probably just want to get out of the run rather than at the other hens. Having seen your area for chickens I don't think you will have any problems at all with them - our difficulty was that we were not able to give them enough space because of the fox problem we have here. As you know, there was a history of feather pulling and pecking, although it was hard to establish who was pulling who, but in your free range garden I am positive that won't happen. If we'd been able to offer that much space we would have kept them here - it really was in their interests that we wanted to rehome them. We have been keeping hens for four years, and for some reason this particular combination didn't work for us in our set-up. I think the blood on the egg was nothing to worry about, as other posts have suggested. She does sometimes lay quite large eggs. Please let me know if they are a problem, and we can discuss an alternative. I originally got these hens through Omlet, so they should be okay. Good luck, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
