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

[cheekychook]

Hi,

We just got our Green Cube( and extended run) AND went to get the 4 ex battery hens from the battery Hen Welfare Trust on the same day after a bit of mix up with dates! First night the poor wee things spent in a large dog crate with straw in our shed as the Eglu base hadn't been delivered and surprisingly we got our first egg the next day. They are now happily esconced in their new Cube home and have given us 5 more eggs and weve only had them 4 days!

They are 60 weeks old (and were destined to be made into stock cubes or something as they were being replaced by the farmer) They had never seen proper daylight or walked about or stretched their wings so its been a delight to see them wander about scratching the grass and mastering the cube ladder (I saw someone recommend on the forum putting pipe lagging on the rungs and it works a treat as I don't think they would have managed it otherwise!) their claws are very long but they have bright eyes and have very different personalities already. We have only named one - Louise (after my sister!) who has a small comb as the others are only distinctive at this stage due to the varying baldness with their lack of feathers - so we will wait till they get their proper healthy plummage before naming the others.

Honestly you should get some ex bats they are amazing and it feels good giving them a little life after a terrible start in the battert farms. I laughed when I gave them grapes yesterday and they went mad for them and ran of with them in case the others grabbed theirs! All new experiences. I will post a picture as soon as I can! Most of our 7 cats have started at them thru the bars and are quite blase!

looking forward to sharing ideas etc as I am so new to this!

[Chickvic]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Well done on rescuing some ex-batts

[Hen Watch]

Welcome to the forum.

 

So glad to hear your ex-bats are settling in nicely.

 

We need pics you know.....

[xenacathy]

Hi

 

I loved reading your post! We are collecting our ex-batts on 2nd May and I can't wait. Welcome to the forum. xx

[dancing cloud]

Hello and welcome from me and my ex-batt girls

 

Glad to hear you and yours are getting along so well - and we all like to see piccies of happy ex-batts (hint, hint!)

[Minnie the Moocher]

Hello there.

 

Sounds like you're doing well with the eggs!

 

Welcome.

[Eggquisite]

Oh lovely... sounds like your ex batts are loving their new life... fantastic..

 

what a lovely adventure they must be having..

[Egluntyne]

Welcome aboard. Looking forward to the pictures and hearing the rest of the names.

[Funny Feathers]

Hi! Great to read your post- brilliant that some more ex-batts have found a new home. Let us know how they get on... ours arrive tomorrow so I'll be reading your every word!

[judethepude]

Hi There

Sunny (nae rainy) Pitlochry calling again! Just interested to know where you got your ex-batts from as I could only find one contact in Scotland and the releases don't seem to come up too often. Also looking forward to hearing how the hens are doing. Ours have been with us for a fortnight now and it already feels like they are so much a permanent part of our lives. They have settled well and the Scruffty one (Petula) is already looking healthier. I'm interested to know if any others out there have encountered this with their ex-batts - although far more featherless, pecked and with wonky wings, Petula is a much more prolific layer (11 eggs in 15 days), Whereas, Gloria, with not a feather out of place (you wouldn't believe they came from the same place) doesn't lay as much and to be blunt,isn't the brightest gal. Anyway they both seem happy in their new abode, so I must be doing something right, largely because I take the advice on this site! Sorry no photos - I'm not the best at this computer malarky, but maybe one day if I gat a spare 5 mins!

[cheekychook]

HI,

The 4 ex batt girls are doing really well and all have very different personalities. They are called: Louise - (smaller comb than the others and quite bossy) - Penny who is quite timid and not terribly bright and just throws herself out of the Eglu instead of using the ladders to get out! Rosaleen who is even tempered, not too brave but lovely, and Edwina - the smallest but with the most feathers and definetely the leader. We have only had one day without any eggs - today we have had 4 and yesterday 3! They love all kinds of things but still the favourite is grapes and Edwina adores lettuce. They have lost a lot of their fear and come and grab things out of your hand - me me me me me me!!!!

 

As I am new to this I was wondering if someone could help - I thought the chooks would sleep on their roosting bars but they don't - they all squash into the nesting box at night- there really isn't the room and the first night one of them seemed to sleep on the entrance bit to the nesting box - they all manage it now but it can't be comfortable - seems a shame when there is so much space in the rest of it - I was thinking of taking out one set of bars and making it into a nice straw big area for them to see if it helps - any other ideas or what am I doing wrong?. They make some mess of the straw in the nest box overnight as they are sitting on the poo! They must be terrified to move in case they lose their place!

 

They much prefer drinking out of a tub than out of the Glug - in fact they jump UP on the top of the glug and drink out of the top! They all can drink out of it the proper way as I have seen them but they definetely seem to prefer to drink out of a tub (I used a large ice cream tub fastened to the bars with zip ties to secure it and then put another tub inside so its easier to take it out and clean it (they sometimes stand in it!?!)

 

anyway must go and go and look at them!

[Minnie the Moocher]

Congratulations on your new girls!

 

Don't forget that EVERYTHING is alien to them at the mo. They've never seen a nesting box before, and they are really comfy! Plus, they simply don't know HOW to roost. You could put an upturned flowerpot or something similar in the box to encourage them on to the roosting bar. I've always found that to be successful.

 

Don't worry, you're not doing anything wrong!

 

Good luck.

[dancing cloud]

Three of my original six ex-batts still sleep in the nestbox in the and another one sleeps half in, half out, so I wouldn't worry about it. You can make them move out, but I am far too soft to do that and just pick the poo out in the morning. When we had a few really cold nights in winter, all six piled into the nestbox, so it's probably a warmth and comfort thing.

 

The three new heavenlies all roost in a pile on the bars of the and have never slept in the nestbox. It's amazing what a teeny tiny pile three ex-batts can make .

 

None of mine have really got on with the glug or superglug and seemed to view tham as paddling pools rather than drinking water . I went for the gravity drinkers that come with three legs and they all do well with those, though Dandelion still much prefers to jump up into the birdbath and drink that after she's washed her feet in it .

 

Sounds like your four are doing really well and are being suitably spoiled and indulged . Reminds me, it's time to go and give my rabble some corn

[cheekychook]

Forgot to answer Judetheprude re where we got the ex batts - As we live in the Scottish Borders it was actually nearer to go to Northumberland to get them so we drove down there. I think The Scottish coordinator for the battery hen welfare trust is in Perth so that was slightly further away for us. Its really been worth it getting them . They make us laugh every time we go out to see them and they get all excited as they think we are bringing them treats! - they especially like red grapes I have discovered and apples are not popular at all!

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Congratulations on your new ex-batts . Sounds like you're having lots of fun with them . We'd love to see some photos hint, hint .

[mostin]

Congratulations on your ex-batts . I am so glad that you are enjoying them so much, and that you have joined the forum. It is a friendly place here, and there is no such thing as a daft question. I love it that I can ask anything at all, and somebody will always have experienced it before with one of their chickens.

 

I pick up my ex-batts tomorrow so watch out for pics of my girls .