theherd123 Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 Thanks for the congrats Debs & Helen. It does seem im quite lucky on the old egg front! I have pictures of each individual egg and the set of 4 too! Will post them as soon as i get my firewire from work. Helen you so need some rescue chooks - i think everyone should do it! They are just brilliant!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooner.girl Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Do they need much more looking after then standard chooks Emma? and what sort of things do you have to do for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theherd123 Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 (edited) Do they need much more looking after then standard chooks Emma? and what sort of things do you have to do for them? Not really too sure i can answer your first question as i have never had standard chooks The Sweetie Girls are the first chickens i have ever owned! Must say its not the baptism of fire i expected - most of that is down to the forum members as i have been asking questions & reading like mad since June! At the moment the girls are inside - in my dining room to be presise (we are renovating so dont really care about the mess) I think if we had rescued them in the summer they would have gone straight outside but as its so cold now the shock of coming from a hot battery farm to a cold garden would have been too much for them, so thats why we are keeping them in. They are going into the garage tonight - another small drop in temperature & we hope we can put them in the garden at the weekend. We intend to put a microwave hot water bottle type thing under the roosting bars at night when they go outside just to keep them warm. I have tired to make each of them a jumpery affair emphasise the word try!! I will be sewing them up today with a view to them modelling them tomorrow! Edited November 6, 2006 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aqualiv Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Helen you so need some rescue chooks - i think everyone should do it! They are just brilliant!!! I'll second that They don't need any more looking after than normal hens. I suppose if they arrive with health problems they could. Olivia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theherd123 Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 Just found our 5th - yes 5th egg!!!! Its Spog again!!!! :dance: Had to share the moment with one of my builders as the OH is at work!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooner.girl Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 It is exciting finding eggs isn't it Emma!? I still get excited and Daisy must have laid about 30 now - just waiting for the 2 littler chooks to start! Don't know what the Mother in Law would say if i had hens in the house! Gosh its tempting, just to see the look on her face! It would either be rescue hens or ducks. Hens would be easier probably. Particuarly if i got them in the spring when it was warmer! Hadn't thought about the fact that it would be a big shock to them living outside rather then in the warm (durrr obviously Helen!) Who did you get yours from Emma. I presume you had links with the BHWT? Is there anyone with them locally in Sussex do you know? Is Buffie the link for them here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theherd123 Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 I do love finding eggs - such a simple thing but hey! My very first post on the forum was about battery hens Vs Omlet hens and thats where i found Buffie the Battery Hen Rescue Lady (or rather she found me!) I also looked on the BHWT website - www.thehenshouse.co.uk there is LOADS of useful info there including who is your local area co-ordinator and when the next rescue will be in your area. Ideally i would have wanted my chickens at the start of half term however the rescue wasnt until 4th Nov so i booked my chickens through the co-ordinator and then she callled me a couple of days before the rescue to check everything was still ok and they gave me a map of how to get to them & a sheet of info about how to care for them. My Co-ordinators John & Monica Hall were fantastic and when i next get some more hens i will rescue again - no doubts about that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooner.girl Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Did you go to the actual rescue? Or pick the birds up from somewhere else? Do they need injections for the different diseases like omlet give the birds you get from them? Sorry for the questions! Helen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theherd123 Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 No worries about the questions - i asked them all before i got mine - knowledge is power & all that! I didnt go to the rescue - must say i dont think i could handle it - would be useless as i would be crying all the time & couldnt pick up the chickens for needing to wipe my eyes! John & Monica (BHWT Co-orninators) went to the farm & brought them back to their house where they have a large open area where the chickens go before they are picked up - the rescue & rehome happens on the same day - one lot of stress over & done with in a day. I gather the birds are fully inoculated as the battery farmers cannot afford to have an outbreak of anything nasty. I have put some redmite powder in the eglu and will try & dust the chickens in it tonight. Apart from that i have pretty much left the Sweetie Girls to it so they have time to calm down & get used to their new environment. I do love 'em!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubereglu Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Congratulations on: The sweetie hens!!! The eglu and The eggs!!! Hope you will enjoy eating their efforts!!! Have fun looking after them. I'm sure that you'll be a fab chicken Mum to them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooner.girl Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 I think i might be useless at a rescue as well Emma - for the same reasons as you! Did you chose your 4? What happens to all the ones that aren't rehomed? Are your 4 friendly? I guess not as i presume they have had little human contact yet. Have you tried them on sweetcorn? Thats my chickens absolute favourite! Hows flumps foot? There is a rescue person for Sussex - i looked on the site, but i missed the last rescue by a couple of months - i shall keep an eye out - and keep nagging OH - he thinks 3 is enough at the moment - how wrong can a man be?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theherd123 Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 Yes we did choose our 4 & after being given advice from expert chicken owners i picked chickens with character! I dont think the rescue coordinators rescue any more than can be rehomed - if they have homes for 267 they rescue that number too. The Sweetie Girls are ok on the friendly front - OH picked them out of the box & lifted them into the run with ease, they flapped a lot when we put them to bed last night but for their first human contact i think they are doing well Im yet to pick them up but i have stroked them a lot. I have given them sweetcorn - just scattered it in their run & they have pecked at it, but scrambled egg went down really well tonight! In the rush to get there Mojo knocked over the tub it was in! Flump is still limping and sitting down a lot - im very worried but she now has a washing up bowl of straw to sit in if she likes. I do hope it gets better soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 I hope that Flump gets better! I'm glad they are settling in, I really do hope to rehome some next year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cate in NZ Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Helen and Emma, the rescues are great and very well organised. I've helped out at 2 now (and I also travelled to Devon to the big rescue to adopt my ex batts, but unfortunately we weren't really needed to help as such at that one, just stopped for a chat and a look around rather than doing anything useful), and I anticipate helping out at a lot more to come. The co-ordinators collect sufficient numbers of hens for the number ordered by the adopters if that makes sense, and I know that Jean (the co-ordinator I help) always feels bad about the hens that they can't rescue, but since awareness about ex-batts is growing I think that more and more are being saved in this way. In some ways the rescues are heart-breaking because you just can't help feeling compassionate about the state the poor girls are in when they arrive at the rescue base, crammed into the transport crates, all straggly and smelly.... but they perk up so quickly, start eating, stretching and scratching, even in some cases squaring up to each other for a bit of "who's going to be the boss here" nonsense. It's brilliant to see just how strong and resilient they are, and how quickly they start to adapt to the change in environment. All they get is a quick health check, claw clipping (the claws grow really long when they're not able to scratch in the cages), and very occasionally a beak tidy up if they have really badly trimmed beaks, then they relax in holding pens for a drink and a snack until their new families turn up to choose them. It's really, really worthwhile work, I love doing it as does my 13 year old daughter, although every time I find myself thinking about taking an extra one home myself..... fortunately there aren't normally any spares left over for me to kidnap, although at the last rescue there was one that was blind in one eye.... we did wonder if anyone would want her and I was mentally rearranging the space in my eglus But the most important work of all is done by those of you who adopt the ex batts, if you didn't offer them new homes we wouldn't be able to rescue any of them at all. So thank you so much for giving those lovely, lucky hens a fabulous retirement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 If anyone is helping out at a rescue and can get me a job with helping I'd be really greatful! Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cate in NZ Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 I've already spoken to you about it Martin, but I'll keep you informed about the activities with the rescues that I help at.... it's just the distance problem with us, but fingers crossed we'll manage to work something out one day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Yup thanks Kate. I would be able to fund train costs etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Martin, check the BHWT website for the details of your nearest co-ordinator and contact them. The rescues are very hectic, so you don't have the time to think about the state they're in. I really had to shut off my emotions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 I have contacted them but I don't think they took me seriously! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina C Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 After watching the River Cottage programme and looking at Martin's pic of your new girls I am desperate to do something to help some battery babies. I have shown the pic to OH and Layla (5) and they support me but I can't really justify spending loads of money on another eglu at the moment. The ones on ebay look very tempting but Christmas is coming and, well you know how it is. Layla was a little sweetie when I explained in simple terms what had happened to the chickens - she said the farmers should not keep them in sheds, they should be nice to animals. I said that some people did not have lots of money and the farmers do it because people want to buy cheap food but its hard for a 5 year old to take it all in! Anyway - am I a really devious woman? I then asked Layla if we could use her savings (she is well-provided for as we put all the family allowance into an account for her) to buy a new home for some battery hens. And she said yes! But I shouldn't. Should I? What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feemcg Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 I don't see why not. Its a great lesson you're teaching her about battery hens and I feel chickens are an 'educational pet' in that children are learning to look after them but also seeing the egg production too. Layla is only 5 and has many years of family allowance ahead of her to be saved up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Tina go for it!!!! I think childrens lives are enriched by caring for animals and think of the good you are doing! I know so many people who never had animals around when they were growing up and now dont have the same appreciation for them as adults. Christian x x x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Do it Tina! They can be her hens, and she will learn so much from caring for them. My 8 year old is now an evangelistic eco-warrior, who campaigns actively against battery farming. You will all gain so much from this experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Go for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xraylady Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 I realise I may be in the minority but here goes. I agree that your daughter will learn a lot from taking care of rescue chickens - but perhaps you will want to consider the financial lesson as well. When expensive items 'appear', by magic it seems to a small child, it is usaually appropriate to keep the details of affordability to ourselves - we bear the financial responsibility. But when you plan on using 'Layla's money' maybe the balance shifts a bit. I understand that she enthusiastically endorses your idea & that she will gain from it - but perhaps you do not want to teach her a lesson that even remotely approaches the appearance of taking advantage of someone weaker for your own pet project. There, I've said it. I wanted to put it bluntly - not because I think this is your motive or that she will take it that way - but simply to ask that you consider some alternatives. A few years ago, my daughter & I attended a workshop for kids in Denver. I could easily have paid for it on my credit card, but instead Alice & I 'split' the cost. I sat down with her & my work schedule to find where I could work some extra shifts. This affected her because I would be gone more. She committed her pocket-money, we had a bake sale in the neighbourhood (she helped bake), she called and wrote to pretty much everyone we knew, who cared about her and her development, & asked them to support her and why she was doing it, what she hoped to get out of it etc. (She amazed me how much maturity she showed - so was everyone else!) We had a 'thermometer' (a la Blue Peter) to keep track of the money - it was very exciting as we neared our goal! I think Alice got as much out of the process as she did out of the workshop- which was awesome by the way! Perhaps you could sit down with Layla & brainstorm ideas for fundraising. Trust your child, she will amaze you with creative ideas! It takes more than one person to rescue a hen. Allow her the opprtunity to discover that the world will support her in her goal, if she will enthusiastically enroll others in her mission. It is hard to be sure that email etc come across in the spirit intended. Please understand that I in no way want to judge you - I think rescue chickens are a great idea. But you did ask for opinion, this is mine & I my aim is the best for you & your family, especially Layla. my very best wishes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
