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

[dippy bird]

Did I read somewhere that you can buy jumpers for ex bats?

[Space Chick]

There are knitting patterns on the Little Hen Rescue site, but I don't know where you can buy them.

[Leicester_H]

Hi

I'm sure I read somewhere that jumpers were NOT a good idea - too easy for them to get feet/claws caught in them.

I have no experience of ex-bats - but maybe you could check this out before deciding.

H

[Valkyrie]

How about a saddle - the ones for protecting against injury from amorous cocks - it might add a bit of warmth without the problems that Hazel's pointed out. At the moment we were wondering the same things because our girlie is really moulting badly and shivering - apparently it's going to get frosty this weekend too. They pick daft times to moult.

[craftyhunnypie]

perhaps jackets made from fleece with velcro fastenings would be safer?

A bit like doggie coat sort of things.

 

Emma.x

[The Dogmother]

The BHWT doesn't recommend using them

[craftyhunnypie]

If I ever had ex batts they would just have to live indoors & be allowed a warm up on the rug infront of the fire. Poor loves.

 

Emma.x

[dippy bird]

ok, so no jackets,just lots of warm straw then,and maybe a spell in my kitchen with me and my OH next to the radiator.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

We thought that we'd keep our batties indoors for the first few days in our unheated extension.......the chooks went absolutely bananas & we came to the conclusion it was because they were overheating, they were in a huge plastic dog crate with more space than they were used to in the cages....as a result they were put out into their well-wrapped eglu and run, which we'd made as draught-proof as possible with several layers of tarpaulin, lined the run with hemcore & the house with straw and pretty much left them to it....the outside temp was near freezing but they seemed to be much happier and didn't have jackets of any description on. We also had a windbreak across the door end, leaving a little porch for me to pour myself into about 50 times a day to check up & watch them

 

We had warm mash porridge available most of the time, and always corn & dry mash with unfrozen water containers obviously.

 

Here they were snuggled up in their eglu on the first morning of freedom (very warm in there they were too, til I opened the door for a photo session )

...and once they decided to brave the scary run

..and this was the view of their run on 3rd February, 3 days after they arrived

 

As long as they are kept dry, out of draughts and well fed, they are fairly sturdy beasties in our experience.....and I bet you couldn't stand the smell in your kitchen for too long either, they really hum

 

Good luck with your new "babies", they are a joy to watch getting healthier and doing all the things that normal chooks take for granted

 

Sha x

[The Dogmother]

I wouldn't recommend getting any ex-batts (unless they're well covered) in the cooler months.

 

Hens naturally have a higher tempertaure than ours (105deg) and they don't usually feel the cold, but baldies coming straight from a hot shed into the cold outdoors are bound to feel nippy.

 

Wait until the weather is warmer.

[dippy bird]

oh bless, they look really snuggly! We have lots of wind breaks as we go camping (ALOT ), so hopefully my OH will be able to knock something up to protect them.

[xScrunchee]

Just a quick question regarding not getting ex batts in the cooler months

 

Understandably it would be better if people could get them in the warm weather but what would happen to all the ex batts who are thrown out of the battery farms during winter if everyone decided to wait till spring

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Just a quick question regarding not getting ex batts in the cooler months

 

Understandably it would be better if people could get them in the warm weather but what would happen to all the ex batts who are thrown out of the battery farms during winter if everyone decided to wait till spring

 

... we'd been on the list for a local rescue from the previous August/September

 

Obviously in a perfect world the batties would prefer to stay at their snuggly warm barn temperature & not be subjected to the real temperature outside if they are "oven ready", however I still feel that, in the main, as long as they are protected from wet & draughts & fed appropriately......rather like us really ....they soon feather up and become proper chickens with all the normal temperature control systems kicking in.....and with caring new mums & dads go on to thrive for the rest of their natural lives. There are exceptions to every rule, but that is a fact of life, and however short their retirement, I feel it's a worthwhile risk to take them out of the cage & away from the can .

 

Sorry Claret, I understand what you are saying, but on this occasion, from my experience I have to disagree.....not a usual occurrence it has to be said where your chook advice is concerned

 

Sha x

[The Dogmother]

That's fine Sha , so long as someone is aware of the steps they need to take with the more fragile rescued hens, then it's OK. But so many get them in the deepest winter, without having prepared or made any special arrangements. then wonder why they are poorly.

 

I'm often asked about getting ex-batts and while some beginners are practical and will be fine with it, others aren't the sort to manage well if there's a death or illness, so it's a fine line to tread when giving advice I err on the side of caution and give the blanket response of getting them when the weather is warmer.

 

Some farms turn out hens in better condition than others, some are virtually bare and pretty poorly, while others are almost good as new.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

I must admit that when I first started on my chook journey, I was torn between ex-batts and "bomb-proofs" as our original girls are affectionately known..I went with the bomb-proofs as I have 3 dogs & children pour in & out of my garden practically all the time, so I needed to know they could all be trusted with chooks before I got some who would/may have problems....

 

If I had my time again I would do the same again, I really wouldn't recommend batties as a first chook, and apart from anything else, my original 3 have taught the batties and the Orpies all sorts of chook behaviour they didn't know before eg dustbathing......the lessons were hysterical to watch !!

 

I suppose I was lucky, my 4 girls (lost one to a neighbour's visiting dog ) were healthy & only had one bout of illness between them when Hazel had sour crop in the summer.

 

Sha x

[sandyhas3chucks]

well I had 2 that had not got enough to keep them warm, they were both one of a pair in separate eglus.

Having seen 4 snuggle up since I would not have been concerned over night if there had been 3 or 4 snuggling ex bats.

Any way, all 4 of mine ended up in doors overnight during that cold spell, it was in an unheated downstairs bathroom, wher the temp did not drop below 10 degrees.

I think the fleece ones are prob better as there is nothing to catch on. these I understand can be made from the arm(wrist end) of an old fleece sweater!

I think it all depends on various circumstances, I know BHWT says no, but little hen and some others use them, maybe BHWT don't rescue through the colder months, ther are snuggle safes and electric warming pads(only only for freezing temps!) and if in an Eglu run you can protect all sides with corrugated plastic or clear tarpaflex to keep the wind and rain and snow out ! and they would surely learn to go back into the eglu if they were really cold, my girls soon learnt about the fire indoors and would tap to come in to warm up, and tap to go back out!, but they did arrive in May, so got to learn a few tricks 1st!

[Valkyrie]

Well the greenhouse is open - mainly because of the drizzle, and I didn't want Apache to get chilled. So what happens? The young full feathered evil little monsters ran in like pirates to a treasure chest. The old girls stand outside in the drizzle. You can't win!

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Well the greenhouse is open - mainly because of the drizzle, and I didn't want Apache to get chilled. So what happens? The young full feathered evil little monsters ran in like pirates to a treasure chest. The old girls stand outside in the drizzle. You can't win!

 

Well "Ooops, word censored!"ody said Orpies were bright did they ? Maybe that's a generalisation but my four certainly don't show any signs of latent intelligence

 

Sha x

[Valkyrie]

I quite agree - all their brains must be in their feathers - which are dotted around the garden!