Eglu Cube Coop For Sale

[Raina]

 

Hi all,

 

My mum came back from our local feed place today and had a small piece of paper with the BHWT website written down.(She said they had a smallish leaflet above some ex-batt crumbs)

 

I would love to get some ex-batts instead of getting some pure breeds as there are lots needing homes but i have a few Questions.

 

 

Are they food aggressive?

What are they like for handling,are they skittish or more likely to peck

Are they harder to introduce (That's my main worry)

Are they more likely to get ill

How long do they need to be Kept on Ex-batt crumbs also can Orakiah eat them (The crumbs that is)

 

TIA,

 

 

Raina

[sparkysmum]

Raina, Hi

 

Ex Batts are fab, fab, fab. You get the picture !. They were our 1st hens & we love them. To answer your questions :

 

Are they food aggressive - no, no, no! Boris, our original ex batt (3.5yrs) is more than happy to share her food with her hen sisters.

 

Re handling ; Although Boris is extremely tame and follows you around she doesn't particularly want to be picked up. She's not at all skittish and would never peck you. She has pecked the dogs on occasion though

 

I've had no problems at all introducing other hens - she largely ignores them. However Hazel (my daughter) noticed that she was actually quite kindly when we were introducing the bantam chicks recently. Certainly a lot kinder than our somewhat menacing araucana

 

Are they likely to become ill I know that some ex batts can be short lived but Boris is about 3.5 yrs, fit and healthy. I think she might have stopped laying in the last couple of weeks

 

Boris has never had ex batt crumb - she doesn't like it. She's on Garvo & Wiggly Wigglers bokashi mash.

 

I really would say go for them! There is something so special about ex batts. Boris is so confident & happy, she's the first to run into the kitchen when you're not looking and the first to greet you in the morning.

 

If I had the room I'd have a flock of them. I'm sure others will come along to confirm what I'm saying.

 

Alli x

[THF Nick]

Our 2 have been an absolute joy since their arrival in May.

 

They paid absolutely no attention to the separation period, no attention to the fact that they should eat crumb and not pellets and no attention to the pecking order. Within a a week Big beak was running the show and Little beak (bottom of the pecking order) had worked out that she was better off sucking up to us and being spoiled rotten!

 

We've had a bout of worms, little beaks feathers are still all over the place but they still lay 4-5 eggs a week but more importantly seem to be happy.

[Egluntyne]

Food aggressive? - they can be, as they have had to fight for every s"Ooops, word censored!" in the battery cage. It blows over.

 

Skittish? - they tend to be nervous at first, but with careful wrangling they will come round.

 

Are they harder to introduce? - They need a period of quarantine, to ensure that they don't bring any nasties to your flock, and to give them time to recover, and build up a bit of muscle. They can come off the worse in a skirmish if they are particularly weak.

 

Are they more likely to get ill. - Not in my experience, although it is very much the luck of the draw.

 

Ex- batt crumbs. iI've always just given mash, and then weaned them onto pellets as soon as seems appropriate.

[Trougher]

I've got 3 ex-batts which I have now had for nearly 3 weeks. I've got no other chickens and have never had chickens before, so am a complete novice, and can't answer for the introduction part of your question.

 

However, my experience so far is that each of my 3 has a very different character, and so questions like food aggression are going to depend on the character of the chicken. I have perhaps been lucky as I have not had any major pecking or battles between my three. One of mine, Lucky, is very food motivated and will run around after you begging for treats, and is reasonably easy to pick up. Cleo is very docile and really easy to pick up, whilst Henrietta is inclined to be a bit skittish, but seems to be calming down and becoming more relaxed.

 

Mine are on a mixture of ex-bat crumb and pellet, they prefer the crumb but will eat the pellets, eventually I will probably switch them entirely to normal pellets, but will see how it goes.

 

Again, perhaps I have been lucky as mine were in reasonably good condition when I got them, I have had plenty of eggs, and they have been quick learners as far as routine and behaviour is concerned. I think they are wonderful, and would recommend ex-batts to anyone.

[Lavenders_Blue]

Ex batts are just wonderful!

When they first arrived we had one hen who would stand IN the food and not let the others near, but with extra food stations and a little bit of time this soon blew over.

 

They will be quite nervous and skittish at first but they soon settle down. Mine don't enjoy being handled at all (although they are quite happy to hop onto my knee when I'm sat in the garden) but they will tolerate it if I need to handle them.

 

I acquired a hen from a neighbour a couple of months or so ago - she is much feistier than my ex batts, in fact quite a meanie madam at times! The ex batts are very docile by comparison.

 

They all eat ex batt crumbs, including my non ex batt girl and they are just fine on it.

[Mrs Dabooka]

I have just got 3 ex batts. Had them 4 weeks and I love them. I'm getting 2-3 eggs a day. all their feathers are growing back. They even come running when I call them (obviously because I bring the food )

 

They have grown in confidence so much since I first got them it is unbelieveable. I even get told off by them now If I try to put them away too early... They are real characters.

 

I got a few tips off the web. Putting fake eggs in the nesting box. This helped them know where to lay their eggs. Pretty quickly in they learnt to do this in their nesting box.

 

The only thing I found distressing was when I first saw them dust bathing, they looked ill (I thought I'd posioned them!) but they are doing great.

 

They are an absolute joy!

 

I have purchased the ex-batt crumb and they seem to like this. But I've given them corn, rasins, cooked marrow (they loved this), danillions all sorts. But there is nothing better than seeing them eat a good old slug!

[Chickybaby]

Ex-bats are fantastic! I've had them for 4 years now and am just about to get some more. In answer to your questions:

Are they food aggressive - I have never seen aggression in mine although there does seem to be one or two that get the food first while the others stand back a while. I have never had an underweight chicken though so they all get their fair share eventually. I also scatter their treats around their pen so they all get a chance.

Handling - I have always handled mine from day 1 so they are used to it. You do end up chasing them round the garden for a few days trying to catch them to begin with but it doesn't take long for them to become tame.....mealworms help!

Introductions: I have introduced new ex-bats to my established ones three times now and have never had a problem. I tend to put them straight down into the garden when I get them home and supervise them all together. For the first night I bring the new ones in but from then on they are all together. To be honest the established ex-bats tend to ignore any new ones I have.....it's like they understand what they're going through!

Illness: it just depends really. I lost Phoebe last week who I'd had for 3 years and also recently lost Penny who I'd only had for 11 months. I don't think you can really worry about it because then no-one would get them and, lets face it, any time in a nice loving home is a bonus compared to where they've come from!

Feeding: Mine have always gone straight on to layers mash and have never had ex-bat crumbs.

 

Hope this helps..........you won't regret getting any!

[Raina]

Awwww.

 

 

Thanks everyone looks like i'm getting some Ex-batts then

 

 

How Many should i get? 2 or more (I have a Eglu Classic with the standard run but hoping to get 1 or 2 extra runs soon-ish)

 

and My Last Question.

 

When we get some should i let them in the Eglu (So they can get used to it and not get too stressed) and keep Orakiah in the Temp run or just leave Orakiah in the Eglu and the Ex-batts in the temp Run?

 

Thanks again

[the bradley bunch]

ex-batts - what are they like?

funny mischevious friendly delicious egg layers beautiful happy rewarding and most of all lucky to have been given a second chance at life by a person like you

 

if you put them in the eglu you'll most likely have to take the roosting bars out as they tend to sleep on the floor and it may be very uncomfortable for them otherwise.

the bhwt will let you take a minumum of 3 hens so that they will always have company if one of them did get poorly.

[Mrs Dabooka]

I put mine in there home for the first night and then let them have a run around their enclosure the next day.

 

They are doing really well and seem really settled. Bewared though when you first get them they stand still and don't move as they aren't use to the space you are giving them. This doesn't last long and they are soon running around

 

Have fun and enjoy them.