sunflwer Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Hi, my name is Paula and I live with my husband, four children and a cat. We went and picked up our first 4 chickens yesterday. They are ex batts and have been amazing to watch already. I can see that not a lot of housework is going to get done this half term! My kids have named them Violet, Ruby, Tinkerbell and Bluebell. Violet is the only one pecking the other hens. She has managed to graze Tinkerbell and Bluebells combs. I have read about putting vaseline on them, is there anything else I can do? Ruby was the first one to venture out of the eglu yesterday and I have just seen her dust bathing for the first time too. Also much to my childrens delight we had our first egg this morning. I have no idea who laid it though! Any advice on ex batts would be greatly appreciated. Paula Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trougher Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Hi Paula I am also new to ken keeping, got my ex-batts just over a month ago. Mine pecked each others combs a bit at the beginning, not seriously although there was a tiny bit of blood drawn, we just cleaned the combs, watched and waited and they have stopped doing it. Mind you, ours don't really seem to have a pecking order, they all seem fairly equal, but I know others on this forum have had different experiences. What sort of condition are they in? Mine were in fairly good shape when I got them, strong legs and not too many feathers lost. I think the condition will determine how much care they need. I am still feeding mine on a mixture of ex-bat crumbs and pellets, but when I next buy, I think I will switch to layers pellets as I don't think mine need any extra help in conditioning. I give tit bits, dried mealworms are the absolute favourites, but I try to give them veg - cabbage, lettuce, tomato etc. You'll find lots of threads on here about tit bits and extra foodie things. It's taking a while to teach mine what are edible things, though. I bought a poultry pecker bar last week, but they have completely ignored it so far, even though it is mainly corn, which loose they eat happily! I think the main thing is to keep watching and enjoying as they learn lots of new things (and enjoy the eggs!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunflwer Posted October 24, 2010 Author Share Posted October 24, 2010 Hi Trougher They are in better condition then I thought they would be. Ruby has the most feathers and seems to know what to do. Violet is missing the feathers around her neck, but definitely seems to be the boss. Tinkerbell is a bit patchy and has quite a large comb. Bluebell is the worst off, she has a completely bald bottom and a large very pale comb. It is great to here that the pecking will settle down. So far it is only Violet. She pecks at the others when they go for food when she wants to eat, so they all wait for her to finish. The ex batt crumbs and pellets we ordered haven't arrived yet so we picked up a bag of layers mash from the local garden centre, which they all seem to like. They have also had meal worms and we put in some grapes for them to try today, but only Violet has eaten them. About 20 mins ago we found are 2nd egg which I am pretty sure was from Violet. She laid it in the nest box, the first we found on the roosting bars! Paula Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percy049 Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 my ex-free range chickens are called the same! (Ruby and Violet). Like yours, Violet is (well, sort of) the dominant one, and Ruby was the first one out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Welcome to the forum, Sunflowr, and congratulations on your new girls . Love their names . As long as they don't draw blood they should be OK. If you do see blood, purple spray (from horsey shops) would be a good idea - disguises the red (which they're attracted to) and is an antiseptic too. Cornflour will stop bleeding in an emergency! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunflwer Posted October 26, 2010 Author Share Posted October 26, 2010 Hi, percy049, must be something in the names, I am sure I read another thread where a chicken called Violet is the dominant one. We let them out of the run for the first time yesterday and true to form Ruby was the first one out! Thanks for the advice Ain't "Ooops, word censored!"ody Here, the pecking has died down a bit now, but have some purple spray on its way just incase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkBevBen Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Hiya Paula, just wanted to say hey and I'm sure you'll enjoy it here. We're also new to chicken ownership - just coming upto 2 months in now. Wouldn't swap them for the world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Hi Paula, I would put up extra food stations. You can get Parrot coop cups that hook onto the run. Congratulations on getting the girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
