Chicken bald back

[gooner.girl]

Yesterday i helped out at the Essex rescue for the BHWT. We rescued nearly 450 hens and i could hold out no longer after being very good the past 3 rescues... With the husbands words of blessing ringing in my ears "i'd really rather you didn't but you're going to anyway aren't you?!" I chose 2 chickens to take home with me.... They are not in to bad condition - especially Bramley who looks stunning./ Pippin is a bit scrawnier but on the whole they were a well kept lot of battery hens (as far as that can go...)

 

This is Bramley...

 

 

And this is Pippin.

 

 

Here they are together...

 

 

So far the introductions haven't gone especially well but i am hoping that Daisy, Bluebell and Snowdrop will welcome their new 'friends' in time!

 

Oh! And heres the Essex rescue team (Featuring our very own revnev and his lovely daughter as well!)

 

[Cinnamon]

Great names for your lucky new hens

[Egluntyne]

Lovely pics.

 

Great names.

 

We've not had an apple theme before.

[Snowy]

Well done Helen, lovely girls, great names and pics. Am still at your OHs 'blessing'!

[lisa33]

They're lovely.

 

Well done.

 

[Sheilaz]

Great to read your news Helen, your post really made me smile. Love the pics too, although we need a caption for the group photo as Phil seems to have mistaken a dog for a hen? (Sorry Rev! )

 

Pippin & Bramble are lovely, & very lucky to have a new home with you. Such pale combs, aren't they? They'll soon be flourishing though.

[parmaviolet]

Ahh...They're lovely. Pippin looks a bit like Emmylou, who was bald in places when we got her & took almost a year to get all her feathers back.

 

Bramley looks well.......a bit like my Mini. We had to take Mini to the vet two weeks after getting her from BHWT & the vet could not believe that she was an ex batt as she was in such great condition.

 

It took three weeks before they were all happy with each other. This time round (we got Alison & Kirsty two weeks ago) it seems to be going a bit better. They're all free ranging in the garden together & there's only the odd peck.....not the feathers flying and claws out 2ft off the ground that we had last year.

 

Good luck with the introductions.

[theherd123]

Great news Helen - a load more girls living a happy life at last!

[bronze]

Lovely pics and I love the names.

 

Do I take it you've put them straight in with your existing girls?

[Jules.]

Lovely girls

[Cate in NZ]

Lovely photos Helen and what lucky hens Bramley and Pippin are to have such a great retirement with you

I was so disappointed to have to miss yesterday, but spent my Saturday administering 600 flu injections................ I'd have much rather been rescuing hens .

Here's hoping I can make the next rescue (please Sophie if you read this, don't organise it for October half term............ chances are that I'll be away then too [relly visiting ], and I can't bear to miss another one).

Good luck with the introductions Helen, I'm sure they'll all settle down well together soon enough, I just hope there's no tension in the early days.

[chelsea]

Wow, another addition to the Smallholding eh Helen?!

 

Bramley does look in really good condition for an ex batt.

 

Well done you. and to Mr GoonerGirl for giving in!

[gooner.girl]

Egluntine - Phil started with the apple idea but my dad is an apple tree expert and he has a book with 1000's of apple tree varieties in - i could run with this one for ages! 'Pink lady' has a ring to it...

 

Snowy - OH knows when to give in I think he quite enjoys having something to moan about! Will go into the office on monday and say to his work mates "you'll never guess what the wifes done now... :roll:"

 

Sheila - yes Phil does have problems with hen identification... He told us all to get one for the photo then grabbed the dog! Doh!

 

Bronze... Have had a bit of a nightmare start... I put them all to bed in eglu last night cos was dark when i got home. Took the newbies out this morning and put them in area made from omlet wire with own food and water. Seemed a bit dazed and bemused but ok. 15 min later i hear a huge racket. Dash out into garden to see no sign of Pip - and Daisy in wired area pecking at bramleys bum - she had her head caught in the wire and Snowdrop pecking at comb from other side! So got Bramley out of wire and put her in chooks eglu run. Meanwhile Daisy had got tangled up so untangled her and found Pip hiding behind a bush. Decided wire was not the best idea and the newbies have been in omlet run all day whilst old girls free range. They (old girls) used the ducks nest box to lay and oh my! What a fuss! They didnt lay yesterday and all 3 laid within half hour today and my word they were noisy about it at 8.30 am this morning. Am sure the neighbours were cursing us! I wonder if the noise was for the new girls benefit? as although they can be bad noise wise do not remember them ever being that noisy! All seems settled now but am gonna have fun introducing i think.

 

Kate - we really missed you yesterday - hope you can make the next one!

 

Also... Questions...

 

Is 5 hens ok in an eglu at night? There seemed plenty of space yesterday and will free range most days so the run is not an issue.

 

Has anyone put their batts straight onto layers pellets and did they adjust? Its all i have at the moment - i havent seem them eat pellets or drink from glug. I put rice, raisins, banana and porridge in there but i think they have only eaten corn and possibly banana. Hope they will be ok food and drink wise?

 

Going out to coo over them again now...

[Karen & co.]

Congratulations 2 very lucky ladies

 

karen x

[Cate in NZ]

 

Is 5 hens ok in an eglu at night? There seemed plenty of space yesterday and will free range most days so the run is not an issue.

 

Has anyone put their batts straight onto layers pellets and did they adjust? Its all i have at the moment - i havent seem them eat pellets or drink from glug. I put rice, raisins, banana and porridge in there but i think they have only eaten corn and possibly banana. Hope they will be ok food and drink wise?

 

 

I had 9 hens in one eglu at night on a few occasions, felt horribly guilty as they were all piled on top of each other, but they seemed to like it , I did keep shifting 2 or 3 out and into the other eglu to even up the space a bit, but I reckon that 5 could squeeze in quite happily as long they weren't all confined to the run during the day .

 

With my 2nd pair of ex batts (which I acquired on an impulsive rescue day as well ) I worried that they didn't seem to be eating at first and worried that it was because they didn't recognise the pellets as food, so I blitzed layers pellets in a food processor for a few days to begin with, at first blitzing it quite fine and gradually leaving it co"Ooops, word censored!"r and co"Ooops, word censored!"r so that eventually they recognised the peanuts as containing food and gradually becoming familiar with the different consistency of pellets. I have no idea though whether all that effort was really necessary or whether I did it to make myself feel like a caring "Mum" but they did take to pellets quite quickly.

[parmaviolet]

If they're all getting on there's easily room for 5. When I had June, Audrey, Emmy and Mini in all together I was always sure that there was room for at least two or three more.

 

With the pellets,; first time round I introduced them in a similar fashion to whats just been suggested.

 

This time round I happen to be feeding the original girls on layers mash anyway. But I did have a small amount of pellets left over from a while ago & have been putting them out in an additional feeder in the garden..........and it's mainly being eaten by Kirsty and Alison who arrived here two weeks ago!

 

So I wouldn't worry about giving them pellets, if they're hungry they'll eat it.

[AMO]

Gorgeous - they look at lot like my two - Toyah and Hazel! I hope they settle well.

A

x

[Guest]

it was a good rescue - nice weather - not too hot, not cold, no rain Chooks in very good condition.

 

Glad to hear they are settling in - despite teething problems!

 

some more photos of the rescue are here:

 

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/pnevard/ChickenRescue6oct

 

I understand Vicki had hens from the Essex rescue! does she have anything to say about the helpfulness of the particularly fine staff on duty that day!!

 

Phil

[gooner.girl]

If they're all getting on there's easily room for 5. When I had June, Audrey, Emmy and Mini in all together I was always sure that there was room for at least two or three more.

 

With the pellets,; first time round I introduced them in a similar fashion to whats just been suggested.

 

This time round I happen to be feeding the original girls on layers mash anyway. But I did have a small amount of pellets left over from a while ago & have been putting them out in an additional feeder in the garden..........and it's mainly being eaten by Kirsty and Alison who arrived here two weeks ago!

 

So I wouldn't worry about giving them pellets, if they're hungry they'll eat it.

 

Thanks for the help - i think its gonna be a brutal settling in time - i am a bit worried about it. There seems enough room in the eglu at night though