[RICH_Chicken]

hi, all

Ive got 6 ex-batts, I got them a week ago, they have produced around 3 eggs a day, which i think is good for the time they have been through the changes etc.....

My only concern is are the eggs ok to have, i know this maybe a daft question, but a few ppl have asked me about vaccinations? disease? etc so im a bit confused as to if my girls are going to be ok? and moreover are there eggs safe to be eating and giving them to family? etc?

Help Help....

Rich_Chicken

[joyfull]

they will be fine to eat. Ex batts will have been vaccinated against everything but even none vaccinated hens eggs are perfectly ok 

[RICH_Chicken]

Thanks,

That's great to hear, what should I be doing in terms of keeping them healthy? Medicine wise?
Any advice?

Rich_Chicken

[joyfull]

worm the every 3-4 months with flubenvet.
Get some frontline spray or kitten frontline drops (I get mine fro my vets as it isn't licensed for poultry) to treat for lice. Get some purple spray to treat for pecks and scrapes and also some wound powder (if you can't find any and need some in a hurry cornflour will surfice). As these are ex batts make sure you have some germaloids or similar just in case they have a prolapse.
Check around for a chicken friendly vet just in case you need one.   

[funkychook]

Thanks,

That's great to hear, what should I be doing in terms of keeping them healthy? Medicine wise?
Any advice?

Rich_Chicken

My mate who is a eggspert with chickens told me to give my girls 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar into a pint of their water every week this is good for their help and cuts down worms.

So I do 1 teaspoon per pint of water once a week for them to drink. I also do this for their water outside their run too when they free range.

I have since read in lots of places that ACV is brilliant for keeping the chooks healthy.

[Aidy]

Hi
First of all your ex bats will probably fall foul of many problems, remember they have lived in relative sterile conditions, they have never had the chance to build up a good immune system.
They in my opinion make more interesting chooks, they dont seem to have any issues with humans (unlike my Blackrocks).
As Joyful mentioned, get to know a good local chicken friendly vet, you will need one.

Over the years of keeping ex-bats I have a few tips to keep them healthy.
Apple Cider Vinegar... This seems to work on mine, I use 10ml per litre, I would suggest trying this and watching how they take it, they may not like it at first and you dont want them to de-hydrate so be prepared to change it if they refuse it, you might have to get them on it bit by bit.

Now my top tip.... Twice a week I make a porridge, take a handfull of layers pellets, to this mix in 1 garlic clove (pushed through the garlic press), some finely diced carrot (cooked), a desert spoonful of dried oregano and mix with 100ml of hot water and I add 5ml of battles poultry tonic. The idea is the garlic and the oregano work as an antiseptic on the tum killing a lot of bugs they will pick up in their propper chicken life.

It may also be worth very occasionaly giving them a little natural live yoghurt, but keep it occasional.
They can be a little harder to keep the other chickens, but keep them in good condition and they will be a joy to keep.

[compostqueen]

All the info regarding caring for hens is here so take time to read all the Stickies about how to care for your birds. Every subject under the sun is covered on the hen pages but you have to trawl through them