Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: R Fox on January 14, 2009, 15:25
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Hi there
Wondered if anyone could help me out. I have four ex-battery hens that i rehomed in November last year. They have all blossomed in free-range environment and are different girls to those that arrived.
Yesterday, one of the bigger - and healthier looking - of the hens didn't go in to roost with the others and was huddled up outside. So I put her in nesting box, and this morning she was still there, but listless and not interested in food. She did move out and sit on roost, so I left her to it. When i went in to check on her at lunchtime she was lying on floor dead :(
The other hens are all running around and perky - they seem fine - but I am worried about what could have caused such a sudden demise, and worried for the health of the other hens. We are clearing the pen out now just in case.
These are my first hens - I was wondering if anyone had any advice on what might have happened to her - and what measures i should put in place for the remaining three - if any.
Many thanks
Rosie
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hi there R fox. sorry about your lose , but i have had this twice now with my ex batts { had them since august last year } .
i dont think there is much that can be done except the usual of good hen keeping { clean water , bedding ,feed etc etc } its just something that happens .
but if u notice any of them sneezing or what seems like wheezing an coughing then i would suggest u get them on anitbiotics as soon as poss, mine have had colds twice now although most got over it i still have one or two that are not sounding rite but are completely fine in them sleves , an i had 1 that died on new years eve from the cold that hit her hard and another is going to be culled by a friend of mine as her eyes went all weepy again an her face was still to swollen even after the antiboitics.
someone else will come along soon and give more advice .
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They've had a hard life and it takes its toll on them.
She could have died from a number of reasons, egg bound, stroke, heart attack to name a few possibilities.
Just ensure your hygiene is good and feel pleased that you gave her a fantastic end to an otherwise miserable life :lol:
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Hi R Fox. Welcome and well done for carign for them. :)
Just to second what Aunt Sally says. Unless you can see a probable cause, could be lots of reasons.
Rob 8)
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We got ex batts last March, got them back to full health and our favourite one died suddenly a few months later, she didnt seem ill beforehand. I would just think what a lucky chicken you had, she got to see daylight and be a normal chicken for a while.
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yup as the others say ex batts have had a tough old life and release can add to the stress as it were.Quite a few of mine have died suddenly(ex batts that is). Nothing you can do about it unless there is an obvious symptom.
Just remember your little girl had a few months of freedom and fresh air with plenty of love.
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all i can say is Ii agree with everyone else, it happens but at least they had a nice retirment home.
We work on the thought that even if they pop off 1 day after ariving then its still bette than were they were going.
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its not just ex-bats -I had 2 beautiful faverollles hens drop dead, no answers even after the PM. Very sad :(
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Thanks everyone for your kind and helpful replies.
Just to update you - the other three hens are all in fine spirits and seem healthy enough, so at least it was unlikely to be something contagious.
I will just have to be grateful that she did have a few months of freedom, and make sure that i rehome some more ex-batts this year - they really are a joy to watch with the transformation.
And - even better, they are all finally laying eggs again after zero eggs for first couple of months!
Thanks again
Rosie
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:cry: I adopted 4 ex batts last September. One was a lot worse than the others and I got very involved with her to try to prevent the bullying and give her a better life. She regrew her feathers after 8 weeks and even worked out how to live with the others - up to a point. Then I found all huddled up and she died within 2 days despite a visit to the vet. If it was just the cold could I have done anything. Has anyone brought one back? I am feeling so bad, please help
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Don't feel bad. Exactly the same happened to me. I adopted ex batts last August and one that I called Hattie was bullied very badly. I tried everything and she did seem to get along a bit better but it was very sad. I hand fed her alot and when I gave mine extras and treats I would stand with them while they ate to make sure Hattie got her fair share.
However she got ill and although I thought she was I did not realise how bad it was and she died on New Years Eve and I cried because I had really taken her to heart. She meant alot to me and even now I feel sad and as if I let her down. If only there was something I could have done, and I'm sure there might have been but I am inexperienced and she was weak, which is why she got picked on, BUT we can only do our best and what we think is right at the time.
We probably love them more because they are weak and at least both your lovely hen and my Hattie were well loved and would have died much sooner hanging upside down and frightened, and would never have felt grass under their feet.
I now have a book titled The Chicken Health Handbook by Gail Damerow which is very good. It's worth buying.
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i rehomed 58 ex barn hens in May last year (also got 2 cockerals Jake and Elwood to keep them company)
29 hens and jake got taken by a fox or foxes after only a month of freedom (he must have thought all his christmasses had come at once and had a killing spree down the cowsheds)
1 hen got kicked in the head by my horse
1 got it's head bitten off by Casper when it tried to pinch his bone (it won't do that again and neither will Casper)
1 died unexpectedly in the hen house during the night
1 died sunbathing in the garden
i now have 27 left, i know it should be 26 and have no idea where the last one came from, now they all have their feather duvets it's impossible to tell who's who, although i still know which ones are Lonely, Pauline, Fat Lois, Elvera, Mildrid Peirce, Precious Pie, Joanna, Ginger, Tuptim, and Goldie, who the rest are is anybody's guess.
The farmer i got them from is having another turn around in May, i'm trying to keep my hands firmly in my pockets..........................
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well, i might just get 10..................
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although, 12 seems like a nice round number..................
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maybe just 15?
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:lol: Thanks linzechris for your kind words. I cried again when I read them but then decided I must buck my ideas up. My hen, Duffy, fluffed her feathers out and hunched up but made no attempt to go inside. I still wonder if she was ill so she got cold or cold so she got ill. If this happens again I am planning to bring the hen into the house for a while and see what happens.
Has anyone else tried this? successfully? I am still feeling a bit guilty that I didn't try it with Duffy but with her history of being bullied, which was so much better recently, I was frightened I'd start if off again. I really didn't know what to do so any advice would be helpful.
Thank you "too many girls" for making me realise that almost anything! is better than being killed after months in a cage and that there are plenty more to rescue.
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maybe just 15?
25 or 50 sounds better to me :wink:
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25 or 50? well i suppose it'll only take the same amount of time to let them out, Sam has made 2 lovely hen houses for the cobbs (my daddy said we had to get them out of the stables) so he could always make another bigger one............(he combined it with a woodwork project at school and got an A+) the only down side is that when i leave the house i can't get across the yard, i get mugged by 81 birds, they come from all directions, it can be almost impossibe to get as far as the car ( i take food with me, throw it to them and whilst they're busy, make a run for it, my dad say's i should keep the cobbs penned up as they're not pets but they always get out anyway, and i must admit i like to give them freedom, it always amazes me that they stay in their own breed groups, the cobbs stay together, the laying hens stay together (all over the farm, they like to wander but do so in groups) the Silkies and the 3 Amigo's (Littlefoot, Petree,and Eddie) stay together, i mean how do they know? even Pip's Polands have their own patch, we've got roughly 10 adult cockerals and apart from the odd squabble they all respect each others patch,
Aunt Sally, if you had the room i can imagine you doing the same "SCARECROW'S WIFE RESCUES 3 THOUSAND EX BATTERY HENS".........
my daddy has just read this post and said i can have no more than 20, when i asked him why he said "too many eggs as it is.................
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I guess it's chicken sociology they know who the members of their flock are.
I sounds as if they have an idyllic life :D
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Aunty, after my son James was born they took him to the nursery at the hospital, when they brought him to me to feed i saw him and said " that's not my baby" the midwife looked at me and said " oh, i'll go get another one" that baby's mother was in stitches as she said she was so tired she wouldn't have noticed if they had taken James to her.............we are still friends now, 18 years on. maybe it's the same for chickens.........
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:shock: Good job it was just for feeding and not to take home :shock:
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Luke was 10 lbs 2oz at birth, James was 5 lbs 13oz, i think Sharon may have eventually noticed, now, James is twice the size of Luke.
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Julie in Somerset I have sent a post to you, look in your messages file.
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I've recieved this PM from Julie and she does sound desperate. I've given her feeding advice - layers pellets/mash and fresh greens only, but I'm sure she'd be grateful for any other advice !
I'm not experienced with ex-bats.
Hi Aunt Sally
I adopted 4 ex batts last September, I fed them layers mash, damped, in the morning and odds and ends at lunchtime and layers pellets are always available. They are confined to their run most of the time - urban foxes and husbands a problem! They are on wood chips that I clean,rake and change when necessary. 1 hen has already died, 18 Jan, vet gave AB but no good. She just stopped moving around and died within 2 days. Amy is unwell at the moment with a very hard swelling between her legs. Again the vet has drawn a blank but gave calcium and a stimulant. She 's still alive but I don't hold out much hope.
2 others are OK but not laying as well as they were before all this happened. The scraps I get from work are uneaten school dinners. Bread, veg, pizza, chips etc. Do you think my feed regime is the problem? I thought hens could eat almost anything. My hens don't seem a lot fatter than when I got them but I would welcome some advice. My run is being extended soon and I plan to get some more so would like to get it right if I have made mistakes this time.
We did a course at the Domestic Fowl Trust b4 we got the hens but it was next to useless so are planning to go on one near Swindon - The Chicken School - have you heard if they are ok? Thanks for your time reading all this and for helping other hen owners - I've had cats for years and find them a lot easier than hens!
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Do you think the scraps may be overloading their renal system ? Extra salt maybe ??
Otherwise, can only think eggbound which I know you'll have thought too. Would a vet miss that ???
I'll leave it to teh ex-batty folks.
Rob
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I have found that Julie has another thread here
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=31122.0
If you can offer any further advice please post it there :D
Sarah :)