[alisonwo]

We took on a couple of ex battery hens, they have settled in, but they have become agressive pecking and chasing the others around, snatching food out of their mouths, racing to eat as much food as possible if I put out treats, generally acting as though they are starving.  I leave enough food out though so I know they are not,  I am not sure how to deal with this.  Have tried separating them from the others, but when I put them together again after a few days it starts up again, their egg laying is quite sporadic as well.  Has anyone come across this problem and can tell me how to deal with it? thanks alison

[SMD66]

Hi Alison, do your hens have access to food all the time?  you just said you, 'leave enough out for them.'   They do need their pellets all day long.

Putting new hens with existing hens will always result in squabbles.  They are trying to establish the, 'pecking order.'  Usually it all settles after a week or 2,  as long as there are no injuries that draw blood then let them get on with it.  When you have seperated them could they still see each other?  Sometimes being along-side in a run, with the feeders close together allows them to get used to each other so that they get used to being around each other before-hand.

As for the egg laying they will be stressed and will need to settle down before you get a true idea of how well they will lay.  It may be that they don't lay daily anyway, that's why the battery farms want rid of them.  Some ex-batts lay well, some hardly lay at all.

Hope this helps, and welcome to the forums.
Samantha 

[Rubellite]

My ex batts seem to eat far more than my other girls too
Maybe it's a survival thing or perhaps as they are bred to produce a daily egg they need more food than others.
I give them as much as they want and they are certainly not fat - try feeding them more, expect you'll soon know how much they are capanble of eating before they go pop 

[alisonwo]

Food is not the problem unfortunately, I keep the feeder well topped up and its constantly available for all the girls, and they get treats.   I have separated the two ex batts from the other four all of whom now get on well after only a week, but put the ex batts back and within minutes they are chasing the newbies up the garden biting at them.  Must admit that despite rescuing them from a life of misery, they have proved a big disappointment.

[Kate and her Ducks]

I'm no expert but I wonder if part of the problem is their previous life and the fact that they have not had a chance to engage in normal chicken behaviour hence their asbo behaviour.

[dizzylizzie]

Hi, i have some beautiful ex-batts also, and they are very greedy. i dont think this is exclusive to ex-batts as from what i can gather, the way to a chickens heart is through her tummy!
Judging by the state of our girls when they come out, they have not had anywhere near enough food, so its understanderble they would be a bit 'aggressive or obsesive ' over food, they probably have had to fight for what ever they had, and just because we know they are going to get fed regulary, it dosent mean they do . i would just give them time, they will hopefully forget about the life they once had and start to chill out a bit with you xx

[Feeb]

one of my battery hens was an absolutely menance for the first day... going on at the other hens and generally mis-behaving - now that they are establishing a pecking order, Pox is much more chilled, the others are bigger than her and i think she is learning to just deal with it

but it might be a bit of a hard habit to break and it really worried me at the time

i hope it works out though i  can offer little advice, only empathy xx

[matilda duck]

I'm sorry you are finding your ex-batts a big disapointment
The thing with battery hens is that you have to help them become a chicken.  They havn't been brought up to have fun, run around, eat when they like.  They are tought to lay and that is it!  They don't know when or if they will be fed, so food is a big deal to these girls.

This is why we always advise newbies against having batttery hens as their first hen.  They really do need much more TLC. And you really need to understand what goes on in their little minds.

Mine are always first for the worm, slug ect that the other chickens havn't even seen   I really don't see ours chasing the others for food as a problem more of a game of tag.  As long as they don't peck each other

[dizzylizzie]

me again-sorry i hadnt took in everthing you said! , as regards the egg laying, these girls are in retirement now, any eggs are a bonus, a very welcome one, but not to be relied upon,they could also be moulting, this stops them laying because of the energy needed to replace feathers, and im not sure about this, and someone who knows loads more than me will tell you, but i think to keep on seperating them may make it worse as you are splitting the flock up. One of mine was a right little bully, we tried everything, water spray, clapping/making loud noise, putting her in the run by herself,shooing her away, we were ven thinking of taking her to a friends house for a week to alter the pecking order, but things settled down, only after a lot of sqwarking, very bruised combs, feather pulling etc, but they did calm down. Dont worry, they probably just need to settle xx

[andreadon]

alisonwo, you will find that they take a long time to settle down.
they've had a hell of a time in the farm and they really don't know social behaviour rules. 

our two ex-batts took about 3 months in all to be able to live with the originals without any problems (fighting etc) and we had to keep them separate from each other for about a month!
give it time and just keep trying to get them in the same place, but if you have to leave them alone for any period of time, until they've proved they can be together when you're supervising, then please keep them separate.
they will learn, but it takes time.

godd luck with it!