[fee]

I am very keen to get three ex-battery chickens but live in a town with an average size garden.  I want my chickens to be able to run around once they have settled in but I do have three cats and one small gentle dog.  I have asked my vet and she says there is no way of knowing what will happen but prob be OK.  Could anyone else advise me please?  Should I get my three chickens and give them a caring home or am I going to make life worse for them?

Thanks very much :?

[dawninspain]

Hello fee and welcome to the forum.

Ex-battery hens need gentle handling at first as they are not used to the great outdoors and could be extra stressed by encounters with cats and a dog. You will need to provide them with a house to sleep in so why not plan a secure run attached to the henhouse so that if you are not there to supervise then they can still have access to the outdoors.  Even if your cats and dog turn out to be OK with them there is still the problem of foxes in towns. Also, if you are at all concerned about the plants in your garden, then free ranging chickens will make swift work of any of them that happen to be edible

Keeping chickens is a wonderful hobby so go ahead, give some ex-batteries a wonderful new life. Their own cosy house, run and a caring owner will seem like a million dollars after the battery farm.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Dawn

[babe]

hello and welcome, you'll never regret having chooks.

ex batts need an awful lot of care when you first get them. it may be wise to have a couple of happy healthy girls first just while you build up your knowledge and confidence.

but well done you for wanting ex batts, they all deserve a nice happy home and im sure you'll do them proud.

[Aunt Sally]

Hi Fee

I've moved your post to the Hen House where more of the chickeny people will see it.  Do pop back to the Welcome forum and introduce yourself.

The advice given there is first class.  A small run allow at least  1 squ metre per hen attached to their run will be perfect.  And you can keep them off any flower beds you need to protect with a bit of cheap plastic netting.

As babe said ex-bats can be a bit difficult for new chicken keepers so for a first time I to would advice point of lay girlss have a look on our poulry pages to see in there is a preeder near you listed.

[Jellyhead]

If its any help I have 8  cats now and one of my kitties who is 6 months old loves to curl up in my chickie coop. NONE of my cats have EVER been a threat to my chooks and I now truly believe that they can all get along well
Dogs, however, are a different story but by no means does that project a negative picture (are u impressed with me lingo Jellyhead friends?) anyway nothing ventured nothing gained, start slowly, see where it goes, rescuing ex-batts most rewarding well done you       will post piccies of me flower girls soon - promise

[ness]

Hi
I have no experience of battery chooks but it sounds like you would offer a lovely home for 3 chooks.  I have a cat and a dog (jack russell terrorist) which are now brilliant with the chickens but they were interested in the beginning.
Along with the garden being virtually eaten you have to be prepared for noise.  One of my chooks has decided to squawk pretty well all the time - I am expecting a knock on the door from the council some day soon.  But to be honest I don't think this is the norm - she just likes the sounds of her own voice, you know the type!  I may have to move them to the allotment after all.  :roll:
Saying that I love my girls (just hope my neighbours do too)- they are very rewarding pets, great characters and watching them is such fun!

[richyrich7]

Hi Fee can't really add to the advice given, my cats are terrified of the hens  :roll:   Welcome to the forums  

[daveinmanc]

hello there and welcome  

all the above is better than i can offer you cos we have ducks lol  . . . . . but if its any help  . . . .  my other half has a cat who is a mean mouse catcher if ever there was one so no  shortage of a mean streak there then  . . . .  

however  . . . .  she is very interested in the ducks to the point where she likes to come and 'get up' with them in the morning, have a sniff in their bowl before they do, doesn't mind when they chase her    and actually seems to be looking out for them now as we think she has accepted that they are part of the 'family'  . . . . .  there are farm cats around that are a bit interested that we keep an eye on as they're generally a bit ' Ferrel ', and i think most people on here would say to you the same as they did to me; keep them penned up for a while, a week or so??? (could be wrong there) and see how the dog reacts.

if it just shows an 'interest' with no sign of aggression then when they're 'free to roam' still keep an eye out. dont have them out without you being there to watch over them (maybe on a lead first?) and keep your eyes open while they are. its a bit suck it and see with dogs, the most placid dog in the world still has its 'streak' inside it and will react differently to other dogs and animals as they encounter them.

good luck and keep up the good work      

[september]

Hi,

We aquired our first 20 chickens 2 weeks ago from a poultry farm and although the farm was not a battery farm, ours came from a shed containing 12000 chickens. They did have access to an outside area but were still pretty scruffy and bald in places. Our chickens are Lohmans so are a reasonable size.

Anyway, we have 2 cats and a dog. So far the cats have looked at the chickens from afar. One has become a bit braver and just walked past them yesterday while the chickens were running free range in our garden. I think the chickens are too big for him to attempt to catch. The chickens were completley at ease with the cat. The dog was a bit anxious at first but now helps me round them up at night (she is a collie cross but very gentle) and follows them all over the garden. They tell her off if she comes too close.

All in all, I have found it rewarding to rescue these chickens. They are still adjusting to life out of the shed and they absolutley love running around scratching for worms in the garden. We have been digging over our veggie patch and they have been sitting on the fork as we lift the earth looking for worms, tweeting happily away .

The only down side is getting up really early to let them out of the hen house into their run in the morning! If you're late they get very cantankerous!

Happy hen homing!

[mdueal]

Our two tiny sebrights saw off next doors cat today - so funny seeing them chasing it down the length of the garden fence tiny little dots running after a big moggy.

[fee]

Many thanks to everyone who answered my post - you all made me feel very welcome.  My news re my hens is that we have 3 point-to-lay chickens which we have had for a week.  They have a run but we also let them out to roam the garden when we are at home.  The cats watch but are careful of them and the dog follows them around but only because she thinks they have food!!!  The chickens are not bothered in the least.  Although I had set my heart of ex battery chickens I went for the advice from Babe and decided to get my husbandry skills up to scratch on some health ones.  They are very friendly and calm and my children love them as do I.  No eggs yet but hopefully it won't be too long.

Thanks again for all your help

Fee

[babe]

now fee.... you need to name them, get them to pose for the camera.

and show us, coz we love seeing other peoples chickies.

and now you have a few, lets see how many you have this time next year      

[Viv]

Its addictive, good luck and keep us informed of your progress