[sandra d]

Hi All, I got my three ex battery hens this afternoon. We put the Eglu and run next to the big run so that they could see each other and when the new girls poked the heads out of the door, all of the big girla dashed across and lined up to see them. It was so funny. They were almost standing on top of each other to get a better look.
Now I need a bit of advice. At least one of them is pulling the feathers from the other two. I`m hoping that its because they are a bit stressed and when they sort themselves out, they`ll stop. Has anybody got any thought on the subject?. I`ve took a few `photos but the weather wasn`t very good and a little word of advice. When you crawl through the tiny door of an Eglu run in the dark and the pouring rain to get two soaking threadbare hens back into the house, watch what you kneel in.

[Kate and her Ducks]

Congratulations! Bet they will be feathered up and happy in no time at all

Your pictures have gone a bit squiffy but I bet a clever moderator will be along in no time to put them straight

[nnbreeder]

You might give them a bit of cat food as a treat to increase the protien level of their feed, not very much for each hen either. The extra protien will help to grow in new feathers. Hard boiled eggs can also be mixed into their feed.

Each and every one of you that find places for these ex-battery hens are special, caring people. It's nice to see that these hens will have a nice life.

[Kate and her Ducks]

Each and every one of you that find places for these ex-battery hens are special, caring people. It's nice to see that these hens will have a nice life.

Well said nnbreeder!

[happy chick]

Congrats on your new arrivals!!  The plucking is so annoying isn't it!  Hopefully it will calm down with time especially as they become used to their lovely more spacious environment.  i think knowing who the pecker is, is a real advantage as you can then possibly do something about that chicken down the line, if it continues to be a problem.(see previous threads about Bodger's specs).  However, my Buffy who's the lowest in the pecking order just seems to let all of the others do it to her and there was a time when I was quite worried about her.  In the past few weeks things have settled down with the others leaving Buffy alone a bit more now but if her feathers don't recover i'm planning to put a t-shirt on her(old baby vest).  

Hope the feather plucking stops soon and well done you on getting your ex-batts!!  

[sandra d]

The feather pulling seemes to have stopped but the most threadbare scraggy one is a right bully and If she comes out, the others go in. This afternoon my others were out in the garden. They had only seem the new ones through the run mesh and the Egloo wire but once they were out, they could walk right around it. To see this tiny tatty thing looking like a mini turkey trying to kill my gorgeous Ginger Heidi ( a Buff Orpington about three times her size ) through the bars was very funny. She had to stand on the water bowls to get to the same hight. Heidi was just looking at her like she was mad. When she tried to attack Shelley, Shelley fought back. Thankfully, they couldn`t do very much damage through the bars. Sally wasn`t daft. When the little spitfire launched herself at the wire and threatened to kill her, she just jumped onto the top and stood looking down at her. Hopefully things will settle down soon. We still had three eggs from them. One of them in the box on the way home.

[Hawkins]

well done Sandra d on rescuing those chickens.

I have had my 7 ex-bats about 10 weeks now and mine looked like yours when I first got them. They all look really well now. I have one that is still scrawny and lacking in feathers but she is getting there. Over the past 3 weeks they have all put loads of weight and feathers on.

Things that mine did in the first few weeks were. after about 4 days they stopped laying for about a week then they started again and haven't stopped since. I think they were using the energy to make feathers and get a better colour on them as their combs were very pale and floppy.

I found the scrawniest looking one was also bullying the others but they got over that in about 4 weeks once they settled.

They were fantastic when we introduced them to my original 5 and now all get on well. There is a little bit of pecking occasionally but hardly anything.

I really hope your girls do as well as mine, they are such characters.

Good luck