[AmandaH]

Hello.  Surfed onto into this website and saw what great advice people were getting so hoped I could ask for some help too... 

I acquired four ex-bats at the weekend, from the BHWT.  My new girls aren't doing badly, considering the rubbish start they've had in life, and are laying in their run enjoying the Buckinghamshire sunshine.  However, I have a couple of small queries.  Well, several actually.  Sorry...

I'm sorry to start with the question of pooh but I may as well get the awkward question out of the way first.  I have a very helpful book that shows me what healthy chicken pooh looks like and most of the pooh looks like that.  But... some of it doesn't.  Does that mean I have a sick chook somewhere, or just that they have funny tummies from the change of diet (I'm feeding them Ex-Bats Crumbs, mixed corn in the afternoon and the odd bit of veg)?  All them have nice clean bottoms, if that helps... 

Should I put leg rings on them?  There is always one of them with their head in the feeder but I honestly couldn't tell you if it was the same one or they are getting a fair share.  I haven't named them yet (thought I would wait until their personalities came out a bit and then I could name them appropriately) and, anyway, at the moment they are just four rather bald, limping creatures that all look the same.  I thought maybe if I put leg rings on them, I could at least make sure everyone was getting some food.

When I can I let them out of their run?  The idea is that they will have free run of the garden when I am around (most of the time) but be back in the run when I am not here to supervise.  I thought perhaps I could let them out an hour or so before bedtime (they already put themselves back in their bed every night, wish my daughter did), maybe on Friday?

Finally, unless I think of something else - limping.  All the girls are limping and I was told that they would limp for a while, as a result of being held upside down by their legs (nice).  But, how long should I let them hop about for, before it means there is something more serious wrong and I should take them to the vet?

Ah, now, see, I have thought of something else.  Eggs!  We had four on Sunday (one so big it made my eyes water just looking at it) but since then - nada.  I don't want to put them under any pressure to produce eggs - the whole point of getting them was that I could give them a nice retirement, they are more interesting than rabbits and that there was the happy beneficial side-effect of eggs - but is there a point at which I should worry about a lack of eggs?  I mean, can chooks get egg-bound, or whatever the expression is?

That's it now.  Apologies if this is the longest post ever and any advice gratefully received!

[joyfull]

Hi and welcome  .
First of all lets have a look at the pooh question 
If you click on this link it will show you loads of pooh piccies.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0
Joyfullxx

[too many girls]

Hi Amanda, welcome to the forum, regarding eggs, i wouldn't worry too much as they will need time to settle down and get used to the change, it's a big step for them to be free to do whatever they like and they probably won't have realised it yet, the eggs will come, you'll see

[joyfull]

Leg rings are entirely up to you if they help you identify the chickens then yes get some  .
Do your hens come to you when you call them or if you shake a food container? if yes then letting them out would be fine but if now wait a bit longer otherwise you may have fun and games getting them back into their run  .
Limping - dizzylizzie got six ex-batts last weekend and one of those started to limp yesterday. It turned out hers had dislocated her leg and broke her wing jumping out from the coop. Unfortunatly their legs are weak from being kept in cramped small cages  . I would just keep an eye on yours for a few days.
Eggs - they are ex batts so have finished mass laying which is why the farmer has got rid of them. However they will continue to lay but it may not be everyday. Also the rehoming process may have upset them a little so just give them a little time to adjust to life on the outside  .
Hope this goes someway to answering your questions, and no doubt others who have adopted ex batt may be able to help and advise you. Joyfullxx

[AmandaH]

Oooh, thank you for all the pooh pics.  Very helpful but quite put off my dinner now.  Looks like all my chooks are "normal".  Hurrah!

[joyfull]

bet you didn't think you would be studying pooh pictures when you decided to get hens did you? 

[AmandaH]

That's great, thanks for all that.  Please don't think I am hassling them for eggs!    I just needed to know when to worry.  I just want them to be Happy Hens.

No, they don't come to me when I come out with food.  They scuttle into the corner and wait for me to back off so I've been trying to keep a low profile and not scare them any more.  I open the door about 6am, two come out, two need a little encouragement.  I change their water and re-fill their feeder and then shut them out of the house and in their run while I have a little daily clean-up (figure it's easier to do a bit daily rather than let the pooh pile up).  If I open the run, they try to hide behind the water or the food.  I can barely get near them.  I've been sitting out in the garden, reading, in the hope that, eventually, they'll get used to me!  I guess it's a lot of change for them in a short period of time and I need to be patient.

[AmandaH]

No joyfull, I didn't think I'd be studying pooh pics.  But, having dealt with cat litter trays and babies nappies, hen pooh isn't terribly offensive!  

[joyfull]

wait till you slip in it 
Try a couple of treats like meal worms (not many) to get them to come to you 

[AmandaH]

Thanks for that thought!  Are the mealworms for chickens the same as the ones that I get for the birds?  Or are there different ones?  

[joyfull]

exactly the same either live or dried. They may not want them at first as things like treats will be completely alien to them but just percevere (sp?) 

[AmandaH]

That's great, thanks.  Yes, I will persevere.  Poor little things look a bit bewildered at the moment and treat everything I offer them with great suspicion...  

[too many girls]

we have a poorly chick called Raffles, when i took the kids to visit their dad yesterday Raffles came too, Sam layed out her blanket and put out food and water while Pip got her out of her box, their dad Nigel sat watching them silently (he's not much of a chicken lover unless it's on his plate ) inevitably Raffles wandered of her blanket to pooh on the carpet, he said " that bird's just s**t on the carpet" Pip looked and said "ooh that's a good pooh, isn't that a good pooh mum?" i said " it is a good pooh, with icing on the top just like a good pooh should be" then Sam agreed "yes, that's a healthy pooh alright" you should have seen Nigel's face, it was a picture

[bexy]

Hi Amanda.
I have had my hens since May this Year,ex battery and very bold apart from feathers on the head.
They too was very frightened at first untill someone suggested to me that i throw a little bit of tinned sweetcorn to them and hold the rest in my hand....they will soon coming running you'll see lol

Mine are let out of their run every day for usually 2 hours,they now follow me everywhere tripping me up all the time.
I don't give them their daily feed until i am ready to put them back...infact they race me back to the run knowing their is some kind of treat for them like cabbage,cooked potatoe peelings,spagetti,sweetcorn etc
In the meantime they go around the garden eating anything that moves and weeds and grass too

As soon as they have eaten their food and back in they settle down into a preening routine,a bit of sunbathing by spreading out their wings and an occasional dust bath before having a siesta  

As for the pooh,well i was like you at first and very worried about the different forms etc untill i studied the pictures on the site which now as put me at ease

This is a fantastic forum and one that all the members should be very proud off.....oh and it always give me a chuckle

[dizzylizzie]

Hi amanda, congratulations on your new girlies i am lucky enough to be owned y 6 ex-bats who started their retirement on saturday
ok...the poo post..lol, i thought it was ace, and its given me one less thing to worry about!
the shyness, it will come, when i go down to the run i always shout girlies, wheres my girlies, and they are just starting to stop what they are doing and come to the mesh. one of my girlies ran screeching across the run when i offered her a meal worm. i think i must have had the only chicken in the history of man that has a worm phobia
the limping...ok when the rescue team go in they have to work quickly, sometimes they can get hurt. remember, these girls are exhausted...they have been worked hard in inhumane conditions. they have been over crowded, living in dirty conditions. they havent been able to walk around, so they have no muscle tone, they have done no weight bearing excersie and have never been in the sunlight so have not built up any vitamin D, this makes their bones brittle. gentle excersise, sunshine and a good diet will soon have them right. One of my girlies fell/jumped out the coop yesterday, she has dislocated her leg and broken her wing. she landed on a thick bed of bark, but this is tha damage that has been done. seriously i think we just have to love/care for them, let them live like chickens and i think they will do ok. This forum has been a life-line for me. there is so much support and advice from people with so much experiance,im just gratefull  to the people on here for helping me through the first steps of being owned by chickens. take care lizzie xx