[hellebore]

About 6 weeks ago   I rehomed 6 ex-batts . Due to the freezing weather and their shortage of feathers I decided to house them in the cellar. The new hen house was put up there and a large area cordoned off with fire guards!! I turned the radiators off so it isnt too warm. During the day if the weather is wet I leave the light on down there and they aren't allowed out. I normally turn one light off at about 9.30pm at which point they go to bed. I turn the second light off about half an hour later. They appear fit and healthly, are eating well and laying approximately 5 eggs a day. I am feeding them ex-batt crumb together with daily corn and a variety of fresh treats cabbage, porridge, tinned sweetcorn, fruit etc. I also add poultry spice to their food. They do seem to prefer the treats to the crumb. They are now very friendly, which is a relief as they were  terrified when we first got them. My concern is that they don't appear to have gained much weight since we got them and their feathers are only growing very slowly . Being an absolute novice to this I am wondering if the fact that they are still laying eggs is stopping them gaining weight/feathers or could they be getting too much light. There are windows in the cellar but it is a bit gloomy down there which is why I leave the light on. The girls will be living on the allotment down the lane in spring but until then they must stay up here. I apologise for rambling on. Any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks Hellebore

[Foxy]

Hello hellebore, well done on getting exbatts
What appears to be happening is that by providing light until 9.30pm you are encouraging them to lay, as the longer "days" will stimulate laying. I would gradually reduce the hours of light to mimic normal winter(over a 2 week period) and this may switch off/reduce laying, which will help feather regrowth.
Regarding diet, keep them on the exbatts pellets/mash for now, you could add a little tinned tuna, or kitten food for a bit extra protein to help feather growth.Watch the treats, though if the egg quality is OK, ie not soft shells I expect they are fine.
Dont worry too much about weight, healthy exbatts will tend to be on the side anyway :happy:

[hellebore]

Thanks for advice, have started new lighting regime tonight, so in a couple of weeks they will be living a near normal day in terms of natural daylight. Will also give the tuna a try, perhaps mix it with some live yoghurt which they love. Thanks again Hellebore.

[hillfooter]

The advice Foxy gave you is certainly sound.  

Re cellar - personally I'd much prefer to get them out into the fresh air and natural light and temperatures as soon as possible.  I've never heard of anyone keeping chx in a cellar but I wouldn't have thought it very sustainable or sanitory over an extended period.  I'd be concerned about ventillation and damp and potentially mould spores.  Outside the cold and light will also help to stimulate feather growth.  Some compromises are necessary as it's not the best time of year to be acclimatising ex batts but I'd err on the side of not mollycoddling them too much.  Providing they have shelter a warm draft free though well ventillated house (ie not too big and airy) with lots of dry bedding they should be fine.  If possible I'd use a grid of perch bars rather than a single long bar as that way they can huddle together for warmth at night.

Best of luck
HF

[bobkaryn17]

Hello there

We rehomed four ex batts in Jan this year (2009) and they went straight outside.  It's amazing how quickly they adjust and natural instinct kicks in, they all put themselves to bed the first night and layed in the nesting box - until summer anyway then it became a hunt around the garden!!

Sadly we lost two of our best chooks just as winter started again, my lovely lady Harriet went all of a sudden in November followed three weeks later by the boss of the group Sadie.  They were our main layers and it was all a bit of a shock, however we have been told that it can be common with ex batts given we do not know their age / history etc.

My husband convinced me to get two more chooks (not ex batts) as we were worried about losing one of the others and so we have bought two 20 week hens from a farm down our road.  It has been a trying time getting them to settle with the original two ladies especially as one of them seems intent on being a bit of a bully, but things finally seem to be improving after almost three weeks.

The chooks have free-range of most of our garden during the day and we have been a bit concerned as the weather has been so bad, either extremely wet or snowing.  They all seem to be bearing up well, however I have noticed the last two days when I let them out in the morning that all of their tails still seem to be damp.  As everything is completely soaking in the garden at moment since snowed thawed out is there any advice on how to super insulate the chicken coop as surely there must be a draft getting in somewhere???

[Foxy]

eggcellent advice from Hillfooter, indeed when I have had chicks under a broody they do feather up faster than chicks raised in a brooder, which suggests a more natural enviroment will help feather growth. Worth balancing these points up and assessing your cellar. A good compromise maybe to build a "daytime" pen for the garden maybe?

[Flowerpower136]

I got my exbatts in August, so most of them have regrown their feathers. However, Tilly's still haven't grown, and I'm wondering if they ever will. And I admit to being worried about her with all the snow we've had and the awful icy east wind. In fact, had knitted a chuck sweater for her ready to put on if she seemed to be suffering.   



But honestly, the icy cold hasn't bothered her at all.   And we're up in the Lancs hills so, really quite a cold exposed area.

I've made sure that they've sheltered areas in the run (tubby trugs wedged on their sides against the direction of the wind), and they've a deep layer of woodshavings in the coop, and extra straw in the nest boxes.  But haven't blocked off any ventilation in the coop, because I think ventilation it's still needed even though it's cold.

Would strongly recommend ex-batt pellets or crumbs.  I started on these, and then changed to normal layers, and saw a deterioration in shell quality.  Now back on ex batt pellets, and much better. 

They will prefer treats to proper food - don't we all!  But you must limit treats to afternoons after they had a good feed on the proper chuck food, and even then don't overdo it.  I've been bulking up the afternoon corn ration with a hot mash and they love it.

Battery hens aren't bred for meat so they do tend to be a bit bonier than the average chuck.  As long as they are eating their fill of a good balanced diet, don't worry.

If you've really got to keep them in the cellar, then definately agree with Foxy about trying to mimic natural daylight hours, though it might not alter the egg laying cos mine are still laying same as summer. 6 eggs most days from 8 chucks.

But, like Hillfooter, have a bit of an uneasy feeling about keeping chucks in a cellar!  Though I can't quite rationalise it, and understand you are doing it for all the right reasons.  And I suppose being ex-batts, they won't miss what they've never had.  And it is only a temporary arrangement.  But,  I know that mine spend such a lot of time digging and foraging, I'd really be reluctant to have them in an environment that didn't permit such natural behaviour.  And that might be an emotional need of mine rather than the chucks . . . but re-homing ex batts is a very emotional business!

From my experience (admit it's not that much experience!) with ex-batts, unless they really are bald and 'oven ready',  I be trying them out in down on the allotment. Spring is still months away, and they're tougher than you think. 

Let us know how they get on, and get the pics posted!

[hillfooter]

The reason why batts don't have a normal feather growth is that in battery conditions where they are warm and dry and not exposed to the rough and tumble of scavenging and competing in a flock they have no need of feathers for warmth or protection and in fact they are an inconvenience. 

The nutrition they get recognises that they don't need to waste energy and nutrition growing feathers.  Although many peoplen think that battery hens are cruelly treated and poorly nourished in fact they are optimally nourished for the laying lifestyle they are subjected to (though we may not like this).  They don't see natural sunlight and have to have their vitamin intake supplemented for the vitamins their bodies would naturally produce through exposure to the sun.  If you then take them out of this environment and feed them on a normal layers diet which won't include these vitamins in adequate proportions and you still keep them indoors and warm it is easy to see that they still don't have the need to grow feathers either and also they are now no longer optimally nourished.   They are not going to suddenly start growing them just because they are living with you and can move about a bit more.  This is mainly why I would not house chx in a cellar for anything other than a short temporary period.

Re knitted coats and compensating for a lack of feathers.  Chx modulate their temperature to a large degree by adjusting their feathers to be tightly held to their bodies for min insulation and most heat loss, to fluffing them out for maximum insulation and lowest heat loss.  Giving them a coat will inhibit their natural ability to do this and also a coat which gets wet or snagged is a serious hazard.  So I wouldn't consider doing this other than in an extreme case where there is severe feather shortage and the chicken appears to be suffering and other none invasive methods have been tried first, such as keeping them in temporarily, providing deep dry bedding or a supplementary heat source, insulating and draft proofing the house (though good ventillation is still needed).

HF

[Flowerpower136]

Re knitted coats and compensating for a lack of feathers.  Chx modulate their temperature to a large degree by adjusting their feathers to be tightly held to their bodies for min insulation and most heat loss, to fluffing them out for maximum insulation and lowest heat loss.  Giving them a coat will inhibit their natural ability to do this and also a coat which gets wet or snagged is a serious hazard. 
HF

Agree 100%, had it on standby for emergency only, and it just hasn't been needed. And I really can't imagine it getting any colder than it has been lately. OMG  Tiny toes are frozen, might convert chuck garment to a pair of bed socks for me!