[Fat Hen]

Hi, I have registered my interest in rescued battery hens with our local HWT rep, but have a question I forgot to ask.

Will they, once established, be able to successfully grub around the garden like our other hens.

Will I need to feed them mash, my other chooks just get grain mix greens & whatever they dig up in the garden (like my chillis & tomatoes), oh and a regular treat of mealworms.

[muntjac]

when you get battery hens they will have been on layers pellets .it is important that you continue with these gradually weaning them off by adding whole grain wheat and barley then putting them on mash finally
you can also start to soak layers pellets in water to break them down .just cover them with water over night  to make a porridge adding some wheat etc ,do all of this over a few weeks no one thing at once as this wil give them upset stomach and make em poorly  etc also make sure they have adequate supplies of grit and oestra ( oyster shell ) water is a must also they will roam around in a bemused state for a while but gradually settle down . happy chickens lay eggs  

[GrannieAnnie]

Our batt hen regional chap said the batts are on layers mash usually, but he gives and so do we layers pellets, but don't worry about treating them any different to your other hens Fat Hen!  They are just ordinary chooks, just been released from a life sentence in very small prisons!!!!

They will soon get used to grubbing about and scratching the ground, and they will love some nice warm potato skin mash in the winter, but so will all your other chooks!  They love the corn too, so it won't take them long to get used to how you do things, and like munty says happy chooks lay eggs, until they get too old.

We've had ours a year now and they were down to 4 eggs a day (50 chooks), but seemed to have a long slow moult.  Then yesterday, surprise surprise, I got 15 eggs, but only 3 today again!!!!

But you will love giving their last few days weeks or months happy ones.  Out of 70 ex batts, we've got 50 left.  Some of them can't handle life anymore after coming out of the cages.  It is very stressful for them.

[Fat Hen]

Thanks folks, I was worried that they might not be able to grub about successfully because I understand they crop their beaks, do they grow back :?:

[muntjac]

no they dont grow back ,and its blooming cruel :x

[wildeone]

do I want to know what beak cropping is? :cry:  :cry:  :shock:  :cry:  :cry:  Makes me want battery hens now!!!

[Aunt Sally]

do I want to know what beak cropping is? :cry:  :cry:  :shock:  :cry:  :cry:  

Perhaps not, but knowledge is power !

http://www.upc-online.org/batthen.html

[wildeone]

:oops: it brought tear to my eyes!!!! :cry:  :cry:  :cry:  Ashamed to be human when you read stuff like that!!!! :cry:  :!:

[richyrich7]

do I want to know what beak cropping is? :cry:  :cry:  :shock:  :cry:  :cry:  

Perhaps not, but knowledge is power !

http://www.upc-online.org/batthen.html

OMG I knew life as a battery hen was dodo but that's barbaric !

[GrannieAnnie]

They are not supposed to beak crop anymore.  But when the chooks are in these big commercial flocks, they do fight a lot and do more damage to their opponent when they have their whole beaks

Free range flocks are happier because they have the room to run around and run away from bullies, unfortunately, the poor old battery hen has nowhere to run!!!!

[Fat Hen]

Poor b*st**ds, I wish I could take more but i've only got a small garden.  I once broke into a battery shed when I was a kid.  It shocked me so much i've not touched anything but free range ever since.  Battery "farming" is horrific.

[GrannieAnnie]

The saddest thing is, most people don't care, what sort of life the chooks have, as long as they can get cheap eggs.

My SIL loves my eggs, (when I've got any spare!), but my brother still can't understand why I want my own eggs, when you can just pop into Tesco and get a box of their BIG eggs for just over a £1!!!

[hermon]

i have a loger that is just 20 and a chief so i educated her about battery hens and she was shocked she had no idea, the other day when i was looking in the fridge i noticed she had a box of eggs from "caged hens"!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so i put a note on the box, she won't be buying them again or she can move out!!  :x  (i have 9 ex-bats in the garden)

[Aunt Sally]

Good for you Hermon  :!:

[muntjac]

i have a loger that is just 20 and a chief so i educated her about battery hens and she was shocked she had no idea, the other day when i was looking in the fridge i noticed she had a box of eggs from "caged hens"!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so i put a note on the box, she won't be buying them again or she can move out!!  :x  (i have 9 ex-bats in the garden)

 sorry but i think thats is out of order ,you cant penalise her for buying the stuff she does ,what gives anybody the right to dictate what anybody eats where ever it comes from ... much nicer than threats of eviction is education ,who knows you may have a convert in the making who ,when she make s a home of her own may keep and rescue the hens that you so proudly keep