Questions about ex-battery hens!

[MROO]

Poor Little Girls! They have spent their entire lives in little-bitty, climate-and-light-controlled cages or pens. They probably did the plucking themselves!
If you could get even some of them off the ground, it would help those left. Try setting up some sawhorses or planking on concrete blocks ... anything that could get them started. If you put up a few on each roost, close enough to keep each other warm, they'll learn. If they're truly cold, is there any way you can get a little heat in there for them? It wouldn't have to be much, just enough to knock the edge off the chill.
Good Luck - and bless you for rescuing. Just please rehome them quickly, so the rescue doesn't backfire on all of you. Stress-related illness in that many hens could get VERY costly, for both you and the chickens!

 

[The Moonshiner]

They look plucked because they're molting. That's what factories do they force mass molting so they all moult at the same time and at that time they are disreguarded and replaced.
They are not piling because they are cold. DO NOT ADD HEAT. They are piling because they are stressed and its their instinct.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I see a lot of pale combs. They need a rest. I would not be looking for eggs for a while.

Squished chickens .

They need space between them. I agree the 50 need rehomed ASAP. That will allow you to help the 30 you are keeping.

The Moonshiner makes good points.

 

[MROO]

They are not piling because they are cold. DO NOT ADD HEAT. They are piling because they are stressed and its their instinct.

Thanks for correcting me on the heat issue. I realized my mistake after I'd already hit "post" and you beat me to it. What those poor girls need most are rest and the stability of new homes!

 

[Fiasco]

Thanks for all of your replies!! I had no idea it was such a danger. I wish I had seen your replies last night, I would have stayed up and tried to teach them to roost! I'll do that tonight. I'm on it for the re-homing too.

They all survived the night, anyways, and they're looking just fine to me now. I checked on them a little later last night, and they were still at one end, but nobody was piled up anymore. Hopefully that helped!

During the day, they do really well - spread out, walking around and exploring the new run. They actually seem pretty relaxed and happy, they're eating and drinking well too. I had run out of oyster shell grit, but I'm picking it up today and they'll have that to try out. I'll mix up some electrolytes in their water too.

Do all chickens react to stress the same way? I'm guessing here, but I would think they would react differently than each other. That's why I didn't think the shell-less eggs were a stress thing, since they all seem to be doing the same thing. They should be laying some shelled eggs too then, shouldn't they? I think I read that each egg spends something like 20 hours in the shelling area, so I would think they would already have some shelled eggs ready to go before we picked them up, and be laying those ones too. I don't really understand this, though!

 

[centrarchid]

Isolate them into smaller groups. Your intent is honorable, your state of preparedness definitely is a "from the frying pan into the fire" deal for the birds if you do not get your act together. You need to have sufficient space and other resources in place before bring birds in, especially if this was planned and you have done it before.

 

[sumi]

A few years ago I bought some "extras" from a better farm. Hens that just came into laying and were surplus to what the farm needed, so they sold them off. They were young, but they were raised as battery hens, so the damage was done to some extend already. Some things you can do to make things easier for them:

- They have probably been debeaked. Offer feed in dishes and check if they can all eat properly. Mine found eating easier when I wet their feed some for them, depending on their state of their beaks, some had a little difficulty eating.

- Add 4-5 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to a gallon drinking water and give them that once a week, with clean water in-between. The ACV is said to help stressed chickens and it helps them overall as booster/tonic, helps aid nutrient absorption, it's really good for them.

- Be patient with them. Those poor things have probably never seen anything but walls, cages, the odd human and poop. Sunlight, grass, animals, wild birds are alien to them. I remember mine nearly having a heart attack when a dove landed in the run, after I finally coaxed them out of the coop after 4 days.

- Feed them layer feed and slowly introduce treats at a later stage only and in small amounts. They were probably dropping shell less eggs all over the place due to stress. Stress is a big cause in many egg problems. If they are cared for well, they should continue laying well for another 1-2 years. But for now, they just need to time to get over the shock and all the new stuff.

Here's a good article on rescuing chickens that I think you may find helpful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/so-you-want-to-rescue-a-chicken-now-what.65344/

Good luck with them!

 

[MROO]

Glad to hear they all made it through the night! If the hens didn't come from one, big, community pen, then @centrarchid is right - they should be isolated in smaller groups. You could try plywood barriers or fencing sections. And when you rehome them, try to send groups from within the same smaller pen. That way, they don't have to start the pecking order process all over again. And I wouldn't wait "until they're settled" to start sending them out to their new homes. They'll settle much more quickly and easily in their new, smaller flocks than they will with all 80 together.

It may seem overly obvious, but remind the new owners to quarantine the new hens for awhile - not just for the health of the existing flock, but for the new birds' safety, as well. The battery hens came from a very controlled environment. They'll be like preschoolers and kindergartners - newly exposed to all sorts real-world of things, like parasites, bacteria and viruses. For a child who has never been away from home, even the common cold can be dangerous. These girls are no different, so they need to be protected and watched while they acclimate.

 

[georgiaeve]

pick some up and put them on the roost over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. After all that, they should know how to roost.

Hahahah yes! This is the only way if they dont have a teacher. My rescue hens followed my non battery hens to the roost... thank goodness!

 

[Fiasco]

Okay, I'll try and separate them. Would two groups be enough? It would be really difficult to do more than that, with my setup. I don't think they all came from one pen, but possibly two....the whites and browns seem to separate into little groups. Maybe the different colors came from different pens, or maybe they just like to stick with others like themselves, I don't know!

If the shell-less eggs are just due to stress, that's a blessing in disguise (as opposed to other issues) - I can add that they can lay eggs on the advertisement, and they should be able to find homes much more quickly! I'll be sure and remind the owners to quarantine them.

Lots of work to do, but I'll do whatever it takes for these girls!