advise

[new life]

Hi every one,
i hope everyone is well?, now im a new chicken keeper i now have 6 girls and 2 of whom are ex battery chickens there in a sorry state, hen pecked almost look ready to go into the oven im sorry to say.
fifi has a limp and a broken beak flo has no tail feathers and a bare tummy, i was just woundering if anyone has any advise on how i can show them lots of love and make them health as i posibly can.
cheers

 

[sumi]

Hello and welcome to BYC

First of all well done for rescuing those girls! Rehabbing battery hens can be very rewarding. Give them lots and lots of love and attention and they will respond in kind, trust me. Those girls are so grateful for any kindness and love and will thrive on TLC. Good food, love, patience is what they'll need the most now. We have another member here who has been busy rehabbing hens, he got a few new ones not that long ago and I'm sure he'd love to talk to you and give you some advice. You'll find him and his story here:

MORE RESCUES BATTERY HENS!! *PICS* WARNING HENS ARE IN BAD CONDITION!- Battery and broiler hen...

 

[Red Barn Farms]

Greetings from Kentucky. We're very happy you joined! Congratulations to you for adopting the poor darlings. Yes, you will need to take extra special care of them for awhile now until they become 'real' chickens again. You might want to start with feeding and watering. Since their beaks have been trimmed their food and water dishes might need to be a little deeper to allow for that. It will probably take a few weeks for them to just get use to being able to move around and enjoy more free space too. They might be more scared with being in a more open environment. You might also consider supplying them with a poultry vitamin/nutrient supplement. That should help them recover from the stress of being moved more quickly. It would be a good idea to keep them separated from the rest of the flock for a 30 day period. If they have any open wounds it would encourage peeking from the others in the flock. Treat any wounds as found. Since you have taken them 'under your wing' and they have a new home it might be a few weeks before they get back into laying. Make sure they have very comfortable bedding and easy access to the coop. It will probably be awhile before they feel comfortable leaving the coop. Later on once they are comfortable you might have to 'nudge' them along to get use to laying in nesting boxes. So happy to hear you have them and will be providing them a new wonderful home! I'm sure others here at BYC will be able to provide you with more information. I'm fairly new to chickens myself and have never had the pleasure of getting ex battery hens but would love some too!

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[Big A Chickens]

Hi and

So glad you joined us!!!!

Plenty of love, good nutrition, and a comfortable environment!!!!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Because they're weak the others may kill them unless you have lots of space. That's because a weak bird is dangerous to the flock health. For that reason and because they need special treatment you should separate them until you nurse them back to health.
The beak probably isn't broken but trimmed. I'd be surprised if both don't have trimmed beaks.
Think about how they have been raised and try to fix it based on that. They've been packed tight and fed for maximum egg production with no regard for overall hen health.
The limp is probably cage fatigue and may or may not improve.
You'll want to up the protein till they look better.
Are they laying? If so feed a layer mash or crumbles mixed with a grower or supplement with things like yogurt(plain whole fat), tuna etc.
If they aren't laying just feed a grower ration.
They definitely need some probiotics since they've most likely been getting a steady supply of antibiotics.
Look them over for lice and mites. Eventually they may recover.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, new life, and

! Happy to make your acquaintance! I think others have given you some great advice. Best of luck to you and your birds!

 

[Kevin565]

. Everyone has given you excellent advice so hopefully everything will be okay

 

[weimarmama]

& from Alabama. Glad you joined us. Great advice given. Good luck with your new hens

 

[jbirds2012]

sounds like you got some very good advice !! isn't this website great !!!

 

[tiki244]

Hi Hope your two ex bat hens get better.