Battery Chickens

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Welcome to BYC. Chicken rescue is a noble cause. However, there can be consequences mixing birds from different places; contageous diseases, parasites, injuries etc...$$$. Good luck.

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There is an animal/ poultry auction by me that frequently sells spent laying hens - as I wander about looking at the sale cages there are obviously sick birds. As Dawg has said this can be a losing battle.
 
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You might try Petfinder and your local shelters, I've seen chickens looking for new homes there.

Also, there is Craigslist, but as some have already pointed out, there are caveats to bringing in unknown birds.

Enjoy your flock when you get them!
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from Ohio.

You can check at local feed supply, or mills also talk to large animal vets that travel to farms and properties.

I agree with the warnings about mixing flocks. Do your homework to understand quarantine requirements. It will save you a lot of heartache and the stress of sick birds spreading illness.

We were successful with 30 that we brought in, but were fanatical about quarantine measures.

We wish you the best.
 
Another thing besides disease and injury to think about if you are talking about battery hens is nutrition.
Battery hens will have been on a mash diet that maximizes production of oval balls with a thin white or brown crusty covering and a pale yellow glob inside surrounded by a watery clear liquid.
They actually resemble the eggs most of our hens lay.
That diet has little to do with the long term health of the hen. I wouldn't feed my birds like that and wouldn't want to own one that had.

The rescue idea is admirable though and I've heard that eventually after they're fed for their overall health and if they survive they eventually return to laying.
 
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"It is a common misconception that ex-bats are unhealthy; this is incorrect. They will all have received the full gambit of vaccinations at chick stage and the vast majority are healthy and laying well. They are, however, ALL unfit as a result of standing still in their cages for a prolonged period."

http://www.bhwt.org.uk/cms/caring-for-hens/

"Very often the hens will sleep on the floor of the house initially - do not be tempted to put your birds up on perches as this can lead to bruising or at worst broken legs if they jump down whilst unfit. Instead allow them to gain strength slowly and you will find they soon learn to perch for themselves. If they are fit enough to jump up to the perch, they are fit enough to jump down."
 
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