Buying battery hens

[livestock101]

I was sitting here today thinking I wish I had more chickens. There's a large factory farm 45 minutes drive from here so I decided to call them. I told them I wanted some hens for butcher (a small white lie) and asked if they sell their hens after they no longer want them for laying. She said, "Yes, we do." I asked how much and she replied, "Their 50 cents each." I was stunned! The next ones ready to be sold will be available on June 21.

I know I'll have to quarantine them. I'll also look them over and treat them for lice/mites etc, if needed. They are likely to be thin.

Have any of you ever gotten battery hens? Did they do well once they had proper care?

 

[SpottedCrow]

Some folks have gotten them and had very good luck. There's no reason that a battery hen can't lay for the rest of her life, it's just not moneywise for the big guys to do.
You should be prepared for them to not know what grass is and to have been debeaked.
I commend you for doing a great thing for the poor unfortunates. 1,000 Good Karma Points.

 

[farmgirl2477]

Ive read a few post on byc board about resuced battery chooks, and they all had happy endings. The chooks went from sorry little bags of feathers to beautiful and happy birds.

Spotted crow is right, they probably wont know what grass or dirt is for, and probably clueless on the whole roosting thing too. Alittle time and teaching, and they will learn.


Now you have me wondering "do we have a place around here?" Living in Orlando, FL we dont seem to have alot of stuff like that around here lol

Good luck to you!
Shannon

 

[BeckyLa]

Yes, it's a wonderful thing you are doing. Just please be prepared for the shock of your life when you first see them. At least half of their top beaks will be gone and they will look horrible. Torn up feathers, thin, maybe even listless. All they've ever known is layer feed (I don't know if they give oyster shell or not) and won't know to eat anything else. They've never seen grass, veggies, treats, or even sunshine. I'm not trying to discourage you, I just want you to be prepared.

 

[chickenfeathers]

(((

)))

 

[birdlover]

You will feel sooooo good when you see the results of your kind act! They will pay you back 1,000 times over. I acquired a few hens from a woman who kept them all in a coop (not true battery hens). They had never been on grass or dirt, chased bugs, etc. but the minute I put them on the ground they started dust bathing. I can't stress enough how wonderful it is to see them enjoying life for the first time. Enjoy those lucky lucky hens!!!

Ellen

 

[aran]

good for you mate...get a bunch of pics for us when u first get em so we can see how the look in comparison 3-4months from now.

 

[Freebie]

That is so awesome...
So, how many are you getting??

 

[4H kids and mom]

I was considering a few myself. Maybe someone here could do a little digging and find some of these factory type farms in different states? Maybe if we all got on this rescue effort wagon, we could save hundreds of these gals instead of a few here and there. I would gladly take in 10 or more.

Anyone know of a place in southern Wisconsin or northern Illinois?

 

[Picco]

My grandparents used to buy a few "spent hens" from a battery type farm. My grandmother said they turned out to be great layers. She also mentioned how they didn't know how to be chickens but that they caught on really quick. I suggest feeding them a diet with a lot of protein so they can recover quicker and repair their abused bodies. You will be doing a great thing!