Got new chickens (ex-battery, now free range) and need to know how to comfort them

[JuniorTheHen]

Today, I got these new chickens, 10 of them, and they were ex-battery hens. Poor little things, they have hardly any feathers. Their nails are long, comb is tall, thin and droopy and pale.i want to know how I can make them feel safer and better. How can I provide them a lovely stay? What shall I use? (Point to note: I have 12 other chickens)

Another thing is they sort of smell, as if they have something wrong with their poop. It is slightly green. What’s the cause of this?

 

[azygous]

For rescued battery hens, the thing to understand is they are used to being tightly confined inside. Therefore, being turning loose to free range before they've adjusted to life on the outside of prison will be terrifying. Their instinct will be to seek cover until they figure out where they are.

In addition to that, the big world will be much more than their experience will allow them to deal with. It will cause a lot of stress, so the best thing will be to confine them to the coop for now so they will feel secure and not have to tax their senses trying to take in the sky with predators and trees and plants with predators hiding in wait. They may have been sheltered from the world but their instincts will still function to cause them to be very cautious.

After a few days adjusting to their new coop and getting to know their humans, then open the coop to the run and let them decide when they want to go out. If your run isn't covered, rig some cover for them to slip under in case they get nervous seeing the open sky.

Expect them to take a week or so to adjust, and try to be patient with them as they discover the world is much larger than they are used to.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have the new chickens separated from your others? I would keep the new ones quarantined for 30 days if possible. They usually need to be confined to a new coop 24/7 for a week to know where they are to sleep. If you can get some probiotics or a little plain greek yogurt to get their gut bacteria in good shape, that would be good. They usually don’t like yogurt unless it is mixed into some moist chicken feed, about a spoonful per chicken. During their quarantine period, that would be a good time to look them over for any lice or mites on their skin, and offer a good 20% protein chicken feed. Flock Raiser is good. Keep some crushed oyster shell available in a separate container for the ones who start laying again.