How old are these hens?

[VlkStinu]

Mine are Lohmann Brown too, albeit in better condition than yours when I get them. Watching them blossom in beautiful birds had been so much rewarding and heartwarming....
Unfortunately they're only three now, anyway the two ones that passed away have had 6 months / 10 months of real life. A peaceful and happy life!

Amazing transformation! Where are your birds from? They look like the additional 3 hens I strengthen the flock with few weeks later. The place I got my first hens from (the ones without feathers) was a nightmare. One of the worse if not the worse place in the country. This other place was treating the hens obviously much better as they were in so much better state.

 

[VlkStinu]

man those chickens looked like they have seen some things. I have always been against buying eggs from those places, that is why I got chickens because in was spending so much money on eggs from pastures farms. Now I am a crazy chicken lady.

Bless your heart for giving them the life they deserve.

Thank you!

Yes, the place was terrible. They must have gone through hell. I was crushed to see thousands of chickens suffering there... And I broke into tears when I was leaving the place with my first hens as I felt terrible that we humans are capable of this.

Now I am crazy chicken guy as well!

 

[Daisycar]

! Where are your birds from?

It is a huge local poultry farm. Chickens are kept in battery cages. I didn't see the location as we were left waiting in the entryway. The man who brought the hens asked me if I wanted to eat them...
Is not easy to find battery hens as all the farms are controlled by the local health authorities and the number of birds in and out must match. Anyway I'm trying to get some more.

 

[mommiesrcool]

Hi there! These two girls are the smallest members of the flock (also most submissive) and they have the tiniest combs and wattles compared to other hens, which are like 2x bigger or more. They are also much more agile, quite often running around erratically, especially when spooked by more dominant hens. Does that mean they are much younger birds and they will grow up in size as will their combs and wattles or that's just the way they are?

are these battery chickens that you rescued? I've seen videos of hens that look like a battery chicken, but if they are in a molt then feed the high protein feed

edit: I just read all of the pages on this thread thank you for being so willing to help put these poor hens! =)

 

[mommiesrcool]

It is a huge local poultry farm. Chickens are kept in battery cages. I didn't see the location as we were left waiting in the entryway. The man who brought the hens asked me if I wanted to eat them...
Is not easy to find battery hens as all the farms are controlled by the local health authorities and the number of birds in and out must match. Anyway, I'm trying to get some more.

That makes me mad! how could people do such a thing to overwork them keep them uncomfortable then offer you to eat it when it's obviously in bad condition. Thank you for trying to rescue them and give them a better life.

 

[VlkStinu]

It is a huge local poultry farm. Chickens are kept in battery cages. I didn't see the location as we were left waiting in the entryway. The man who brought the hens asked me if I wanted to eat them...
Is not easy to find battery hens as all the farms are controlled by the local health authorities and the number of birds in and out must match. Anyway I'm trying to get some more.

Oh I see... To eat them? Jeez...

The place where I got my first hens from had battery cages as well. The inside was extremely loud (thousands of chickens crammed in there), very dark with no natural light (it seemed like a huge basement), and felt literally like a giant concentration camp/prison. The woman working there just grabbed my hens by their legs and brought them to me, head down like sacks...

There are official sales of sorts that these big commercial poultry farms advertise, where they sell you the hens that do not lay anymore (which means they are totally depleted of their strength due to the despicable conditions they are kept in) and which are about 1 year old. There are a lot of these sales all around the country.

 

[VlkStinu]

That makes me mad! how could people do such a thing to overwork them keep them uncomfortable then offer you to eat it when it's obviously in bad condition. Thank you for trying to rescue them and give them a better life.

Yeah, that's what they do... They essentially "milk them dry", totally exhausting them and then selling them to people who like to give them a second chance and normal life - the rest that doesn't get sold is culled and often exported to neighboring countries like Poland.

 

[kelzey]

something i’ve always wanted to do was rescue ex battery hens, i even thought about it before i got my current girls. i’ve looked into it but i’m pretty sure there’s nowhere around here that i can get them from ): your girls seem to be doing so good!

 

[HappyDuckie]

Yeah, that's what they do... They essentially "milk them dry", totally exhausting them and then selling them to people who like to give them a second chance and normal life - the rest that doesn't get sold is culled and often exported to neighboring countries like Poland.

I rescued a battery hen, too. She actually started laying eggs again after about a month of good treatment.

 

[VlkStinu]

I rescued a battery hen, too. She actually started laying eggs again after about a month of good treatment.

The hens that I rescued laid the second day I brought them in! I was really surprised! They stopped after they started moulting and haven't laid since, but the second group of hens I got from a different place, they started laying immediately as well and they've been laying since every day (their plumage was in a pretty good shape). It's pretty incredible.