i just rescued some chickens and need some help

[barred-rocks-rock]

Congrats!!!

The Red One is a Red Sex Link. She is a she , and will lay brown eggs. The gold one is an easter egger, maybe mixed with a brahma. The one with green legs is an easter egger. They lay green and blue eggs. The two with stripes are barred rocks. They lay brown eggs. They are a great breed. here are some pics of mine.

Here is a pic of my sex link hen, a little younger than yours. She is a sex link, not a Rhode Island Red , because of that white face. she will grow out of that.

Is your yard fenced in?

Maybe you could get some chicken wire and make a makeshift kind of run for them.

Good Luck. All hens!

 

[Preservation Acres]

OK, you're my hero for the day! GREAT JOB!!!!!! I hate seeing animals kept under that type of condition.

You really entered the world of BYC with a bang. These people will keep you on a pedestal from here forward, and so will I.

Like others have said, I'm also surprised at how good they look considering everything they've been through. From this point forward, just follow everyone's advice that's already been posted, and as soon as they're ready (in about a week), let them walk around the yard some. Chickens are NEVER happier than when they're free ranging. I've found that walking with a long stick in your hand helps to keep them herded and in the area you want them. Just use it as an extension of your arm, and guide them with the stick. It works like a charm, and they're surprisingly easy to herd.

GOOD LUCK and keep in touch. There's not many questions you'll have that can't be answered here.

GOOD JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Preservation Acres]

Something else. Chickens make great pets...yes, pets. Hold them often. Pet them, and when you're holding them, feed them from your hand. Give them bread crumbs, bird seed, or anything that they really like. At first, they won't want to be held, but eventually, they'll equate being held with treats and petting. You'll be amazed at how much affection you'll get from a chicken!

 

[stretchc1]

I'm relatively new to all this myself, but here's my 2 cents:

I would make a special effort to lovingly handle each of the pullets every day. In a way, they are sort of feral--given their history--and when you add that to what can be skittish chicken behavior, you might have a hard time catching the chickens when you need to (or when you just want a cuddle) later on if you don't get them accustomed to you now.

Others will need to weigh in on the "having trouble walking and tripping" issues--again, the search option has been a life-saver for me on BYC--but I would also try to find a place where the girls can do some supervised roaming/walking outside in a protected (fenced) area if possible. That way they can practice their scratching and natural chicken behaviors. They might enjoy having a low roost (a 2x4 propped on a couple of cinder blocks?) outside to rest on if they need to. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that your girls just have weak muscles from lack of use and not a permanent impairment.

Beyond that, I would say plan for a bigger coop and run than you think you need--because the little stinkers are addictive!

As for names, you could go the old school route and name them for the qualities they (and you) have demonstrated--Perseverance, Mercy, Hope, Charity, and Comfort.

Good luck, and welcome to BYC!

 

[teach1rusl]

It seems like everyone has given you good advice! I would add (after reading that you have them in the dog crate so they can enjoy the outside)...If you buy a roll of 2x4" welded wire, probably 48 inches tall, you won't even need posts to create a nice little "play" area for the birds. That stuff is so stiff that you can make a circle out of it easily and it'll stand on it's own. And it won't go to waste, because you can use it on their permanent structure eventually.

Happy for you and the little chickens!

 

[Lady_Cluck]

Quote:
What a neat thought!!

 

[BekahBear]

just a quick update:
they seem to be doing good. their poop is now solid and they are eating and drinking well. i didn't see any parasites on them when i bathed them so thats a good sign too.
i'm still working on names. i've been calling the gold one Butterscotch but i still need names for the others. we didn't get to finish the coop yet like we had hoped but we should be able to finish it this weekend no problem. i got a ton of good ideas from this site for a good coop for here in the desert so we're basing the one we're building off of those.

i got a quick pic of their old home before i threw it out so i thought i would share. i put the water dish back in it so you can see how small it is. when i first got them home there was enough poo in there that it went to the top of the water dish and burried it. there is still some dried rock hard gunk in the bottom of the tub in the pick(it didn't all come out when i dumped it). it doesn't look near as bad in the pic as it did in person..it was the smell that was the worst part. it smelled so rancid :shivers at the thought: when i dumped it i noticed there were a couple handfulls worth wood shavings mixed in towards the bottom(you can kinda see them in the pic)..at least the guy was nice enough to give them a little bedding the couple times that he did dump it.

they are now enjoying more shavings than they know what to do with

i took one of the bags of shavings we have for our horses and dumped it over the floor in half of the shed for when i have them in there at night. its funny watching them. they seem to like playing in them and rolling in them kinda like the shavings were a dust bath lol.

 

[dovecanyon]

OMG! That just makes me want to cry. Those girls are going to love you, and return your care with much joy. Congratulations.
Have you had the out in the grass yet? They have to be totally in awe of anything and everything.

 

[Tala]

They DO love a dust bath in the shavings!!!!

Our ground is semi frozen right now and not good for bathing.
I didn't even get the chicken tractor halfway cleaned out -I had a bucket in there scooping out the poo! and I had a Leghorn hen wedging herself between the wall and the bucket just itching for a dust bath!!! As soon as I dumped the new pine pellets in there were 2 Leghorn ladies in there taking a bath!!!

Congrats on the rescue!!! They look really really good actually all things considered. I'd say 2-3 months old and all pullets same as everyone else described. You got REALLY lucky and so did the little pullets!!!!

 

[cwc362]

Oh you are so addicted right now and you don't even realize it yet!!! LOL Great Job and I hope you enjoy your new friends!! They look like all pullets ( young females) to me . They look amazingly healthy to have been raised in that tub!! Good Luck !!