OK, I'm jumping in to battery hen rescue...now what?!!!!

[kickinchicken]

I recently posted in Managing your Flock about a local "family-owned" dairy/egg farm....big let down!

I want to rescue some of their spent battery hens.....sooner than later.

What is my first step...other than the obvious..coop/run that is separate from the home chickens I already have.

I will be starting the new coop in the next week or so. I was thinking about getting 3 hens and keeping them indoors for the first 3-4 weeks to get them physically fit and healthy. I will be using an Akita-sized dog crate for their quarantine cage. The breed of hen is a RIR or mix thereof.

What should I stock up on to promote better health and getting them to grow their feathers out? Also, what biosecurity measure should I take when going from the rescues and my own flock?

I am seeking your knowledge and expertise on this one. 3 needy hens need your smarts!

 

[bargain]

Isolation a minimum of 30 days!!! And exercise precautions on what you are wearing and then wearing out to your own poultry. Isolation should always be taken care of last and the clothing and shoes worn around them should be washed down and you take a shower before you revisit your flocks. That's so important! Best of wishes. Nancy

 

[liliesprom]

Being new to chickens, not sure what to expect with a battery rescue. A friend brought me one...really looked bad the first day. Looking better now on day 4. She seems to be in a heavy molt. Is that par for the course with battery chickens or something else going on? Also diarrhea...is that something relative to be a rescue or other? A friend said they force molts and "clean out" the chickens pre-slaughter. Just trying to get a frame of reference. I'm shocked at how sweet and gentle she is since I'm assuming not much human contact until she fell off the chicken truck and came to live in our house.

 

[chkn]

Seems I ran across a battery hen rescue website a couple weeks ago. I had added it to my favorites but then got rid of it when I cleaned up my favorites. Maybe if you find that site you could ask them? It was really kind of cute, it's basically some kind of battery hen or abandoned chicken sanctuary.

 

[kickinchicken]

I'm going tomorrow to get 3 or 4 hens at the market. Antonellis Market on Federal Hill in Providence gets the spent hens from that local dairy that I cannot mention. Anyhoo, I will be keeping them in a covered X-pen in my basement for the first 30 days. They will get so much attention and love this way. I have Sulmet on hand and will start them off on medicated chick feed for the first week. Should I worm them? If so, with what? I plan on giving them poly-visol and a Tums in their water and yogurt for digestive health, lots of greens and fruit....anything else?

 

[Miss Lydia]

you'll also need to have on hand what ever you want to use in case of lice and or mites, There are alot of good wormers out there. Valbazen, Zimectrin Gold also Wazine for round worms. It is so great of you to do this, bless their hearts they'll think they've died and gone to heaven.

 

[kickinchicken]

I can get these at tractor supply, right? I am hoping they can have a nice retirement. If I get eggs it will be a bonis but I really just want them to be happy.

 

[Miss Lydia]

you can get just about anything you need at Tractor Supply and also online.

 

[fishnet1971]

Wazine, eprinex, premise spray all available at TSC.

The Valbazen you can not get at TSC. I just ordered some online from Valley. http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_search_results.html?gas=valbazen

I used the Wazine first, wait 10 days, then use Valbazene. These are for worms. pitch eggs. do not give back to birds either.

For mites and lice i used permitherin spray. worked great. I have also used 7 dust. worked good too.

I wish i could get my hands on some rescue battery hens. I have two rescue hens that I adopted from the Buffalo SCPA a few months back. THey are wonderful girls.

I wish you luck!

 

[ryanhodapp]

What a great thing to do. Best wishes.
Humane Society of Missouri also has chickens in Union, MO.