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

[kickinchicken]

OK. So I went to this poultry shop. Can we say eeeeewwwww

. Holy smelly chickens.
I couldn't see any battery hens but it was so overwhelming to see so many birds in tiny cages. There were meaties and quail and even silkies. Silkies! I was like.....WHAT!

It was so sad. The hispanic guy took out 3 meaties for me and I was horrified to see him grab them by their feet. Poor things.
I got them home and gave all 3 a bath and a blow dry. They really enjoyed the blow dry. The first one I gave a bath to kept trying to perch on my thigh as I sat on the floor drying her. She even snuggled into me. They seem so grateful to be loved and cared for.
Now on to their physical appearance...before the bath they were smelly and covered in poo. One has a bruised toe, one has what looks like burns on her feet and one seems to have been scratched by another hen...probably when one was thrown in on top of her. All 3 are very heavy and can barely bear weight due to their size. I am thinking of working on getting their legs stronger as I know they've had no opportunities to properly exercise in those tiny cages. But I have to say, a good bath and a blow dry equals a happy, better looking hen. I think I will have that smell in my nose for weeks. Ew!
One has a very bruised wing at the tip. Like a third of her wing is bruised. Actually all 3 have some form of bruising. Their belly area and under their wings are bare too.
For those who have owned meaties...what can I do to decrease their size. And do they lay eggs? I know dumb question. I'm not concerned about eggs as this is a rescue and I want them to be healthy and happy. I will post pics soon!

 

[vebyrd36]

Hello. I'm glad you saved them. As far as their weight goes I feed mine once in a 12 he period. A mixture of pats wheat corn. I do not free feed my birds because they will eat themselves to death. I have birds over 2 years old. If you follow a diet plan for them you will have some nice birds.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Here are some websites I found on addopting battery hens

http://www.cobblehillsfarmsanctuary.com/index.html
http://www.humanefood.ca/adopt_a_hen.html

 

[kickinchicken]

Quote:
Ok good to know. I have grower feed, of all things, in there now. I will remove that and place a bowl of food in the morning. They are about 10 pounds each. I want to go back and really look over the cages again to see if I can get some battery hens.

 

[kickinchicken]

Quote:
Thanks for the links. I will keep this in mind when I get those battery hens. Right now I have 3 10# meaties and want to get them down to 8# so that they can move and be more active. Their breasts are huge. They need a breast reduction...lol

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I haven't read all the posts on this thread but if these are battery hens think about their previous conditions and that which you want to provide. They have probably been under intensive light. I would drop their light to 8 - 10 hrs a day. This may stimulate a moult but not all bad.
If they aren't laying at all go to a grower ration 18-20% protein. Give probiotics like yogurt, give crickets or mealworms or salmon catfood for more protein. (feathers, eggs and innards need protein) I wouldn't give drugs of any kind. Let them heal naturally.
Give lots of greens, sprouts, weeds, vegetable trimmings. If they aren't on the deathbed they'll be ok. Let them wallow in dustbaths or just deep pine shavings. Don't push it and eventually they'll respond in kind.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Where is this poultry shop at? can't something be done like calling in the SPCA or some kind of animal rescue this place sounds awful I can't imagine a place where you can just walk in and see this, I would be so overwhelmed.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

I seen this website ( http://www.humanefood.ca/adopt_a_hen.html ) and it gave me an idea. I can get battery hens for free here because my dad knows the huterite colony who has them. I could get like 15-20 spent laying hens and cared for them until they were well enough to be re-homed. My coop is split into 2 parts, one for my heritage layers and one was going to be for bantams. The bantams were just for something different, but I think I like this idea better. What do you think about it? Any suggestions?

 

[liliesprom]

I posted 4 days into a rescue brought to me 12/11. Upon further research, I'm pretty sure what fell off the chicken truck was a Cornish X (meaty)...same condition described as no feathers on underbelly under wings, and poo encrusted bottom. Also had to bathe and blow dry and found her surprisingly happy with that. The diarrhea seems to have abated, but still battling the poo encrusted bottom as she sits in one spot, between the food and water ,and doesn't move around much even given space. No luck with getting her to get on a small roost I fashioned for my chicks I raised. She is sweet, but an eating machine. I will try the food and schedule suggestions to see if I can get her to move around more. When her quarantine is up, how do y'all think she'll do with introducing her to my "normal" girls? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:
To give a long life you need to restrict their feed, otherwise they prety much eat themselves to death. Put the food and water far away from each other so he gets excercise from walking back and forth.