Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[pennyJo1960]

Morning X Batts.
Never had a battery hen or been in place to get them.
Need to take new photos.

 

[Shadrach]

Sunny morning. It stayed dry after feezing overnight. It's going to be cold tonight as well.
The geese were out when I arrived.

No sign that the chickens had been fed and there were still a few pellets from the feed I left last night in the tray.

Everyone wanted out. Lima goes and stands by the allotment run gate sort of hinting and so does Ella who doesn't seem to be as keen when she is out I suppose because she doesn't rush. The bickering between Ella and Lima seems to have stopped. Lima and Ella are spending more time together as are Fret and Carbon. Carbon stayed out for the entire time today. She's slowly becoming a more confident hen.

I did water for the geese when I put them in on my arrival. There was none in the run or in the allotment run and the bucket was by the tap. Apparently the tap was frozen when C let them out. I'm going to get some insulation for the tap pipes whch might be enough to prevent freezing at the just below zero temperatures we've had overnight.

We went and worked on my plot after a snack while I cleaned up.

I opened up the first of the compost bins so I could empty it and then move it. Guess who that it with her beak in the bugs.

The hens are apying more attention to Henry now; enough so that when he heads back to the coop they follow him, Ella being the last one who needs some encouragement. This is good for Henry and good for me. I would like them to forage in a tighter group like the tribes. It's often the straggler that the predators will go for. While Lima will dive off on her own, she's quick and she'll fight. Ella I'm not at all confident about her free range instincts. She wanders back to me a lot and if I'm sitting down she'll came and sit beside me or under the chair I'm sitting on.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Does look like they had a great time helping you work the ground.

 

[micstrachan]

This is just one of the many problems associated with the whole rescue business. Many people see it as a means of getting cheap eggs. It would be interesting to see what percentage of those who get Ex Battery hens see them as a means to get cheap eggs. I know of two locally who while appreciative of any eggs mainly got Ex Battery hens to give them a better quality of life.

Better quality of life is the ONLY reason I would consider ex-batts.

 

[BDutch]

….will go for. While Lima will dive off on her own, she's quick and she'll fight. Ella I'm not at all confident about her free range instincts. She wanders back to me a lot and if I'm sitting down she'll came and sit beside me or under the chair I'm sitting on.
View attachment 3398797

Obvious Ella loves you more than she loves Henry.

Here it’s freezing during the night -5C , sunny and 5C in the afternoon.
Janice and Katrientje deliver 1 egg every 2 days. 40 and 45 gr. Just enough for 2 persons.
I love it that I don’t need to buy supermarket eggs since the start of this year. Even the hens that layed the organic eggs in the supermarket can’t enjoy scratching in the sunlight because of HpAI rules.

Egg tax

 

[ManueB]

Sunny morning. It stayed dry after feezing overnight. It's going to be cold tonight as well.
The geese were out when I arrived.
View attachment 3398798
No sign that the chickens had been fed and there were still a few pellets from the feed I left last night in the tray.
View attachment 3398803
Everyone wanted out. Lima goes and stands by the allotment run gate sort of hinting and so does Ella who doesn't seem to be as keen when she is out I suppose because she doesn't rush. The bickering between Ella and Lima seems to have stopped. Lima and Ella are spending more time together as are Fret and Carbon. Carbon stayed out for the entire time today. She's slowly becoming a more confident hen.

I did water for the geese when I put them in on my arrival. There was none in the run or in the allotment run and the bucket was by the tap. Apparently the tap was frozen when C let them out. I'm going to get some insulation for the tap pipes whch might be enough to prevent freezing at the just below zero temperatures we've had overnight.

We went and worked on my plot after a snack while I cleaned up.
View attachment 3398799
View attachment 3398800

I opened up the first of the compost bins so I could empty it and then move it. Guess who that it with her beak in the bugs.
View attachment 3398802

The hens are apying more attention to Henry now; enough so that when he heads back to the coop they follow him, Ella being the last one who needs some encouragement. This is good for Henry and good for me. I would like them to forage in a tighter group like the tribes. It's often the straggler that the predators will go for. While Lima will dive off on her own, she's quick and she'll fight. Ella I'm not at all confident about her free range instincts. She wanders back to me a lot and if I'm sitting down she'll came and sit beside me or under the chair I'm sitting on.
View attachment 3398797

It's turning out quite well for the five remaining chickens, I feel relieved for them now every time I read one your post. I hope it will last like this. I know they are still locked up the greatest part of the day but I think the changes in their behaviour testify that they are feeling better.
We put an old towel around our taps when it's down -6/7, it's enough to stop it from freezing. If it's forecasted lower than that we leave it dripping for the night.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

61 sunny 90% humidity feels like 56 rain 0%.

Have a great day!

 

[Shadrach]

Cold and sunny.
All the feed in the tray I left overnight finished. It looked like nobody had even been there this morning. Bucket of water for the geese empty and knocked over.

 

[lightm]

Incredible! I never heard of that and the other hybrids mentioned before. With one of your swedish flower pullets it would certainly make an interesting hair style .

Just curious, what size approximately is the plot and do you have any way to water it or is the British climate sufficiently rainy ?

This Sunday I was invited at my partner's father's house. He is the one that got us into getting ex-battery hens. He got six hens from the place as ours and same generation, except he got them when they were thrown out at 15 months, and we got ours one year before at 3 months (they had no ended layers left when my partner arrived there). He also doesn't keep them at all outside like us, they are locked up in a 10 m 2 run / coop and only come out for half an hour or an hour daily under his wife's supervision. They eat the cheaper all flock feed we find here that's mostly wheat and corn.
So it's interesting to compare how they are respectively doing. We have four left with one still unwell from a hawk attack at Christmas. He has only three, but one got caught by a fox that managed to come in their run. Of the three left, the one that is in best health and active is a cross beak little thing that probably had a very strong will to live just to survive the battery. They have named her Popeye and she is their favorite, she is the only one still laying, once or twice a week. One other is looking good but a bit slow, and one is very lethargic. Their feathers are notably in a better shape than ours, maybe because they have no rooster or maybe just the luck of genetics. All in all, there is a small difference with ours regarding their general state, but not so much, the greatest notable difference being that three of our fours are still laying three to five eggs a week.

My partner's father, even if he likes the chickens, still sees them as laying machines. His wife mentioned that once some years ago they had bought point of lay pullets from a breeder 18 euros each, and that those hens had laid until they died, the oldest one being six. His reply was that with 18 euros he could get 18 ended ex-batts (they cost one euro each).

My ex-batts for tax.
View attachment 3398126

It is very interesting to compare. At least he likes the chickens and is not getting rid of them even if they are not laying.

 

[ManueB]

It is very interesting to compare. At least he likes the chickens and is not getting rid of them even if they are not laying.

I don't know if it's the case for C. but my partner's father's problem is not specifically with chickens but with money in general. I think the reason for it is a rural childhood in extreme poverty being the elder son of a widow. Others here had the same life and grew out of it though.