Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[sourland]

I have tons of hatchery birds go broody. Staying broody and not cooking the eggs by accident is a bit tougher though with them, especially the first year

Bantams or large fowl? I'm willing to bet not high production hybrids or leghorns.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Bantams or large fowl? I'm willing to bet not high production hybrids or leghorns.

Both. I had a black star almost a decade ago hatch out some ducks. Most of what I order nowadays are bantams though. Haven't had my legions long enough to see if they show any inklings. Had 2 pheonixes and a Sumatra all go bloody their first summer's though and they were from a hatchery

 

[Perris]

This hen, Mini Minx would eat mice and would take on a rat if they got close enough.
View attachment 2920956
I know, she looks so cute. Her name is Knock and she wouldn't just eat mice, she would activley look for them.
View attachment 2920959
This is Donk. She got her taste for mice when she found a dead one on the track and decided it tasted pretty good.
View attachment 2920962
This is Nolia. She prefered snakes to mice.
View attachment 2920963
This is Hinge. She was partial to a mouse and I've watched her eat baby wild birds.
View attachment 2920964

I've seen mine devour mice, shrews, snakes, baby birds, and amphibians too. They give them a really good bashing on the ground, presumably to stun or kill them and break them up inside if not outside as well, and then swallow whole limbs or bodies.
I've never understood how that doesn't cause impacted crop if a mere long blade of grass supposedly might, if you believe that bit of traditional chicken lore

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Mine don't go after mice much anymore (I think there are just so many they've blended into the scenery instead of being delicious treats), but they love pinkies and the next stage (furred but still blind) when we clear out nests

 

[Sortacountrychicken]

My ex batts live with the rest of my "real" chickens and free range. The whole flock tends to stay within about an acre. Over time they have gotten better as they pick up behaviors from the rest of the flock. They have learned how to watch the sky and where to find the best food. They still don't behave like my broody raised chickens though. They tend to wander alone more and will spend more time out in the open away from cover. They also don't know how to build a nest. There have been two cases of ex batts laying outside of the coop nest boxes. One nest was built by one of my hens and then taken over by the ex batt.

The other was all the work of one of the ex batt hens.

That nest is undisturbed. She just doesn't know how to actually put a nest together. The experience I've had with them is that they can learn the social interactions pretty well. The reproductive and mothering behaviors, not so much.

 

[Shadrach]

I don't understand the 'never reproduce' part with the battery hens. Do you mean they will never brood? Or never stay still enough to be mounted?

Perhaps never should have been less likely.
While the battery hens are still in the batteries they wont get to meet the opposite sex so for the first 72 weeks which is the disposal age I understand there is no chance of reproducing.
It would be interesting to know what proportion of them go to a mixed sex flock.

When I started with the chickens in Catalonia I was told they never went broody.
It took a bit over a year after I made many changes that the first one finally went broody.
So, I'll take a year as a minimum time from battery to broody in circumstances that might encourage broodiness.
The number of people who take in Ex Batts who have a rooster, or cockerel, I would guess, is much smaller than those who dont.
I know people debate this but ime there is nothing like a nest full of eggs to at least get a hen thinking about going broody. I know quite a few hens will go broody without a male or a nest full of eggs but I've found having both helps.
Most people I would guess take any eggs an Ex Batt lays. I don't think there are many like myself who would just leave the eggs wondering if the hen might go broody.
So between the above circumstances and taking into account their short egg laying life and life span in general I think the chances of many going broody is low, but no, it's not impossible.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good afternoon one and all!

My ISA Browns ganged up on a dove that got into the run and when I found her almost all of her feathers were gone.

I finally rescued her and we put her down.

The temperature is 71 and mostly cloudy.

Have a great day!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Perhaps never should have been less likely.
While the battery hens are still in the batteries they wont get to meet the opposite sex so for the first 72 weeks which is the disposal age I understand there is no chance of reproducing.
It would be interesting to know what proportion of them go to a mixed sex flock.

When I started with the chickens in Catalonia I was told they never went broody.
It took a bit over a year after I made many changes that the first one finally went broody.
So, I'll take a year as a minimum time from battery to broody in circumstances that might encourage broodiness.
The number of people who take in Ex Batts who have a rooster, or cockerel, I would guess, is much smaller than those who dont.
I know people debate this but ime there is nothing like a nest full of eggs to at least get a hen thinking about going broody. I know quite a few hens will go broody without a male or a nest full of eggs but I've found having both helps.
Most people I would guess take any eggs an Ex Batt lays. I don't think there are many like myself who would just leave the eggs wondering if the hen might go broody.
So between the above circumstances and taking into account their short egg laying life and life span in general I think the chances of many going broody is low, but no, it's not impossible.

I've noticed that my females tend to go broody more when I forget to collect eggs for a while.

 

[Shadrach]

I've noticed that my females tend to go broody more when I forget to collect eggs for a while.

Yeah, it's interesting and it's what I've found to be the case.
I also found that once one or two got the hang of it it broke out like a rash.

 

[Shadrach]

My ex batts live with the rest of my "real" chickens and free range. The whole flock tends to stay within about an acre. Over time they have gotten better as they pick up behaviors from the rest of the flock. They have learned how to watch the sky and where to find the best food. They still don't behave like my broody raised chickens though. They tend to wander alone more and will spend more time out in the open away from cover. They also don't know how to build a nest. There have been two cases of ex batts laying outside of the coop nest boxes. One nest was built by one of my hens and then taken over by the ex batt. View attachment 2921169The other was all the work of one of the ex batt hens.View attachment 2921171

That nest is undisturbed. She just doesn't know how to actually put a nest together. The experience I've had with them is that they can learn the social interactions pretty well. The reproductive and mothering behaviors, not so much.

I do hope you're planning on staying around. You've got some interesting observations and better knowledge than I have on Ex Batt behaviour.
I'm pretty much working on theory and most likely extrapolation from little experience.
This lot wander despite Henry's best efforts. He knows he should be keeping the group together but 20 hens for one rooster is a lot to keep in order. He hasn't had that much practice either so I've been surprised how quickly he's picked up on what he should be doing.