Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

Carolina Waterfowl Rescue outside Charlotte, NC, rescued 1,300, 18-month-old hens last month. I'm sure they still have many for adoption. That's not too far from middle TN (depending on how "middle" you are).

They're a respected group that does not only rescue but a ton of community outreach on behalf of animals big and little.

https://www.cwrescue.org/
https://www.facebook.com/cwrescue

Great stuff. Very relevant and helpful.

 

[Shadrach]

There's several threads I've read on BYC where people voice strong feelings against what I've let happen. That newcomers "must" be separated or there will be blood!

One has to bear in mind that chicken keeping in a coop and run environment often requires a different approach. I fell foul of this a lot when I first joined BYC.
I just could not understand why so many people were having the problems they had. It gets to the point where one wants to suggest that maybe some of these people shouldn't be keeping chickens at all given the conditions.

 

[Shadrach]

@Clairemarie1982 try looking up adoptabirdnetwork on instagram

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

This post above is a group of ex batt hens somewhere in TN.

Great stuff. This sort of information should be easily available to people in the USA and prominant on BYC.

 

[Shadrach]

I've ordered ISA Browns direct from a hatchery 3 times, and each time I bought 15 pullets and 4 cockerels. The person taking my order was obviously surprised I wanted males too. The roosters keep on living long after the hens have succumbed to reproductive problems. The ISA Brown roosters I've had have very nice, non-aggressive temperaments.
View attachment 3510855

I've recently found out that a couple of the rescue centers do get males from time to time.

 

[Shadrach]

I would think you'll not get much unless your growing season is much longer than I think it is.

The growing season is a bit odd here. Because we get mild winters in the South West the growing season runs into winter with the right crops. It's what you grow when and the effort one puts into keeping up with the seasons. Last year a couple of plots down they had brussel sprouts growing right through the winter.

 

[Shadrach]

Morning X Batts, We are dry still to warm for comfort.
Chickens are acting a bit loose with no rooster.
Can hardly wait to have Blue grow up.
Only my roosters are named here.View attachment 3511174View attachment 3511177

It's noticable isn't it. I've had tribes without a rooster occasionally and the hens were all over the place.

 

[Shadrach]

@Shadrach , i hope you dont feel I'm hijacking your thread. I've seen more leads as far as adopting ex-battery hens on the last few pages of this thread than I did in all the ones put together when I actively searched back in 2017-2018. I'm not a member of Facebook or any other social network, which was possibly most of the problem. @no fly zone , I just sent an email to adoptabirdnetwork with my inquiry.

@Clairemarie1982 , you may already know this, but exbat hens have a few special needs, especially if they are adopted soon after their rescue. Mainly, they need to be housed as a group separate from other birds until they recover their strength. Notice in the video I posted, that one of the hens stumbled and nearly fell when she tentively took a step in the grass.

That does seem high if adopted directly from a farm, especially since due to their weakened state and poor health, many of the hens may not survive very long, which is something @Shadrach mentioned early on in this thread. Still, I see $10 as a cheap price to save a life. Ex-bat hens from sanctuaries are usually even more expensive to adopt, since the sanctuary has already put time and effort in helping them recover their strength. The above is mostly what I remember learning during my previous search several years ago, which only lead to dead ends back then.

Post away. The more information on Ex Battery chickens the better. Maybe someone from the USA could make a list of places that can supply them.

 

[BDutch]

I would think you'll not get much unless your growing season is much longer than I think it is.


fact


Seems kind of pricey for something he would probably have to pay to get rid of. Or get almost nothing for if sent to a cat/dog food factory.

Meat of 2 yo old hens is used for human consumption too. Like chicken soup, bouillons, ragouts, processed food with meat like sausages.
It has more taste and is really to good to go for almost nothing.

 

[MaryJanet]

For me, About half the people who say they are coming to buy turkey hens or hatching eggs never show....

This has really shocked me! People are so disrespectful.

 

[TropicalChickies]

One has to bear in mind that chicken keeping in a coop and run environment often requires a different approach. I fell foul of this a lot when I first joined BYC.
I just could not understand why so many people were having the problems they had. It gets to the point where one wants to suggest that maybe some of these people shouldn't be keeping chickens at all given the conditions.

Yeah... Well, I would say you have the richness and breadth of experience to subvert some of these cherished beliefs. I've only been keeping chickens for a little over three years, so I'm just lying low and gathering observations. I can't really imagine the challenge of keeping animals I watch roam far and wide when they feel like it contained in a coop or small fenced area all day every day, so I'm no one to "should" on anyone. I just keep my fingers still (except to support quietly with "Like" reactions when I come across someone in a thread whom I feel is actually trying to understand what these animals are about.