"surprise"chickens purchased but not really prepared 4 that , advice wanted plse

[strangeanimal]

Hi all ,

Today after a horrifying discovery a short while ago now I had not one single chicken anymore ...
So therefor I finally decided to buy either chicks or fully grown chickens . I noticed an ad that sounded interesting but one little detail was left out ...
I responded to the advertisement of the seller that I loved to have a few chickens and I wanted to start to build up by adding only three , fine for this man and even better ? this man was willing to drive them all the way trough my village !
When he arrived I noticed one curious chicken already popping its head out of the cardbox , I guess she is the funny one ?
Now when he opened up the box the surprise came : these chickens are ex battery hens and are extremely sensitive but soooo lovely ! they lack feathers on most parts of their bodies , do not know how to act like any other chicken either , so as mentioned I am not really prepared for this BUT the man said " look , if I say they are batteryhens they are missing a lot of chances to get a home , if you do not want them I apoligize and take them back and you can really if you want pick out the best ones , some of them are still more feathered but they all do not know how to act like a chicken yet , I am sorry . " I said " no wait ! its ok , they are vaccinated , you drove all the way with these hens , I think the both of you travelled enough and still why would I reject them if they are further in good shape ? they are so kind I keep them , perhaps it is indeed for the best you left that detail out to give them more chances " so I am now having 3 poor ex battery hens all crawling up to eachother due to having cold constantly . I really want to get them strong again , certainly given the fact it is kinda cold here in Belgium already they should be able te regrow those feathers back soon , also they are a bit skinny .
What is the best way to give them more or better quik growth in feathers ? I was using beeryeast since last week due to loss of hair a little bit and on the bottle it says this : helps in stronging nails , hair and skin , but the amount for a human being is totally different for these girls ofcourse , so here I have some questions :
first of all : in the coop the girls seem to have it way too cold , I guess I should take them in for a while ?? outside the temp is at night close to freezing already , yesterday it measured a warmer night but the night before the temp was only a 5 ° Celsius so what do I do ? take them in ??

Secondly : can I give them something strong to get their feathers grow better ? or do I have to leave it be naturally ?

Third and last : what can I give them as food to gain some extra weight on a healthy way ? what are the most common foods used that give a lot of power for chickens ?

I do thank you in advance and so this girls too ! they adore you for just the tiniest little bit of normal acting towards them , they are always gratefull for ANYthing you do or say to them , unbelievable right ? poor things ! pff one little extra : can u believe the moment he opens that box and I notice the chickens are so ... screwed up I just stupidly asked something like " omg what happened to these girls ? " *slaps herself again *

 

[chuckachucka]

I don't have experience with ex battery hens but if they don't have many feathers and the weather is cold, its a good idea to bring them inside your home. Feathers are made of mostly protein so chickens need higher protein intake to regrow feathers. If you can give them a higher protein feed, even a chick food would be good, or some extras like mealworms. Some people give cat food for higher protein levels too. As for keeping them warm, I recommend corn. I buy cornmeal flour and make flatbreads with a little olive oil to feed my broody hen to keep her nice and warm while she is sitting on her nest. Corn in any form is warming, I believe.
With battery hens it is important to be gentle as they will be very skittish. Introduce them to new foods and experiences slowly once they are healthier.

 

[chickendreams24]

Okay well I don't have any experience with ex-battery hens and I would perhaps like to someday. That being said most animals will be grateful for kindness and realize you are trying to help.

I'm sure some more experienced people will get on and give some great advice.

Firstly I would probably pull them in if they seem cold.

Secondly give them a good high protein feed it will help them tremendously.

Are they brown or white? If they're white they're probably a leghorn production breed and will never be very heavy.

If you can get weights on all of them that would help you track their progress.

I would recommend feeding them an 18-20% protein feed to start with to help them gain some feathers quickly. I know some people have made sweaters for chickens. Perhaps you could find more information on that. Even some chicken saddles could help give them a little warmth.

I would also suggest giving them a confined/safe area to play in during the day and begin to learn to be chickens. Make sure they have some shelter from the sun and I probably wouldn't put them out if it's rainy. This will help build up their muscles and restore their spirits.

I hope this helps and I hope you'll keep us up to date.

I'm not familiar with brewers yeast as a supplement.

 

[chickendreams24]

Also they have probably never had access to or been given get I would make sure you get some for them soon. Again not oyster shell. Grit.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

How very nice of you to rescue these girls!
They have probably not had their first molt so if it hasn't started yet it will soon. That is generally when they leave their job at the farm...
You can give them extra protein to regrow feathers. It helps but it's not going to be quick. You can add nutri drench or another type of vitamin supplement to their food. Again it's a boost to help them along. I've read walnuts can help them gain weight but you want them to gain in a healthy way. You really don't want quick and easy. Slow and steady is better. If they really don't have feathers and it's cold out you could bring them in. That becomes difficult as it's only getting colder. They may have a hard time acclimating to the cold if they get too used to being warm. I have seen sweaters used on ex battery hens.
They will become chickens in time. Depending on how they were kept they may have never felt grass or seen the sun. You may need to trim their nails or hone their beaks a little. But instinct will kick in.
Good Luck and Keep us posted.

 

[Labradors]

Sorry that I have no advice for you as I'm new to chickens.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU for taking in these poor babies

Linda

 

[hlhutchinson]

My heart just hurts I did not know what a battery hen (I know I'm a bit sheltered) was so I googled it. When I think how excited mine are every day to be let out and free range in the back yard it just makes my head hurt even more seeing those photos that came up.
Good luck I hope someone with experience can help you out

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

The Private Life of Chickens is interesting. The woman in the story rescues battery hens.

 

[strangeanimal]

My heart just hurts I did not know what a battery hen (I know I'm a bit sheltered) was so I googled it. When I think how excited mine are every day to be let out and free range in the back yard it just makes my head hurt even more seeing those photos that came up.
Good luck I hope someone with experience can help you out

well , tomorrow I am visiting one and honestly ? I was warned by that man that I will come outside crying , we are in total with only 3 people now saving the 50.000 hens and all just because of a " surprise " but I can't ignore this anymore now , just like you I did not know a little thing of it but seeing these hens ? gives you just a clue of what is going (WR)on(G) here ... one has no feathers at all on her back , tail is bold etc , and she even pecked ( tells enough I say !! ) , this battery had to close the doors , so these chickens need to be rehomed , ofcourse we can never save all of them because "meatproduction '' is also still active and in my opinion should go on but not on that way ! today that man rehomed 50 hens ! I just joined and tomorrow I got an order for (yes! ) 25 hens in ONE family and 10 in another ! that is something that gives hope , really , now the one asking for 10 wished for 10 brown hens and she even mentioned it like this : hello do you still have 10 hens and are they brown ? I like the brown from the batteries very much , they are very gentle and I always had these so please let me know " . These words sounded like music ! just notified the man who came here and we are going to make some room at his place by putting hens in here given the fact there is enough space left , so people located closer to me will be directed to me and the other go to the other one and so we keep going . But honestly ? you will be surprised by their amazing character , these hens are the sweet innocent itself ! and now they do not know how to learn to be a chicken but soon they will be happy , I am sure of it !

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

If I lived closer I would take a few. (Sending them around the would would be a little rough.)
You were meant to answer that add! And with 50 chickens in the coop they won't be cold. It really is such a wonderful thing you are doing.