ADVICE REALLY

[paulridley]

We have just bought 23 ex-battery hens 1 week ago and am looking for advice as to how and at what stage do we introduce them to or existing 'flock' of 3 silkie cockerels and 1 other cockerel and our 4 hybrid hens who all live and run freely and happily around our smallholding of about 1 acre and sleep in an old stable seperate (next door) from the ex-batt's.
Do we as some have suggested let them get on with it as eventually the plan is to build a coop to hold them all in at nightime.

thanx

[Totally Scrambled]

Hello Paul,
Greetings and welcome to The Lane
No experience of ex batts myself but I'm sure one of the ex batty keepers will be along soon
Dom

[wendy]

Welcome to the forum and well done you for taking on so many little battered ones.
I would leave it for a while. As their bones are very brittle when they come from the cages and the 'attentions' of randy cockerels may cause problems.
I have heard of broken legs and once a broken back.
So I would get them back to full health and fitness before subjecting them to the boys. I know silkies are littlies, but these girls bones are fragile.

[Wellington Boot]

Welcome to the forum and well done you for taking on so many little battered ones.
I would leave it for a while. As their bones are very brittle when they come from the cages and the 'attentions' of randy cockerels may cause problems.
I have heard of broken legs and once a broken back.
So I would get them back to full health and fitness before subjecting them to the boys. I know silkies are littlies, but these girls bones are fragile.

I agree, let them recover first. Whenever I add new hens, my Charlie goes mental - and the poor girls get so irritated by him. It's like putting a 15 year old boy in a WI meeting. Good luck with it all, I'm sure they will recover really quickly, and it will be lovely to see them thriving after their awful experience.