Preparing for ex batt hens

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Maisie23
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Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by Maisie23 »

Hi,

New to the forum and chicken keeping. I hope I am posting in the right place.

We are giving a home to three ex battery hens early next week and are currently finishing off the accommodation.

My OH is a handy kind of man, being in the building trade, so he has built a hen house, with two nest boxes, perch space (removable so the hens can be gradually introduced to the perches) overall dimensions allow for 40 cm perch space for five hens plus 30cm per nest box. All doors have padlocks this includes the nest box roof opening, perch area roof and also the hen house door. Attatched to the hen house is a run of 3m x 3m, 2m high. It is placed against a fence so has wire sides and roof, the wire is galvanised mesh (not chicken wire) which is 13 x 25 mm 19 gauge. The run also has a 'human' access door which has a padlock.

The bottom edges of the run are skirted by 30cms of the mesh with large granite rocks holding it down. The floor of the run is 50mm depth of pea gravel with industrial weed control fabric beneath ( which I have had to cut through with secateurs in other parts of the garden to plant shrubs in the past)

We live in a terraced house with a garden at 16m x 4m, we have 2m fencing to all the perimeters which is totally secure (we holiday board a friends jack Russell regularly and he is an escape artist so pretty sure it's as secure as it can be).

My main worry is foxes and rats. I have seen foxes on the road at the front of our house but never ever in the garden. Rats used to be a problem until the council cleared the alley at the rear of the houses, not seen one for about five years.

I work part time from home so plan to let the hens out of the pen to free range in the garden every day that I am around and have a good view of the garden from my workstation downstairs. I will be removing all feeders at night and putting them back each morning to minimise any tempting food from a fox/rat point of view. We don't go away very often but occasionally stay a night with friends so on these occasions I hope to leave the hen house door open (in a few months when they have learned to go to bed etc) and this would be during the summer months only.

So my questions are:

Is the mesh we have used sufficient to prevent foxes chewing through and possible rat entry?

What can I do to deter foxes in a general sense?

Obviously I have a ton of other questions but these are my current concerns. Any advice would be much appreciated plus any comments, good or bad, on the accommodation would be welcomed too.

bikesandbirdsbob
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by bikesandbirdsbob »

Hi , not read properly and fast , but one thing to do is put a skirt of wire below ground and or slab , wire out from the wire fencing so as to stop digging . Looks good . Like all things it is a learning curve hope you enjoy your girls they have such character`s.
Glad you got rescue girls they have had a hard life and any time spent with you will be a second beginning . Should start a diary as you then can refer back to it when a problem occurs . Don't name them till you see their behaviour .
Bob
Maisie23
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by Maisie23 »

Thanks for quick reply Bob, much appreciated. Advice heeded and will be put into practice tomorrow.

In addition, just been reading about avian flu and now plan to add a corrugated plastic roof to the pen tomorrow plus have just ordered some Virkon to clean the area prior to their arrival. Are the any other measures I need to take? We have already stopped feeding the wild birds mainly to deter rats but anything else I need to know would be well received.
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kitla
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by kitla »

seems like you've been pretty thorough, the mesh sounds fine. Make sure you have somewhere rat proof to store the food at night. Presumably you can lift the lid of the coop to clean out? There's several options for bedding, I use aubiose (hemp horse bedding) which makes daily poop picking easy. I suggest stocking up with a few things - poultry shield (or similar)& spray bottle, diatom powder, red mite spray. Then you can nip any infestations in the bud. Also purple antiseptic spray for wounds, grit & oystershell, and with my exbatts I put some nutridrops in their water. As they have a gravel floor on the run they will need a dustbath, praps your handy husband could make a sandpit for them in a sunny sheltered spot.
How exciting, do start a diary & share your chickeny adventures, ex batts are such characters.
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
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Maisie23
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by Maisie23 »

Thanks for reply.

I have Virkon and Biodri on order. I'm lucky to come from a family of bird keepers, mainly budgies but in my youth (giving my age away here lol) we kept chickens in an old greenhouse and fed them scraps, no mash or pellets, we then dispatched them for the table. Shocking to think about it now but that's how it was, eek.

Thankfully I'm able to bring food dispensers inside the house every night and will be storing all feed and extras inside the house too.

The homemade hen house has a fully opening roof, one full side door to clean (I'm not so good at bending now, hence its on legs too, I now read that is good for minimising rodent attention, I'd love to say that was my main concern haha!) plus the hen door for their access to the pen.

I forgot to mention we have a dustbath all ready, an old tyre in the corner of the pen, we also have a compost heap (by heap I mean heap not bin lol) for them to forage in when free ranging.

I am sorry for my ignorance but diatom spray is something I'm not aware of - I am aware of possible red mite infestation though, will the Virkon and Biodri used as advised be enough to prevent it?

I also need to put together a basic first aid kit but again brand names make no sense to me, if someone could explain what I need and how it works that would be greatly appreciated.
Maisie23
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by Maisie23 »

Forgot to mention I have oyster shell grit, poultry spice and ACV ready on hand
bikesandbirdsbob
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by bikesandbirdsbob »

My flock want to move in.
Bob
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by bikesandbirdsbob »

Hi , one last thing I hope you get a lap sitter as they are just so good for your soul.
Bob
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kitla
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by kitla »

The Virkon & Biodri are disinfectants but wont help with redmite control (as far as I'm aware). Poultry shield will kill redmite, I get a bottle of concentrate & one of those pump sprays to get it into the cracks. Diatomous earth is a kind of fossilized dust, it feels soft like powder but it's abrasive to redmite & pierces & kills them without pesticides. you can get a small puffer bottle, I prefer to buy a 1lt tub & use an old paintbrush to dust the corners, perches & under the bedding. (be careful not to throw it about, - or use a mask - it's an irritant to breath in)
As for first aid kits, I'll start the ball rolling -
purple spray (antiseptic & the colour stops other hens pecking at wounds/blood), sudocream (antiseptic & sticky, handy for wounds on legs, combs etc)
flubenvet worming powder
I cant remember the names of anything else right now - anyone else?
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
--Immanuel Kant
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KarenE
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by KarenE »

Hi and welcome to the wonderful world of chicken keeping, and the Lane as well )t'

I would say you've got it pretty covered. Flags and wire as a skirt round the run will help keep foxes out, buried wire will help keep rats out as they are tunnellers.

First aid kit - I've only ever used DE, flubenvet and harpermectin for lice treatment (cat frontline works well at a pinch) but I also have sudocreme and petroleum jelly in just in case. Limestone flour is useful for a calcium boost, especially for ex batts, and poultry spice/tonic/nutridrops plus acv for adding to their water. I have also used hibiscrub lots when one of my girls had bumblefoot, it's an antiseptic so good for bathing wounds etc.

Virkon is a disinfectant, you'll need it for avian flu both for washing down and also having your footbath(s). For red mite, something like poultry shield or smite is good, and prevention is better than cure so get into the habit of washing down regularly through the spring, summer and autumn.

You'll also find it useful to have a bowl on hand deep enough to bathe a chicken in, for when they get softies and dirty knickers - a washing up bowl is good.

Medication wise, tylan and metacam are particularly handy to have around, but are prescription only.

Stalosfan f is handy as a ground sanitiser

Don't worry about having everyhting in early doors, you'll add to your collection as you figure out what you need.

The best thing to do is to give the girls a good start and with that in mind, they will be most likely shell-shocked with the change from the cages, so the best thing you can do is put them in the coop as soon as you get them (pop hole open) and then give them time and space to adjust in their own ways. They may not come out at all until their 2nd day, it will be very overwhelming.

Make sure there are multiple food and water stations while they sort out their pecking order. Ideally 1 of each for each hen, and check with the rescue org what food they will be used to (they don't always recognise pellets). You may have t dip their beaks in the water as again they may not recognise it as a drinker. Don't put food & water in the coop even if they don't come out.

They may not perch - all of my ex batts and most of my posh girls have preferred snuggling in their straw. Don't sweat it if they don't perch, let them do what they want.

It's not shocking to remember people kept pooultry for food in the old days - at least you knew where your birds had come from, what they'd been fed and the life they'd had (which is a darn sight better than the miserable lives they have in the commercial system) and many people, including on here, keep birds for meat as well as eggs. We shouldn't judge as long as they are well kept, well fed, treated with dignity and respect and humanely dispatched. )t'

Finally - I second and third the suggestions to keep a diary :-D
Karen
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Mo
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by Mo »

Welcome. You sound as if you've done your homework.

Maisie23 wrote: I'm lucky to come from a family of bird keepers, mainly budgies but in my youth (giving my age away here lol) we kept chickens in an old greenhouse and fed them scraps, no mash or pellets, we then dispatched them for the table. Shocking to think about it now but that's how it was, eek.


It shouldn't be shocking. If you eat meat at all that's where meat comes from.
My grandparents kept hens for eggs & Christmas dinner, I took it for granted when we lived with them but my little sister (not at school then) used to play with her 'friends' and was put off eating chicken for life when one was dispatched in front of her
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Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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Mo
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by Mo »

KarenE wrote:H

The best thing to do is to give the girls a good start and with that in mind, they will be most likely shell-shocked with the change from the cages, so the best thing you can do is put them in the coop as soon as you get them (pop hole open) and then give them time and space to adjust in their own ways. They may not come out at all until their 2nd day, it will be very overwhelming.

Make sure there are multiple food and water stations while they sort out their pecking order. Ideally 1 of each for each hen, and check with the rescue org what food they will be used to (they don't always recognise pellets). You may have t dip their beaks in the water as again they may not recognise it as a drinker. Don't put food & water in the coop even if they don't come out.

They may not perch - all of my ex batts and most of my posh girls have preferred snuggling in their straw. Don't sweat it if they don't perch, let them do what they want.



Yes. Let them take their own time. If they get to know the coop as 'home' then find their own way out to explore the run with luck they will put themselves to bed at dusk.
Same with Freeranging. Make sure they have a week or two to feel at home in the run before you try. If you open the door when it is nearly bedtime they can pop out but will be thinking 'bed' so won't go far. Then gradually increase the time as they explore.

We've had people write on here about coming home with rescue hens and putting them in the garden expecting them to be excited at the freedom. Then wondering why they fly off, and chasing them round the neighbourhood. NOT the calm introduction to their new life that they need

Mine didn't perch either.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
Maisie23
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by Maisie23 »

Thank you all so much for your replies and advice - I now have a much longer shopping list than I did at this time yesterday but who doesn't love spending money in a good cause!

Bob, I sincerely do hope I get a lap sitter too, as a child I used to run about with a chook under each arm or a piglet in each pocket (not a good idea if you don't want poop on your sherbet lemons hehe) so I'm really looking forward to lots of bonding time, in the good weather I spend more time in the garden than indoors so I plan to do lots of chicken watching too.

I grew up in a rural area and my grandparents had a small holding, I was taught to dispatch, pluck and gut chickens quite young (often with a couple of terriers watching me closely with puppy dog eyes) but time passes and now I'm not sure if I could do it! I suppose if I needed to in order to feed myself but these ladies are coming to us for a happy retirement so I'm guessing I might get too attached to consider serving them at the table.

On the diatom powder, I had been advised to add diatomous earth to the dust bath but would it potentially cause harm to the hens? I know they are prone to respiratory problems anyway so I want to be sure on that one before I begin.

Another question is on the mash food, do I need to add water to it or serve it dry? I have got the small holder crumble for ex batts as recommended by the rescue folks but I don't know if serving it wet will be preferable for the hens if they have clipped beaks etc.

I'm going to keep things simple for the first week and give them unlimited mash food, then a small handful each of mixed corn in late afternoon. I have oyster grit and mixed grit but am a bit confused on how to serve this for ex batts - would it be better to have some available all the time and also add a little to the mash? I'm not sure if they will recognise the grit to begin with that's all.

After they have settled in, maybe a week or two (?), I am going to start them with a few basic greens and see how they cope digestion wise. Because of the avian flu situation I am going to keep them in the pen undercover until I can establish what the local situation is so I'm looking into enrichment activities too, I have seen some amazing chicken toys online but I think some hanging corn, cabbage and a few old CDs will suffice to begin with!

Any advice or comments much appreciated and well received - I need to know if I'm ever doing anything wrong.
Maisie23
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by Maisie23 »

And to add, I have just navigated the DEFRA interactive map and we are in the middle of a high risk area. I have read the 'back yard flock' advice and my set up will meet these guidelines. Phew.

I now think my current run is too small for long term penned housing so Hubby won't be pleased when I announce to him he needs to extend the run this afternoon!
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kitla
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Re: Preparing for ex batt hens

Post by kitla »

Hopefully the defra restrictions will be lifted in a few weeks, that should give your girls time to settle in before you let then out to destroy your garden! When I brought my exbatts home they were fascinated by their food & happily troughed the crumble dry, they also started on the pot of grit & I had to remove it! But I found that as their beaks were trimmed unevenly they had problems picking small bits off the ground. You'll work it out as you go, it's an adventure!
One other thing to put on the list...a camera! we expect to see piccies of your girls.
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
--Immanuel Kant

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