Battery chickens
Discussion
We rescued 8 battery chickens yesterday. They were due for the chop, as their yield had reduced sufficiently far that that were no longer profitable for the farmer 
despite them still laying c. 6 eggs a week each.
The girls got back here at lunchtime yesterday & after an hour or so of figuring out what grass was & how to use their legs, they have settled in nicely. Some of them were stretching out (what's left of) their wing feathers to enjoy the first sun they had ever felt. They'll be living in their coop & run for the next week or so before they are allowed to free range the paddock with our other chickens. We reckon we'll be seeing 60 - 70 eggs a week once they are settled in, so this week, I'll be making honesty box to put at the front gate to sell the eggs we don't give away & hopefully cover the cost of the corn & feed we give them all.
I'm sure that if the general public saw the condition of battery chickens, the market for cheap eggs would disappear overnight, as the birds looked so sad when we collected them, it really made you stop & think. However, give them a couple of weeks & their combs will be up & their feathers will start to come back.
I'm all for capitalism & chasing the folding, but NOT at the cost of an animals quality of life.
despite them still laying c. 6 eggs a week each. The girls got back here at lunchtime yesterday & after an hour or so of figuring out what grass was & how to use their legs, they have settled in nicely. Some of them were stretching out (what's left of) their wing feathers to enjoy the first sun they had ever felt. They'll be living in their coop & run for the next week or so before they are allowed to free range the paddock with our other chickens. We reckon we'll be seeing 60 - 70 eggs a week once they are settled in, so this week, I'll be making honesty box to put at the front gate to sell the eggs we don't give away & hopefully cover the cost of the corn & feed we give them all.
I'm sure that if the general public saw the condition of battery chickens, the market for cheap eggs would disappear overnight, as the birds looked so sad when we collected them, it really made you stop & think. However, give them a couple of weeks & their combs will be up & their feathers will start to come back.
I'm all for capitalism & chasing the folding, but NOT at the cost of an animals quality of life.
EvoBarry said:
Good on you for doing what you can, I'm a sucker for this kind of thing. Unfortunately I think if I brought some home nature would soon follow its course and my two adult cats would have a feast on their hands 
We have 3 cats, all of which are prolific hunters & all of which are s
t scared of any of the chickens we have had. Japveesix said:
EvoBarry said:
Japveesix said:
EvoBarry said:
Good on you for doing what you can, I'm a sucker for this kind of thing. Unfortunately I think if I brought some home nature would soon follow its course and my two adult cats would have a feast on their hands
Unless you have some seriously badass bengals or similar then I'd be amazed if they'd have a hope against a flock of 3+ chickens.My cat is big (he's definitely king of the road) and he goes well ought of his way to avoid the chooks
Chickens can hold their own against many things, see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXYjPHujPho&fea...
Ours will happily go for the pheasants & crows that come into the paddock to nick their food. Cats have never stressed our birds out. Our original birds are about 3 years old & still lay 6 eggs a week each. The only time it got a little dicey was when we had Geese in the paddock as well - it kind of turned into gang warfware, with the chickens ending up victorious unless the the geese could corner a single bird.
We ate the Geese, so that solved that little dilemma.
Update on operation Chicken rescue:
The girls have settled in really well & are thoroughly enjoying their first taste of freedom. They are still living in their coop most of the time, but we are letting them out into the paddock in the evenings to have a bit of a run around. They are perking up incredibly quickly, although do still look a real rag tag bunch with no feathers! Come Saturday, they will be free to come & go as they please. We just have to manage their introduction to our other chickens so that there isn't gang warfare!
We are getting around 7 eggs a day from the new bunch and the quality is improving as each day passes as they flush the crappy food they used to be fed out of their system & de-stress.
I'm no soppy sod, but it is extremely rewarding watching an animal have a really good second chance at enjoying their life. They spend much of their time stretching what's left of their wings out & sunbathing or running around flapping as much as possible.
The girls have settled in really well & are thoroughly enjoying their first taste of freedom. They are still living in their coop most of the time, but we are letting them out into the paddock in the evenings to have a bit of a run around. They are perking up incredibly quickly, although do still look a real rag tag bunch with no feathers! Come Saturday, they will be free to come & go as they please. We just have to manage their introduction to our other chickens so that there isn't gang warfare!
We are getting around 7 eggs a day from the new bunch and the quality is improving as each day passes as they flush the crappy food they used to be fed out of their system & de-stress.
I'm no soppy sod, but it is extremely rewarding watching an animal have a really good second chance at enjoying their life. They spend much of their time stretching what's left of their wings out & sunbathing or running around flapping as much as possible.
LOL. Spot is fine now. No more parading herself for all and sundry. The latest cat related disaster is Spot & Sparkle's daily slaughter of around 10 - 12 birds. mice, voles & shrews, which they then kindly place on my 6 year old's bedroom floor.
We got the chickens from the Battery Hen Welfare Trust - http://www.bhwt.org.uk/
Our local re-homing centres were either Southampton or Guildford, so we went for Guildford as I know a good pub just down the road from where we picked them up from for a pre-collection lunch. However, looking at their website, they do have a few places in the South West (Bristol, Midsomer Norton & Brent Knoll).
ETA. I'll try to get some pics up over the weekend.
We got the chickens from the Battery Hen Welfare Trust - http://www.bhwt.org.uk/
Our local re-homing centres were either Southampton or Guildford, so we went for Guildford as I know a good pub just down the road from where we picked them up from for a pre-collection lunch. However, looking at their website, they do have a few places in the South West (Bristol, Midsomer Norton & Brent Knoll).
ETA. I'll try to get some pics up over the weekend.
Edited by schmalex on Thursday 8th July 12:16
Spot & Sparkle are most definitely spayed. I'm having none of the shenanigans (or associated remedial actions that were suggested on here) that happened last June.
They just seemed to have decided to turn into some kind of cat Taliban & kill anything that moves as a gift for young Oliver, who it has to be said, is not overly pleased at the daily gifts.
They just seemed to have decided to turn into some kind of cat Taliban & kill anything that moves as a gift for young Oliver, who it has to be said, is not overly pleased at the daily gifts.
E31Shrew said:
Collected 3 ex battery hens yesterday and all have settled in already. Fascinating, as others have said, watching them get their first taste of the outdoor life after months in a grotty old industrial unit.
The guy from the Hen Welfare Trust that we picked them up from said there were over 600,000 in total at the one 'farm' that they collect them from. Changed in 200k lots when they slow down on the laying front.
We have a couple of cats who are both st scared of them so far.
The guy from the Hen Welfare Trust that we picked them up from said there were over 600,000 in total at the one 'farm' that they collect them from. Changed in 200k lots when they slow down on the laying front.
We have a couple of cats who are both s
t scared of them so far.
Our rechargeables passed on a fair few years ago now so we are down to two older chickens now. Their rate of production is slowing to around 5 eggs / week each. I think we’ll let these live out their days without the stress of introducing any more.
Spot and Sparkle have been joined by Alan (a rescue cat). Having been separated from his mother at two weeks old, Alan is a complete bellend, but quite loveable.
The chickens still absolutely run the paddock and we’ve never had a cat / chicken interface
The two that we have are about 4 years old. I guess we’ve averaged about 5 - 6 years before they whacked by fantastic Mr Fox, or make a break for freedom over the paddock fence.
Thinking of that, make sure you clip their wings. Take about a fingers width off the end of one wing on each bird. That’ll stop them from taking off. They don’t soar like eagles on the thermals, but can easily get up enough speed to clear a 4ft fence
Thinking of that, make sure you clip their wings. Take about a fingers width off the end of one wing on each bird. That’ll stop them from taking off. They don’t soar like eagles on the thermals, but can easily get up enough speed to clear a 4ft fence
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