New Hens!

[poiuytrewq]

Just picked up these girls from The hen welfare trust.
Battery yesterday hopefully free range from now on!
The photos don’t really show but they are pretty ropey looking. The lady there said these were some of the best they have had feather wise.
It made me a bit throaty lumpy seeing them all waiting for their new homes.
We will keep them in a day or two so they know home.
They had their claws trimmed as they were very over grown.
I’m a bit worried about a few beaks. Two are a bit crossed over and one is like a parrot- will this rectify once they are outside and scrabbling round for food, none of our chickens previously have had beak problems.

 

[marmalade76]

Spent hens make the best pets!

I would just like to point out that commercally kept hens are moved on in time for their first moult so missing feathers are yo be expected with spent hens.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Spent hens make the best pets!

I would just like to point out that commercally kept hens are moved on in time for their first moult so missing feathers are yo be expected with spent hens.

Do you know anything about the beak problem?

 

[Titchy Reindeer]

Lucky hens, I hope they adapt soon to their new home.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Do you know anything about the beak problem?

All I know is that I was aware about that beak problems was a potential problem to keep an eye out for ages ago when I had Budgies, but I never had that problem myself. I like to think it had something to do with that I mainly used natural branches from apple, and pear trees in their cage, but I don't know.
I've seen on veterinary TV programs about other owners coming in with Budgies, and other birds with beaks that needed a bit help from the vet, and they used either a dog nail clipper or a dog nail grinder, to gently give them a little trim.

I found this online on a page about ex battery poultry:
"Chickens that can free range will usually wear their beak down as it grows naturally but battery hens don’t have an opportunity to do this. Charities that rehome battery hens will usually trim their beaks before you get them but if they don’t have time to do this for you then you will need to do this yourself. You will need a pair of dog nail clippers to do this. Trim a little off at a time, taking care not to cut through the ‘quick’ a blood vessel that runs down the beak."

 

[marmalade76]

Do you know anything about the beak problem?

What sort of problems? We've had a couple with really wonky beaks and they still managed to eat well.

 

[marmalade76]

We also had one with one eye who outlived all of her sisters.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Yeah we had one that lived through a couple of other batches and just kept going. She was ancient when she finally died.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Anyone know if hens can change the colour of their eggs shells? I have either got one who is a very infrequent layer or changes the egg colour. All 3 are silkies. One black and two grey/brown.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I’ve never known that to happen. I’d assume one just lays occasionally perhaps

 

[FinnishLapphund]

As I understand it, the actual basic egg colour depends on genes, so normally the only thing that could make a hen that lays white eggs, lay a genuine brown egg, would require the involvement of a rooster of a different breed.
However, a hen that lays brown eggs can lay eggs that are different shades of brown, with or without speckles, and some eggs are shinier, some dull.

I found this photo online as an example, all eggs from the same hen:

Several different shades of brown, but none of them genuine white. Googling to find that photo, I also found a page with a study showing that e.g. the amount of amino acid in their food could affect things like the eggshell colour, but still not to the amount that it changed the colour completely.

 

[Nicnac]

Oh well done. I also got 3 new girls from British Hen Welfare Trust last weekend. I couldn't go back to my usual supplier as the fox got the last lot within 2 weeks of buying and it was our fault. First time in years that both Mr Nicnac and I thought each other had put them to bed and didn't communicate.

Mine look worse than yours but have picked up so much in just over a week! They are now out after keeping in small run for 2 days and looking better by the day. They are lovely girls. Having had both, I think I prefer the battery hens. Maybe not as pretty or prolific layers (one of my 3 hasn't started laying yet but she was really poor) but there's just something about them.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Talking to my friend about the egg colour today and she used to have a duck that laid either blue or white eggs, don't know what breed.

 

[HollyWoozle]

What lovely girls, congratulations! And so kind of you to give them a home. I love ex-batts.

In my experience the beaks will likely neaten up a little bit it depends on the exact problem and how severe. Our current ex-batt with a slightly odd beak, Gisela, really likes her layers pellets made into a mash with water as she can pick it up so easily that way (a lot of them seem to love that anyway). I don't think the beaks will cause them any issues.

 

[mini-eventer]

Our ex-batts beak straightened up loads, so should be ok if it isn't too wonky

 

[poiuytrewq]

That’s a relief!
They are really getting quite confident already. One or two in particular always come over when we are outside to check what we are up to!
They are still pretty patchy looking but are eating well and laying amazingly!

 

[Birker2020]

Good on you. They will restart laying tomorrow no doubt. We had eight from the BHWT as I used to volunteer from their Allesley branch for a few months. I went on one rescue to a barn. We formed a ladder chain from the barn to the lorry. Each person was handed three hens upside down in each hand, holding one leg a bird. Defra liked them handled that way. They don't panic upside down, they are much calmer so less stress. That's why they hang them upside down on the slaughter line, as they are less likely to flap about pre stun.

We rescued 651 that day, sadly by the time one had found her way down the chain she had died, we weren't careless or rushed, I think she'd just been very weak. It was sad, so near and yet so far.

Seven of our eight hens we rehomed laid one egg a day, every day. They were 17 months old. They were lovely, as soon as we got them home I ringed them with coloured rings so we could tell them apart. They each had their own personalities and it was amazing to see them transform with love and care and decent food.

We used to let them free range whilst we sat on the decking and garden and they had a 20ft run. We used to dust them weekly for red mite and mucked them out daily and the run too. They were treated like Queens. We used to dig worms and slugs for them and sold the eggs for £1 for 1/2 dozen.

I typed up a little description of their personalities, what they were fed and what their names were and stuck it to the inside of the egg boxes.

It was a very sad day when we had to leave the tied accommodation that came with my partners job, as we couldn't take them with us. We sold the remaining five and the coop, run, powders, feeding bowls and drugs for £80, around a third of what it was worth. I cried my eyes out. We hope to have our own place one day in the country with some land and a few hens again. Definitely be rescue.

I hope you have many months, maybe years of fun with yours x