battery hens

darrcow

hi im looking to increase my flock of hens as i cant keep up with the demand for eggs. so im looking at gettting old battery hens but cant seem to find any contact details on the web. if anybody can help or lead me in the right direction

thanks darrcow

reilig

darrcow wrote: »

hi im looking to increase my flock of hens as i cant keep up with the demand for eggs. so im looking at gettting old battery hens but cant seem to find any contact details on the web. if anybody can help or lead me in the right direction

thanks darrcow

Old battery hens will only be sold because they are not laying anymore. They are fed with layers mash to try to get as many eggs out of them as possible and then sold off. They might still lay, but will have a singificantly reduced output to that of a young non battery hen.

555guy

Many producers had to downsize their flocks recently due to changes in cage sizes. Animal reccue centres all over the country saved as many as possible so they would be your best bet. Not sure where you are located but you could start with http://littlehillanimalrescue.ie/ as they saved a large number.

essgee268

i am getting a few ex battery hens to run with my free range hens as my flock has diminished to 10 and cant keep supply of eggs. is there anything I should do with them when I introduce them to other hens night

Reggie.

essgee268 wrote: »

i am getting a few ex battery hens to run with my free range hens as my flock has diminished to 10 and cant keep supply of eggs. is there anything I should do with them when I introduce them to other hens night

I introduce them to the coop at night and leave them all locked up for 24hrs to get used to the new arrivals and then let them all out the next day. Not sure if it's the right way but it's the way I do it

Base price

You maybe shocked when you see your ex bat hens as they will be sort of a few feathers.
Personally I would not introduce them to your flock immediately. I would put them into a seperate enclosed shed which will allow them to acclimatise to living outside a commercial system. It will also give you a chance to see if any are carrying an illness or developing an illness due to stress. You can allow them out during the day for short periods weather permitting.
Battery hens are vaccinated and may carry an illness to your existing flock. Unless your own birds are commercially bred hybrids then it is highly unlikely that are also vaccinated.
Watch out for bullying between the ex bats as it is a common problem.

Kevhog1988

Base price wrote: »

You maybe shocked when you see your ex bat hens as they will be sort of a few feathers.
Personally I would not introduce them to your flock immediately. I would put them into a seperate enclosed shed which will allow them to acclimatise to living outside a commercial system. It will also give you a chance to see if any are carrying an illness or developing an illness due to stress. You can allow them out during the day for short periods weather permitting.
Battery hens are vaccinated and may carry an illness to your existing flock. Unless your own birds are commercially bred hybrids then it is highly unlikely that are also vaccinated.
Watch out for bullying between the ex bats as it is a common problem.

+1 on this. I used to always quarantine any new birds that i bought when i kept cage birds. Especially if bought from pet shops or sales.