[Swiss Tim]

Hi all,

I'm picking up some ex batts on Sunday......looking forward to getting some new recruits 

Anything I should know before hand?

Are they likely to be mite infested?

Any tips and advice would be much appreciated.

Thank You

[juliag]

Hi there, they should be fine, the coordinators where you are picking them up from should be able to look at their legs and tell you whether they have red mites or not. If they do I always use surgical spirit wiped onto their legs with cotton wool , if you then put vaseline on them this will kill the mites. They will need to be kept away from any of your other hens for a short while as they may be a bit weak, however all of mine have given me the runaround from day one !! Give them a few days and you will have the friendliest hens imaginable. I always said I would not eat their eggs for the first week, however I felt when these little sorry looking baldies  put everything into producing this enormous egg for me it would be sacrilege not to say thankyou girls and enjoy it!!
Good luck and enjoy your very special girls !  Julia

[doganjo]

Hi Tim,  Firstly if you have other hens keep these isolated for a week or so, maybe more, so that anything they have brought with them will show up and won't be transferred to your others.

If you get them through the ex batt rescue website they are all checked before they are re-homed.  Any sick ones are held back and medicated before they are put out to new homes.  But if straight from the farmer you'll need to check them over yourself.  My first lot up North which I re-homed when I moved down here were from the local farmer and they had mites which I didn't notice - didn't know to look for.  So it went right round all the others I had too and I had to treat them all when it had got to a recognisable stage - scaly lumps on legs. Some of them didn't make it.  The hens I got down here from Jim at Callander are all healthy, although one was just tiny!  She's the one that now flies out into my arms every morning

All your birds will be featherless and will need warm dry bedding and shelter. I keep mine inside for a day or so before letting them into their outside run.  Sometimes they are wobbly on their legs so are best inside for a bit.  They don't always know how to take water or food from a different container than they are used to so I look for the feistiest one and show her how to peck by putting food and water down and pushing her beak into it. They all follow within minutes once she learns.  I feed my ex-batts extra food to start with and I gave them porridge oats with milk and honey as well.  Rosemary also suggested special chiacken spices but I couldn't find any.
Hope that helps, sounded a bit rambling when I read it over.  Rosemary will keep you right though.
Annie

[doganjo]

Oh, yes, Julia's post reminded me (posted while I was typing so sorry fro any duplication) - I always speak to mine when I go in and ask how they are. I always say thank you to them for their eggs.  OK I know I'm off my head!  But they really are very friendly, my grandchildren can pick them up.  Go near my light Sussex and they run away, and I've had them from weeks old!
Oh and here's the rescue website fro anyone else wishing to save some chicken lives!
http://www.bhwt.org.uk/

[Hilarysmum]

Is there a French version of battery rescue?

[doganjo]

Don't know - try googling.  Incidentally if Dan is reading - or Rosemary - have you heard of easyfundraising - you can get money for buying on Internet by using links to all the big companies and registering as a supporter.  Go on and have a look and register TAS on the back of The Brittany Club and we'll get a bonus.  Can do it with CSSA as well!
http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/