A Guide to help you to Rescue battery hens
Keeping ex-battery hens in can be so gratifying, it can have its challenges, but you should never tire of the daily egg hunt from your friendly flock. If you are sensible, they won't ruin your garden - in fact, they are one of the best defenses against slugs and bugs. They get on fine with pet cats too. They're great with children as long as they don't chase and poke them! When you go away, if you've got a secure run, they're easy for a neighbor or friend to look after.
Watching them progress from sorrowful, pallid, scraggly, thin and slightly bemused animals to glossy-feathered, chatty, active, healthy ladies is an absolute joy. And don't forget the fresh eggs - until you've cooked with your own home-produced free-range eggs, you won't realize what wonderful benefits they have over supermarket eggs.
If you are keen to acquire hens that have been rescued from battery farms then continue reading for some information and advice.
Where the Battery hens that need re homing come from.
There are approximately 19 million battery hens laying eggs in the UK. At about 74 weeks old when they are past the height of their yield they become what are called spent hens and will go to slaughter. Battery hens are slaughtered, when their production drops below the number required to make them commercially profitable. These carcasses are worth very little and used in chicken pies, soups and some times for pet food. The farmers occasionally get a small amount of money for these but it's no longer worth their while financially to keep the hens alive
Many spent hens are perfectly good layers for the typical smallholder or family and can be successfully re-homed.
Organizations to contact for Rescue Battery Hens.
If you would like to give a spent hen a good home you can contact a number of organizations who organize the re homing. For example:
Battery Hen Welfare Trust. They work in co-operation with various farms across the country to rescue ex-battery hens from slaughter and provide them with good homes.
Little Hen Rescue. They have successfully re homed thousands of battery hens. The hens are due for slaughter unless they're homed, sometimes because the farms are closing.
If you are considering having hens or have room for a few more, or know someone that can take them on, please get in contact with one of the organizations to organize your re homing.
Accommodation for hens.
When choosing accommodation the number of hens and the space available are the main issues. The hen house always needs to be sturdy and secure to protect the hens from any prowling foxes or badgers.
When choosing a house we advise you buy one to suit more hens than you actually intend to keep. For example, if you want six hens, we would advise you buy a house to accommodate at least eight hens. This will make sure they have plenty of space not only to roost and nest, but also to take shelter from the weather during the day.
There are houses that are static with attached runs and others which are movable. You will need to assess the best option for you taking into account that hens like to peck and scratch grass - the bigger the run you can give them the better, not only for their own enjoyment, but also to keep the ground they are ranging in good condition.Many people choose to adapt a standard garden shed with perches and nest boxes. As a guide a 6' x 4' shed will comfortably accommodate 12 - 15 hens.
A number of products are commonly used on the hen house floor: chopped straw can be used for larger numbers of hens and shavings for small numbers. If you are using shavings it is important to buy shavings with the dust extracted.
Nest boxes ideally need some soft material in order to make a cosy place in which to lay an egg. Shavings with some straw on top are a good option, although this can sometimes be a favorite hiding place of the red mite. The hens have been used to very warm conditions within the battery unit; this is why so many have large, floppy combs - the combs will not only redden as they are exposed to the weather, but usually shrink as the hens need to loose less heat.
Understandable precautions need to be taken with regard to the environment. If the sun is very strong the hens can suffer sunburn. Equally if it's really cold, damp and windy, they will primarily need to be encouraged back into their new homes.
When you first take your hens' home, it's typically best to keep them in the hen house for a day or so. Even the pleasure of discovering a shed is far more stimulation than they are used to, so they should be quite happy. When you let them out for the first time, let them out about one hour before dusk, which will persuade them to stay near to the house and return as darkness falls.
Feeding Ex Battery Hens.
Battery hens have been fed layers mash all through their life in cages. We strongly advise that to begin with you continue to feed layers mash or you can buy Ex-bats Crumbs, which has been specifically designed to give your hens the very best start to their free-range retirement. They can also be fed pellets, but it is important to continue the mash or crumb for a few weeks allowing the birds to get used to the change before introducing new feeds into their diet. It is advisable to feed crumb and pellets in the morning with a little mixed corn added during the afternoon. Please note treats should be fed very sparingly, it is not a wise idea to spoil your new hens with a rich diet. Of course do not forget to have water available in a suitable container.
The condition and health of ex battery hens.
Your hens will have done nothing other than stand in a tiny cage for their entire lives. Consequently they will be very unfit to begin with and usually totally unable to jump up to a roost or nest box.
This difficulty can be overcome by placing a ramp up to the roost/nest box or giving them access to a nest box on the floor (even a cardboard box on its side with shavings and a bit of hay in will suffice until they are fit enough to use the proper facilities). It does not take them very long to build up their strength and within a couple of weeks most are capable of jumping to a standard roost height.
When the hens first go into the battery cages they will have had a long list of vaccinations to protect the farmer against large losses. These are typically administered through spray misting the chicks or in the drinking water.
Spent battery hens may experience bruising initially, often to legs and sometimes to the wings. This usually occurs when they are removed from the cages and can be so bad the hen finds it painful to stand. If you gently look you will see dark bruising under the skin and arnica cream rubbed in can really help. As long as you see that they get food and water, a bruised hen will recover within 7-14 days with no permanent ill effect. If possible, do not separate her from the other hens, as when you return her to the group she will be seen as an outsider and may be bullied.
Occasionally, a hen will have a broken bone and in this instance it is wise to ask your vet to take a look and probably set the bone.
Hen Behavior.
You will probably find the hens will be in total wonder of everything around them for the first few days and they will be very polite to one another. However, once they get the hang of the daily routine, usually within 2-3 days, they will then start to quarrel. You really have to let them get on with this; they are merely sorting out the pecking order. They need to know who is going to be head of the household. Try to observe that all the hens are eating and drinking and that no blood is drawn! If blood is drawn, you will probably need to separate that particular hen, as the others will only continue to bully her.
You will most likely find that it is the smallest, most feather bare hen who causes the most commotion, having at go at anybody and everybody. Please appreciate that this hen is only behaving as she is because she has probably had to fight for every mouthful of food and water within the cage and every time she's managed to get some, someone behind her has been having a peck at her - consequently her threadbare appearance. It will sort itself out in a couple of weeks and the most troublesome hen will realise there are far more interesting things to do rather than worry about her position within her new brood.
Egg production.
There is no guarantee of how many eggs spent battery hens will lay, generally you will get about a 40-50% production rate, for example 10 hens will lay 4-5 eggs daily. Battery hens have no idea about the nest box facility. You will find eggs will be laid wherever they happen to be walking. Rubber or china egg balls are a wonderful way of coaching the hens about the contentment of laying eggs in a cosy nest. They can be quite awkward to begin with and the rubber eggs are ideal because they are realistic and durable!
Bugs and Parasites.
The most common problem you can import when you take on battery hens is red mite. This is a tiny mite that feeds on the hens blood at night and then during the day lives in the hen house - usually under perches or in the nesting area or simply in cracks and joins in the house. Thorough cleaning can help limit this.
It is something that can be controlled with many products on the market and like fleas get worse in the warmer weather and reduce during the winter months. It does not usually prove fatal to hens, though in extreme cases if left untreated can cause death.
Finally,
Hopefully this has answered some of your questions, do not be too concerned about all the information as most of it is common sense and you can find lots of people to support you within whichever organisation you use to find your hens.
Another way to attain hens in need of homes is to contact your local school. They may have hatched eggs within their classrooms. Schools sometimes hire incubators and hatch hens, but these chicks do not necessarily have homes to go to and may be slaughtered. The hens can be sexed to ensure you get hens and not cockerels! We have had hens from local schools and although they are young and need maturing before they begin laying it is still a worthwhile experience.
I am a busy mom with a gorgeous little boy. I hope you too are inspired to re home some hens in need. To find out more about our hens progress: http://rescue-battery-hens.blogspot.com/
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