How do you feed your ex bats?

[dabsisme]

We are getting 10 ex bats next weekend and I need to know how you lot feed them?

Do you have feeders?
What kind are they?
Where can I buy them from? (links please)

Or do you just throw the food on the floor of their run?

I know they will need water so will need to get a drinker to.

Any help you can guys please.

Thanks. Dave.

[MaureenHall]

Hi, I've got ex-batts too and they've been no bother at all as regards feeding.

Yes, you will need a feeder and water container, and I got mine off Ebay. The older ex-batts are quite happy drinking from a bucket, but I have to make sure that it's full otherwise they can't get their heads over the rim and deep in the bucket

Feeding - the BHWT recommend that you start the chooks off on layers mash, as this is what they were fed in captivity. However, I started all mine straight away on layers pellets and they all took to it fine. I do sometimes make a warm mash out of the pellets mixed with hot water and add a little poultry spice to help them get over the shock of moving and the strange environment they've come into.

I wouldn't suggest throwing the food onto the floor, they might not eat it all and that could encourage rats. Treats (after a couple of weeks or so) in the form of mixed corn can be thrown on the ground and they'll happily scratch around and eat all of it. Don't give too many treats though or they won't be getting a properly balanced diet, and egg quality/quantity might suffer.

Congratulations on rescuing your girls, they'll give you hours of pleasure watching their personalities develop and watching their feathers grow

[kirsty b]

Mine are on layers mash, but thinking of changing to pellets as they flick it all over the place and make a real mess with it regardless of what container I put it in.
I give them a few handfuls of corn in the evening.
they get weeds/greens as I pull them up, vegs peelings boiled up occasionally go down well. Discovered this morning that my lot are also quite partial to leftover tinned peaches.
I provide water, but they will also drink out of puddles on the run floor when it rains! Nice!

[Birdie Wife]

I provide water, but they will also drink out of puddles on the run floor when it rains! Nice!

Yeah, why do they do that? They have a big water container which is kept clean and topped up but they still drink from watering cans, buckets with algae growing in them, muddy puddles, ditches... then they make a show of preening themselves and getting their feathers just so... I don't know

[Sunbeam]

mine also prefer muddy puddle to fresh clean water - having said that, so does my cat!

[MaureenHall]

Maybe they all prefer water that's been standing a while so the chlorine and other additives have settled or gone? My cat likes to go on top of the moveable run where there's a tarpaulin covering, loads of puddles up there - sheer bliss I'm thinking of filling up the chooks water container out of my water butt, and putting tap water in the bucket and see what the reaction is

[vicky]

Welcome to Marriages - Millers of quality feeds since 1824

We have a feeder and drinker from Marriages, above.

We started on mash but have now moved on to pellets, no problems and lots less mess/waste (some people say mash is better as the need to spend more time eating and don't get bored)

I also give them treats about mid afternoon/early evening (ie, after they've eaten what they're supposed to) of kitchen scraps or corn (esp in the winter - a full crop at night is supposed to keep them warm). I throw treats on the ground to make it a bit more interesting!

[lozza_9]

hiya

I have had my ex-bats for about 3 weeks now. I real shock when we got them home when we compared them to our other chickens. Expect them not to move very much the first day or so. We had to make sure the feeder where not to far away from them so they didnt have too far to walk.

They are on layers mash but as previous mention it does make a lot of mess. I have just started mixing the pellets into the food and also bits of corn.

I will be given them some rice today to see how they get on. When I collected the battery chickens they told me to wait atleast 3 weeks before given them kitchen scraps as there tummies will not be used to it and the shock of new environmnent and new food might really upset them.

Good Luck

Lorraine

[Birdie Wife]

Maybe they all prefer water that's been standing a while so the chlorine and other additives have settled or gone? My cat likes to go on top of the moveable run where there's a tarpaulin covering, loads of puddles up there - sheer bliss I'm thinking of filling up the chooks water container out of my water butt, and putting tap water in the bucket and see what the reaction is

That may be true for some hens... but my water is on a private supply and they still seem to prefer the manky stuff

[MaureenHall]

Well maybe it's the algae they like - can't be doing them any harm whatever it is

[HeyWayne]

Do you know, I've only just realised (I'd seen the thread title on the "new posts" page several times) that by ex-bats, you mean ex-battery hens!

I was starting to get a little worried...

Going for a little sleep now.