Ex-Bats now or wait till Spring?

[Glutton4...]

Good luck to all you new chook-owners who collected today. I'm excited already, and I don't even know when I'm going to get mine. I have to say the new chooks in the fabulous blue house that were posted recently (sorry, can't remember who) look absolutely lovely.

I recently contacted the Essex division of the Ex-Bat bods, and was told they should have some from a new farm, hopefully in November. Is it OK to 'rescue' them from a warm environment to a cold coop, or should I wait until the spring? (Assuming it will be warmer then!) Will they be able to cope, should I heat the coop? Am I being too soft?

Your thoughts and advice will be greatefully received.

Regards, G4...

[Noodle]

I think it's ok to rehome them at this time of year (I'm helping on a rehoming day tomorrow). You just need to make sure the coop isn't drafty and they have plenty of straw to keep them warm and that you make sure you close the pop hole every night. If you're worried you could always pick ones with lots of feather!

[francesbean]

Have you seen the little woolly jumpers on the BHWT website (I think, or maybe Poultry something!) for the oven ready ex bats in Winter - adorable.

francesbean

[Hilary B]

Noodle has it about right by my reckoning, plus you may want to offer a warm feed a while before bedtime (if no other options, damp some layers' meal or pellets into a crumbly mess with hot water, better still use a 'runny' porrage as the liquid, and 'dry it off' with meal).
Never heard of chicken-jumpers, but they might have a point for bald hens in winter. Sheep farmers can buy plastic 'raincoats' to reduce the risk of hypothermia in newborn lambs. Maybe something similar to those would be helpful?

[Glutton4...]

OK that settles it - I'm easily persuaded! But I'm absolutely useless at knitting...

I didn't realise you get to choose - I thought you just turned up and got what/who you were given.

Whilst here - will any straw do for bedding, or can I use the dust extracted, chopped, disinfected stuff we use for the Neddies? It smells lovely and clean, and is much softer than conventional straw.

My friend Moose uses shredded paper in her nest-boxes, says it's cleaner. Is that OK too?

G4...

[Hilary B]

Any straw will do, but if you've got quality stuff anyway, use it! NOT hay!!! shredded paper might be a good option. Not sure about 'cleaner', but if it works, it works!

[Wendy C]

Hi everyone. I have been an avid follower of the threads for a while and have finally taken the plunge to join and respond.

I have 4 ex-batts, 4 pekin bantams (2 boys 2 girls), 2 japanese bantams, 1 orpington blue bantam, one orloff x pekin bantam, one large fowl orpington Buff and one large breed orpington buff cross with something else. The hobbie only started when I got my 4 ex-batts in July, the rest just naturally followed (yes it is addictive).

The reason I am replying is that I went on a couple of chicken courses before I took the plunge, one fantastic one by Kirsty who is a vetinary nurse and breeds and sells birds. At both of these courses I was told NOT to put birds on hay or straw as they harbour spores and can make the birds ill. I was told to use dust free soft wood shavings. I do put shredded paper in the nest boxes with some wood shavings underneath as this is nice and comfy for them. I also use a fantastic product called Stalosan F which is a disinfectant powder which absorbs moisture and reduces the amonia smell and I sprinkle this around the house and under the bedding so any moisture from the droppings in absorbed. It was raved about in the last practical poultry mag and in their book 'how to avoid the vet'.
No doubt everyone else may have a view but as I am recently new to it all I like to be cautious.
Hope this helps.

[Glutton4...]

Hi Wendy C, and welcome to the 'vine.

I'm new here myself, and already learning a lot - these folks seem to have most things covered! I can't wait to get some Chooks (as they seem to be known here) but I haven't got a Coop or any fencing sorted yet, so I really need to get off my backside.

It's also good to see there's another Essex Girl on the 'vine too, I'm NW of Braintree, so with you being in Witham, we are nearly neighbours!

Cheers for the advice.

G4...

[Hashette]

Welcome Wendy - I'm semi-new as well, and today was my big day for becoming an ex-bat mum

Glutton, please do it, if you have a home to offer then the chooks can only win. If they don't get adopted, they have no options, this way you're giving them a chance.

On the basis of my five hours' experience as an ex-bat adopter, I can't recommend it highly enough. They're amazing, and to think that those fabulous little characters which we can already see beginning to express themselves have been supressed in dreadful, hellish conditions doesn't bear thinking about.

[Wendy C]

I am thrilled there are locals on this site. Every other one seems to be full of people from Yorkshire way which is so disappointing when they are offering stock for sale that you would love to buy. I've managed to convince hubby that chicken keeping is a great idea but I dont think he would be persauded to travel half of the country just because I had fallen in love with a picture of a chicken that I 'had' to have.

I got my pekin bantams today from a lovely lady near Brentwood and she has told me there is a fantastic livestock show and sale on tomorrow at Peterborough (East Anglia show or something) that is not only a great day out but where you can meet other chicken loonies too. I am going to have to try to be very persausive that a day out in Peterborough sounds a great thing to do and just 'stumble' accross the show. Not sure how I will fare though as I think he may be smarter than I give him credit for!

[Glutton4...]

Hashette, best wishes for your newies. I get the impression that collecting them may have been a stressful experience? But it has made me more determined to do it.

Annoyingly my folks have a lovely area, all planted out with trees about five years ago, that would take 15 or 20 hens, but the cost of fencing it is extortionate, as it backs onto farmland, so I'm going to have to scale down my plans. Don't worry, their garden is huge also, so we'll probably end up with the fittest hens in the county!

Wendy C, the East of England Showground, Peterborough, is really easy to get to, but I can't think of a roundabout reason to go there on the off-chance, sorry!

G4

[Hashette]

Hi Glutton

Collecting them wasn't remotely stressful (for me, don't know about them!). Okay I was so excited that we had to stop off at the service station 20 minutes from home, but we'll gloss over that!

We arrived at the co-ordinator's home bang on time, and she had a temporary run rigged up with at least 100 hens in it. Technically we were supposed to choose, but apart from the fact that I couldn't, they sort of chose us by being whichever ones were nearest.

It was a lovely experience, not least because we knew the rescue was over subscribed so every hen was guaranteed a home. Our girls were clearly terrified on the journey home as they just burrowed down in the straw in their baskets and didn't make a sound, but three hours later and you wouldn't belive the difference

[Glutton4...]

Thanks Hashette.

Good luck with your Hens. Let us know their names, and post some piccies when they are settled.

In the meantime, I'm back to my other thread; dealing with a geriatric dog with the squirts - nice!

Regards,

G4. X

[lynda66]

i reckon ..... you should get some now ...... then some more in spring ..... if you can wait that long

[vicky]

I think they'll be ok over winter if you make the house nice and snug, the alternative is worse (even if there is a casaulty over winter at least they will have seen the sun!).
You get to choose to some extent on a rehoming day. You can request some 'with feathers' - if you have children the people rehoming are more than happy to let them choose - my daughter managed to get in the stable with 100+ chickens, directing one poor chap to a particular bird...he got it though!
Good luck with your poor dog too.

Hi Wendy C, nice to have some more Essex peeps on here, we are near Ongar so not all that far, welcome to the vine!
I thought straw was ok for chickens, that it was just hay that could harbour spores?