rehoming some exbatts

[Suechooks]

any ideas anyone on how to teach my girls to use a perch?

Some of my ex-batts never perched but I did give them an old tyre in the coop to encourage them to get up off the ground. Most learned to get up on the perch after a while but some prefered to stay on the tyre. I also have a very low perch (2 - 3")to try and get the Silkies to roost (see separate thread)

[petal]

an old tyre - genius!
I have just sat for half an hour watching the most amazing behaviour. One of them is carrying bits of straw in her beak and making a perfect nest around the 3 rubber eggs I have placed in the old cut down trug in the corner. i opened their pen door today and some of them are venturing out to explore the rest of the barn. beaky wanted to sit on my knee and have a cuddle.

[polo]

Bless them. They sound like they are doing their best to experience everything. How brave are they! It must be very unnerving (but exciting) for them.

Polo

[RichmondHens]

an old tyre - genius!
I have just sat for half an hour watching the most amazing behaviour. One of them is carrying bits of straw in her beak and making a perfect nest around the 3 rubber eggs I have placed in the old cut down trug in the corner. i opened their pen door today and some of them are venturing out to explore the rest of the barn. beaky wanted to sit on my knee and have a cuddle.

It's amazing how, given the chance, their instinct takes over despite them having endured such awful and unnatural conditions for most of their short lives.

[jessmorris]

Signed up, and facebooked!

Me too! I was just discussing this with a friend yesterday!

[Bramble-Poultry]

old tyres make great nests for turkeys!

[petal]

well, i dunno. Trip to the vets I think. Some of them are very tucked up (cold?) and their combs are pale. I have mucked out, deloused, de redmited just in case. Ordered flubenvet. I have added vitamins to water. No snotty noses, no foamy eyes but one of them seems to have a rather swollen face or it could be my imagination? one of them that arrived with rattly breathing is worse. I will see how they go but will take rattles to the vet and get some tylan for them, it can hardly do them any harm!

[Suechooks]

Some of them just don't cope with the freedom sadly. It has been really cold for them after being incarcerated in so much heat. Have you tried Respite in the water? I put it in the water routinely when I get new chooks now while they're in quarantine along with Flubenvet and louse powder &/or Frontline.
Have you tried giving them mash made of the layers pellets and hot water? My ex-batts love that still and they've been out over a year!

[petal]

I am so sad, 5 of the worst ones just look so poorly and I can't put my finger on what it is for once. They have special vitamins in water, louse powder, are in quarantine still, i have put heat lamp on, which they like, lovely bedding to snuggle in. I will flubenvet them this week - the lady at the rescue centre said it was not a priority as they have never free ranged, I am currently hard boiling some eggs to make a mash.

[Glutton4...]

I hope they perk up, Petal. I've been lucky with mine, so far. All my rescues have been November/December, and they've had to get used to snow almost straight away. I've only lost one early on, and she drowned!

[RichmondHens]

Rattles, swollen face etc suggest mycoplasmosis to me so get Tylan into them asap. Also put a few freshly crushed garlic cloves in the drinking water and keep the heat on them. How far away are they from your other birds? If they do have myco you need to keep them as far away as you physically can.

[petal]

Oh is taking one to vet tomorrow. Thank goodness they are still in quarantine if it is myco. Thats a problem, won't they be carriers?How can they get that if they have been innoculated?Where did they get it?

[RichmondHens]

Yes they will be carriers but you wouldn't be breeding from ex bats anyway would you? You just need to keep them accommodated separately from your others (preferably at the other end of the garden if you can) but as you are setting up breeding groups with your other birds I assume they would be separate anyway?

Also do you know for sure they were vaccinated against myco?

[Glutton4...]

... but you wouldn't be breeding from ex bats anyway would you? ...

Why?

(Forgive my ignorance, if it's a stupid question )

[Flummery]

Why?

(Forgive my ignorance, if it's a stupid question )

I assume it's because they are already a cross. It's like an F1 hybrid in plant terms. (I've crossed and F1 with an open pollinated tomato however). You will get rather mixed up genes.