Anyone here have ex batt hens or chickens?

[lavenderlove]

Hello! We are thinking of getting some ex batt hens and just wondered whether this set up would be safe for them. I have a section of garden that I would like to fence off for them and then put a coop in there (like the look of the omlet eglu ones if anyone has any advice on that).

However will they be safe out in the open during the day without a roof to protect them? I want to give them as much room as possible and feel that keeping them confined to a 2 or 3m run would be boring for them?

Bump

I think Mumsnet has a section about keeping chickens, so it might be worth posting there instead.

I'm afraid I haven't a clue!

I used to keep a few ex battery hens. They were lovely.

I had a small garden with a pen that they'd roost in at night.

I liked the look of eglu but was never sure it would allow enough room. Although more than they were previously used to!

As pp said I think you'll get good advice on chicken keepers section here.

Good luck. They're awesome.

We have ex battery hens. They have a little hen house to sleep in & a large run for during the day, like you it’s part of the garden fenced off & there is no roof to the enclosure. We’ve kept them like this for around a year. We do check they are in the hen house every night though.

Yes - no roof during the day

My chickens are totally free range during the day and are fine, even though we have local buzzards. They have a very busy life and spend all day bimbling around

How much space do you have?

I used to have chickens, they were truly free range only put in the coop at the night and I don’t think I’d do it again.

I had three Orpington bantams, only slightly smaller than an ex battery, my garden is approximately 30ft long by about 15ft wide which I thought would be plenty big enough and they destroyed it.

The grass was scratched up in no time and never fully recovered.
It’s all coming out soon for a replacement chamomile lawn instead.

They shit for Britain, truly epic quantities and they are noisy!
At least my hens were.
I bought them believing them to be a quiet breed, though I expected some gentle clucking.

Wasn’t what I got at all!
Early morning and whenever laying an egg the loudest most obnoxious weird ‘CAWWW!’ Type noise.
One of my hens was particularly noisy and would do it on/off all day.

The neighbours complained about the noise and they had to go in the end.

If you have a small garden that you care about and/or neighbours that are likely to complain I wouldn’t

I’ve had lots of ex batts. I’m not a fan of evils, they seem so poky. Ours were always in a run, but it was huge, bigger than most gardens. I’d never have them out of a run unattended unless you’ve got a very secure garden with high fences. For their safety and also because they make such a mess scratching up plants and grass. I’d try and fence a larger strip of the garden off and make it a permanent run for them. The eglu run is far too small and too low. (I was given an eglu and run but never used it other than as a temporary rabbit run!). Ex batts are very sweet and rewarding though.

(Sorry I didn’t notice it chanced eglu to evils!)

I agree that they ruin your garden! We have a very large garden, so they’ve got about the size of an average urban back garden to themselves & they still manage to scratch up everything in it.

If they are ex battery an Eglu will give them more space than they are used to, and you can get an extension to the standard run or just build your own. If you live in a place where there may be predators such as cats around in the daytime then add a roof to the run. (Cat bites always turn septic unless you give antibiotics.)
Ex battery hens may lay for another few years, then you need to think about what you will do with them when they stop laying. Also work out how you will deal with the manure.

They really are destructive little feckers. And noisey; bok-bok-bok-Bok-Bok-BOK-BOK-AAAAAAAAAARGH! is what we get when one has laid, or wants to lay, or realises another has laid, or wants to lay but there's someone else in the nesting box, or just if they, you know, think about eggs, generally. And they poo CONSTANTLY. SO much poo.

Also, I know it's probably not everyone's experience, but ex-batts can be more prone to health problems than non-rescues, so some people think it's better to start with more straightforward ones.

They're gorgeous though. We've had 4 for 6 weeks not and they're such funny little characters! And getting really tame, we can pick two of them up and cradle them like babies, and they vibrate like purring cats. So cute

Yes they can have more health problems, and you might have one die early, but they’re definitely much friendlier than regular hens and they’re better layers. They’re so rewarding to watch learn how to live like normal hens. Beware that they can look horrible when they arrive, like creatures that have lost the will to live and totally bald.

Thanks for all of your replies and advice! I didn't realise there was a chicken keepers section on here so I will have a snoop.

My back garden is a funny shape so I have my actual square back garden but then also a large rectangle part down the side of my house that has never been used, it's just a mud and patchy grass floor and it's constantly in the shade so I thought this might be quite a nice area for them. They would have the whole section there so I wouldn't let them out to destroy the bit of garden we use. My garden has high fences and is secure but there is a cat that I see every so often frontway.

I didn't realise they were so noisy though! What I've read has just described a gentle cluck.. I am an end terrace so although they would be at the other side of the house maybe the noise would still disturb my neighbours?

They aren’t constantly noisy, just when laying or when they see you coming with food! If your neighbour is nice you can probably win them over with a box of lovely eggs now and then.

@Honeyroar Oh ok that's not bad then 😊 there's only my DH who eats eggs in our house so we will be giving away most of them!

I have ex batts and they are just the loveliest things.
Ours go in a coop at night, which is in a run. During the day, they free range our land but really don't go much further than the muck heap.
When we come out, they come running over and all are happy to be picked up and cuddled.

Having had Wellsummer's prior to these, I'd go for ex batt everytime

If you live in a built up area you might be barred from keeping them by local bye laws, so if your neighbours object the RSPCA can seize them and the coop.

when I had chickens I had a coop that was off the ground, I had and electric fence enclosures around it. When it rained really heavily they'd go scratch about under the coop.

it was a bit like this one, (I kept the run door open Obviously) www.feelgooduk.net/medium-windsor-chicken-coop-and-run-ch10m

I loved my ex bat girls, they were so friendly and just loved life, they developed their own little personality too.

Your heart will break when you first see them though they come in a shocking state

if there isn't much grass/leafy coverage, make sure to chuck them plenty of leafy greens in, it's good for them.

They aren’t constantly noisy, just when laying or when they see you coming with food! If your neighbour is nice you can probably win them over with a box of lovely eggs now and then

Not always.
Our loudest hen was on/off day!
The noise is really loud, we are also in a terrace and we could hear our chickens 6 houses down!

And tbh, even if it is ‘just’ in the morning, your neighbours most likely will not appreciate the noise 7/8am, maybe even earlier!
And they may not be softened by a box of eggs either when you can get perfectly nice ones in the shops for what, £1.50ish?

I would consider very, very carefully OP.

@NiceTwin aww that sounds lovely 😊 Glad to know they have been safe free range on your land too as I would really like them to be as free as possible.

@Thelnebriati I'm allowed to keep them luckily. I'm on a small terrace of 4 hours but then no houses for a mile so maybe that's why.

@NewYearNewTwatName that's a cute little coop! I've been wondering about those style of coops, are they able to get out of the coop and in to their run without you letting them out? It will definitely break my heart to see them in a state☹️

@frostedviolets oh gosh! From this thread it seems to vary from hen to hen whether they are noisy or not so I suppose I wouldn't know until I got them.

Ex batts are the best hens, they are much tamer than other breeds. We’ve had our current ones from 10 weeks and they are terrors but our ex batts would come in and watch tv with us. I love chickens as pets. They are great fun and less vulnerable than you’d think - they can see off cats and our dog easily. Ours have 1/2 if the garden to trash. It’s open and we’ve never had a problem.

We have chickens ex from a free ranging farm. They do let us know when they have laid but other than that I don't hear them. We do have plenty of space though, I wouldn't have them free ranging on a house block, they will be pecking on your kitchen door and pooing every where. Our cats avoid them and I think chickens would attack a cat rather than the other way round. We originally brought a coop that looked like a large rabbit cage but it sat low to the floor and chickens like to roost higher for safety. We ended up buying a second hand home made coop that was on stilts and very sturdy. They do scratch up everything and ours have made themselves a dust bath, they also like to sun bathe.

lavender yes there is a little door and ramp into the run, usually they have a long spindly handle thingy so you can slide the door shut when they have all gone to bed.

heres another link with more pics. again it's not mine but is similar.

vi.raptor.ebaydesc.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemDescV4&item=113785858150&category=177801&pm=1&ds=0&t=1564323930000&ver=0&cspheader=1

I don't know what's going on with the price of this one either! it's over a £1000