ex batts PLEASE help me!

[imamissandamummy]

Hi all, im after some help, well in desperate need of some actually!...

i recieved my 2 ex batts on monday and the 1st day they seemed fine - 1 was bigger and feathery-er, while the other was smaller and less feathery.

Ok, so the big one keeps pecking the little one. (dont know how old either is but they are both supposed to be layers but no eggs yet) this isnt through boredom as they have an adequate size run and coop and plenty of feed/water/sand/dust bath/fresh greens hanging from ceiling/grass/and some lovely soil with all manner of creepy crawlies in.

she seems to follow the little one, pecking her quite hard - pulling feathers from her and eating the feathers!!

my little one is getting so distressed that i have to segregate them, but due to space, one has to stay in the run, and one has to go in the nest/roost/coop bit which doesnt have any natural light.

this has escalated each day until today im pretty sure she would have killed my little one had i not heard her squawking and separated them.

(i let them have some time together each day when the fresh water and feed first goes in)

i just dont know what to do. i have never experienced such aggressive behaviour before but this cannot continue for the long run. nor can i provide an extra run so they have one each.

please can someone offer any advise??

can nasty hens be cured? is there anything special i should be doing for them as their ex-batts and not used to being in a coop and run?

what can i do to calm my little hen and do i need to do anything to her sore bits? the pecked bum, neck and wings are not bleeding, just look sore, however she did have fresh blood around the quill stalks of her tail when i got them up this morning - she has no tail feathers as such, just the quills.

please help! i feel like returning them and starting over with new free range pols as i dont want to keep this restrictive routine up for long. i cant go out from home for long periods as i keep trying to swap them over from their solitary time so that either one doesnt spend too much time in the dark part of the coop.

anyone??? x

(oh and just to say, i wasnt actually that concerned about rehoming battery hens, these were supposed to be for my dd but a well-wisher got these for us before i had a chance to refuse or explain and my dd doesnt like the look of them. also, they smell really bad - not like any hens i've had before)

come on someone, tell me what to do! please x

I'm too new to this to be able to help but am bumping for you - hope you get it sorted out soon as it sounds pretty distressng.

It might be worth your while posting on the Omlet forum club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=5 - lots of advice here.

Keep us posted!

Please don't give up on them, they have had terrible lives up until now and you can't blame them for being aggressive.
You could fit a special bumper bit or anti peck ring to the more aggressive bird to stop her doing any damage to the other one. Give them some poultry drink/spice to help build them up and also de-louse as ex batts are often infested. The powder also makes them smell slightly better!
In a few months you won't recognise them.

I had 2 exbatts last year, with one pecking the other. You have to be VERY careful if the 'bully' makes the other one bleed. They are attracted to the sight of red blood & will peck it to death.

I bought purple spray from a horse shop - venetian violet, which sort of dyes the skin & I think is antiseptic. Spray on the pecked areas, but do wear gloves & an apron because it goes everywhere.

Your girls are establishing their pecking order, which is normal & it should settle - mine did it in about a week. They;ve been confined to a very small space for their whole lives, so now they are have to learn about space/grass/sratching & socialising.

You could buy another feeder for their food, so they know there is enough to go around.

I'm surprised they smell - what to do they off ? My 2 smell sort of farm-y.

If you do need to remove one, make sure you move the bully & take her out of the run.

Hopefully you are over the worst of it now, or will be after the weekend.

thanks for replies, did have a look at omlet too so got a few ideas. will have a look at where i can get some spray today if they're still at it.

the hens smell - i cant describe, its not the hay / woodchip smell that my others (new pols)have smelt of, but a sharper, dirtier, smell.

is there such thing as hen shampoo to get off all the caked-on dirt they must have on feet and underneaths from the old farm?

i did remove the bully and left the smaller one in the run, but as soon as i went to swap them over, the little one leapt into her nest and went to sleep, like she just wants to be in the nest but she looks quite young - how old do they need to be to get broody?

x

don't know much about broodiness. They do take a while to settle down....mine took a good couple of weeks i think to loss their shell shockedness from being out of their cage. She will also only be used to being in a cage with no room to turn etc.

Do they have a dust bath or some very dry earth they can have a rumage around in ? In which case, I would leave them be.

You could get a washing up bowl with some warm water & use that to give them a bit of a rub. I did this the other day to see if it would help one of my girls pass an egg.

I would do the more aggressive hen though, let the smaller one get used to her surroundings for a while longer.

If you think about it, in a battery cage, the only thing TO do is peck each other! Try hanging a cabbage or two in the pen, scattering corn on the ground and trying to keep them busy. Another idea would be to make an area, or even just a roomy box where the smaller hen can go to get away. If you make the entrance narrow enough that th small hen can pass and the large one can't, she can hide if she needs to. The beak clips work quite well, and so does the purple spray, although an orange equine iodine spray might be a little less scary looking!
Another hen or two may help as well, as there is safety in numbers.
People who show chickens do bath them, I'd be tempted just to use warm water as soap may harm their feathers, and a good dusting of louse powder when dry is always good.
Be patient, these poor birds have had an awful life. It is bound to take a while for them to adopt normal behaviors.

just to let you know, those who offered advice, that they are both now laying quite happily
the smaller hen seems to have been going through the moult but has still been producing an egg a day for over a week now.
feels good to have persevered as i can see what a difference it must have made for them, and its a good feeling to know what a better life they are having now.
thanks again for all the help. x

hi imamiss... ,
and don't worry about the smell, it does fade after a while.
it won't be long before you can hardly tell they're ex-batts!

(although, we did have to wash rita, she kept pooing onto her (scant) petticoat - she smelled better than sandra after that!

the smell, i know, they honk, don't they!