Allotments 4 All
Produce => Kept Animals => Topic started by: flowerofshona2007 on February 26, 2009, 18:53:46
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We have a big bit of garden we no longer use and have desided to get 8 ex bats on the 14th March from the Dorchester branch :D
We have a shed in there and hubby is converting and the area had raised beds on it which have been taken out and we bought some turf to go down and i will add some seed to that as i put it down tomorow.
Had great fun buying the food, fed and water containers and bedding today ;D
Been a while since i had chooks but you dont forget.
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I haven't kept chickens since the '70's, if I loose the job this summer I might give it a go... :-\
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so glad for you, fos, we wouldn't be without ours now, had them since august last year, 18 and only lost 1 :)
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I don't think your new turf is going to last long with 8 chooks running around, I think I would have opted for bark chips and a sand pit, but don't let me put you off (I'm just an old cynic), chooks are great fun and ex bats is the way to go :)
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The turf will be fenced off for a while and we will keep an eye on it, they will run the main garden in the winter when the plants are asleep ;D
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There was I wondering a) how a bat could be ex and b) thinking that it's illegal to move them without a licence......
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Good Luck with your ex bats. I used to have a pub with an orchard at the rear and had a flock of 16 ex bats who lasted and laid regularly for over 5 years. I remember with fondness, the first time that it rained and they all just stood there wondering where the water was coming from....I had to pick them up and take them inside....silly girls. My most spectacular ex-bat was a dear old girl who used to run up to me to be cuddled. One terrible day a fox came in broad daylight and ran off with her across the neighbouring field. I gave chase and gave the bugger both barrels of my 12 bore. The fox was stone dead and my old ex-bat popped out of his mouth and took off across the field towards me....would you believe it...she survived the fox and the 12 bore without a scratch....she continued laying for another 3 years.
Enjoy your girls.
Dinger
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Barn owl
You beat me to it ;D :)
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My most spectacular ex-bat was a dear old girl who used to run up to me to be cuddled. One terrible day a fox came in broad daylight and ran off with her across the neighbouring field. I gave chase and gave the bugger both barrels of my 12 bore. The fox was stone dead and my old ex-bat popped out of his mouth and took off across the field towards me....would you believe it...she survived the fox and the 12 bore without a scratch....she continued laying for another 3 years.
Enjoy your girls.
Dinger
Yes, one of my old hens used to like being picked up and cuddled! I cannot remember whether this was one of the ex-bats or not, as mum went from ex bats to point of lay after a few years. I laughed at the fox story, but as foxes normally kill at scene, I wonder whether you were lucky in that the fox was taking the hen back to its cubs to teach them to hunt and kill... only a thought... anyway, I have no fondness for foxes, as they killed too many of our livestock for fun... even biting their way through a strong shed, killing them all, and then leaving them there dead... pointless. I love all animals except foxes, and I wouldn;'t mind them if they only killed what they needed to eat... mum left some dead hens for two weeks to see if the fox came back to eat them, he never did... just killed for fun...
mat
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What are you two like ;D
Im Knitting 'jumpers' just incase they are very bauld and get to cold (ok im sad but i can knit and i had some spare wool :P )
Hubby has spent hours sorting out their new home today and has turned an unused piece of garden into chook heaven :D just a few low perches to make for outside when they are fitter and some work to do on the shed which was already there and nearly empty, and its chooks away ;D
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before, and after, hope yours are as good as ours :)
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I am going to collect fifteen ex bats from a rescue tomorrow :)
Been working all spare daylight hours to get tho coop and run finished, its all ready now and I am really looking forward to getting them.
My mother did have seven ex bats but she is now down to two mainly due to to people walking dogs off the lead on private property >:( :-X
The two that are left are real characters one even pecks at the kitchen door to be let in to pinch the cats food ;D
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Hello x We are getting 4 ex batts tomorrow too, our 1st time with ckns, all ready for them now...Hubby has built them a lovely coop and a run. Nervous and excited at the same time. Wish us luck! xx
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Well done Al for taking 15 xxx
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Thanks LottieW
By the way I have sent you a pm
flowersofshona
For what its worth I agree with terrier turf probably won't last very long :-\
The area where my mothers spend most of their time used to be knee deep in couch grass and now there isn't one bit to be found and that only two hens :o
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Aw manc they are looking really good hun !!!
I know the turf wont last but i wanted them to have grass to stand on for the first time :)
We are now having 10 !! hubby has made the run bigger Yayyyyy !!
The shed is almost finished now and the nest box is being finished off as i type :)
They are going to be well spoilt girls for the rest of their lives.
Good luck to all who are collecting theres this weekend :D
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Picked up 4 girls today, but have been a quite nice farmer,as they are in quite good condition.I picked the most scrawny out lol. they are settled in their new coop, and even trying to climb around! so far so good! :)
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congratulations, lottiewood, hope you get lots of fun from them, the eggs are a bonus ;D
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Well done all you folks for re homing some hens. Wish we could, but decided that our area is not secure enough for them. Please can you all post some photos of your girls? just love em
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The people that take on ex batsmust have hearts of gold. Well done to you all.
If anybody has time to take photos of them , It would be marvellous .
One day ;)
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i will try and get some pics on here, so far this afternoon...one i have named george, cos she's the bravest ventured into the run, i nearly cried when she had her 1st experiance of being outside and pecking at grass, and a hour later picked george and spike up..and let them wander in the garden,it was fantastic to see. george already likes a cuddle and i think spike was quite impressed! Can see myself sitting out in rain tomorrow watching them ;D
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Here they are, home safe and free at last ;D ;D ;D
This is the last cage for these ladies if I can help it
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/cossieal/hencage.jpg)
most of them went strait to the auto drinker
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/cossieal/DSC00277.jpg)
getting used to their new home
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/cossieal/hensincoop.jpg)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g65/cossieal/newhens1.jpg)
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Al, your's look very similar to ours,quite good nick for ex batt's, I bet they r from same rescue!?
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Hi Lottiewood,
Yes I have to admit I did prepare myself and my six year old daughter for hens a lot more baldy. What I did notice is there is a big difference in the hens weight wise, some are quit plump where two in particular from my fifteen are really skinny.
Mine were via hen rehomers.
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yes Al so were mine!
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got 1st egg this morning! Hey Al...does that make us in laws?! lol.....neighbours must think i've lost the plot...i was sitting out wiv them at 8am this mornin...they are so amusing to watch. Already their personalaties are showing, to think if we hadn'd taken them...they would be stock cubes by now....
lottie xx
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update lol...4 eggs today!
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Hi Lottiewood,
I suppose that does make us in-laws, although I have always thought I would make a better outlaw ;D ;D
Been up the allotment all day today with my daughter, what fun we have had.
Kathryn wanted to search for eggs every 15Min's and by 4pm we had a dozen :o one was even in a nest box :D
I have heard though that any eggs in the system would be laid regardless of whats happend to them over the last day or two.
Apparently it takes a few days for any shock to have any effect on laying :-\
I suppose time will tell to be honest I view any eggs as a bonus ;)
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Yes i've read that too....my grandaughter was here today...and she actually saw one of th chooks lay a egg...she was amazed! Allready redesigning the gdn to help rescue some more!!
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Its funny you should say that ;D
I built the enclosed pen as big as I had the materials to do so and it is a good size but at the time I thought 15 hens would be about right but seeing them in there I reckon another ten could go in with ease.
They will only be in there the days I am not at the allotment all day (just now that's 2 days a week)
When I am there all day they have a huge free range area.
I was told hen re homers have another rescue in April :D
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Have you got time for a pic Al? pretty please! x
love to see all the happy hens ;D
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Hi Jessands,
those are my pics further up :)
AL
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if anyone wants to see pic of my 4 girls...email me and i can send...then maybe someone here will be clever enuff to put them on here?!
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ah sorry Al, I was getting you two with new hens mixed up! :-[
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No probs jessands ;)
Lottiewood I have sent you a PM
Al
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Those Ex's look great. Ours were oven ready when I picked them up but one of them even laid an egg in the car on the way home! They certainly seem more friendly than the non ex bats we have. I'm keeping my eye on the BHWT site for the next cull in our area so I can pick up some more.
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terrier, I received an e mail a few days ago, they've some more girls coming out in April, not sure if it's in your area ???
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terrier, I received an e mail a few days ago, they've some more girls coming out in April, not sure if it's in your area ???
Nothing for North Wales yet but we got ours towards the end of last year.
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Soooo excited we get them this Saturday and i hope they love their new home, we have made it as nice as possible for them just have to pick up the ex bat food later this week and we are all set :)
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what is ex batt food, FOS, we just bought layers pellets and wetted it for a while, giving it dry at the same time, they soon got used to the dry pellets(with scraps, corn, slugs, snails and weeds as a treat, of course) :)
just checked, terrier, it's for bristol and devon, shouldn't think it'll be long before there are more, though :)
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Its a new range of food made by 'smallholder' with extra vits ext for ex battery hens, they will go onto layers mash when that runs out its just to give them a boost :)
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ah, never heard of it, you learn something new every day ;D