Adopting battery hens

Peter16 · **Posted:** Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:49 pm

Hello everyone,
just wondering how you adopt some battery hens, do you just go to the farm and say can i buy some second year hens???
all info welcome,

thankyou
Peter

chicken-boy · **Posted:** Sat Dec 01, 2007 7:03 am

what is a battery hen. :?:

Peter16 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 01, 2007 8:47 am

battery hens are chickens which are kept in wire cages the size of an A4 piece of paper and forced to lay eggs in a very unhealthy enviroment.
if you search it in google you will see just how bad it is :!:

Peter

Muscovy J · **Posted:** Sat Dec 01, 2007 10:55 am

hi peter16.
battery hens can turn out great birds . here thay sometimes bring a truck full to town for people to buy . thay sell them about $3.00 each , i use to go to halls poultry farm moama n.s.w and buy them from there . if you phone your nearest poultry farm thay will tell you when thay sell of all there year old layers or you may be able to buy them there . also markets are a another place where people sometimes have battery hens for sale. once you get your hens home thay soon learn to act like normals hens . the only thing you have to do is teach them to perch by putting them on the perch each night until the know what to do.
hope this helps
regards jase

Peter16 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 01, 2007 10:58 am

thanks alot for that jace, ill get in contact with my produce store as they might know.

Peter

Jeff Trescott · **Posted:** Sat Dec 01, 2007 2:12 pm

You can buy them direct from the poultry farms here.

Good on you peter for wanting to adopt them, there is a post someware on the forum about that, I think :-?

Jeff

Peter16 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:02 pm

yes there is another post about it and thats what gave me the idea.

Peter

jo-chicken · **Posted:** Sun Dec 02, 2007 9:09 am

Peter,

When you get you hens, just restrict their environment a little at first because with all the space they freak out. When we adopted them we had to shut them in a coop for about 3 days and then gradually increase the area in which they had to roam. Be careful too that you always keep a food container filled as if they have been de-beaked then they cannot pick food up from the ground. For the first few months they will be very susceptable to lice and mites etc because their environment has been so restricted and they don't know how to defend themselves naturally, I would suggest some mite powder (can buy it at pet stores, rural supplies places and sometimes supermarkets.). They will lays right where they stand so I would suggest you collect them regularly throughout the day if you can otherwise they may start eating them. You will find your hens very rewarding once they start to show their "true colours", personality wise. Good luck

:lol:

Jochicken

debbieo4914 · **Posted:** Sun Dec 02, 2007 2:03 pm

Hi Peter,

If you find out can you please post details on here, as I'm near Raymond Terrace and would like to help a couple of hens. Like you, I wasn't sure where to buy them.

My other strategy is to produce as many eggs as I can from our own happy, free-range hens and give them to family and friends to stop them buying cage eggs!! :-D

It's only a little thing, but at least it stops the people I know from buying eggs produced by battery farms

.

Peter16 · **Posted:** Sun Dec 02, 2007 2:08 pm

sure thing Debbie,
but im not sure if i will be able to find a place bt if i do i will let you know

Peter

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