advice with my new ex-batt girls

[Anonymous]

hi have been trying to find the answer to my questions by reading the forum, trouble is i just end up reading and not finding!!! if you know what i mean.
i brought my girls home on sunday, one even layed an egg in the box on the way home!!, they are settled in now and it seems pecking order has been sorted out. I am amazed that I have had 7 eggs since sunday

my question is should i put water and food in the coop overnight with the girls? I am pretty sure that it just gets trodden on and spilt but thought I best to check before i stop.

thanks for your help

Bob

 

[chrismahon]

Hi Wormhole. I wouldn't put food and water in the coop. If the food gets spilt it will encourage vermin and if the water gets spilt it will make the coop damp with health issues. They can't see to eat or drink in there at night anyway. We used to give our hens extra light to encourage them to lay in the Winter but we have stopped now because the bedding got so messy so quickly and needed changing daily -cheaper to go and buy eggs.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for that, i am only giving them mash at the moment, they eat and eat, i assume this is a good thing? when do you think i can begin to give them a more varied diet? dont want to upset their stomachs.

 

[tygrysek75]

It is really up to you.My cop is very light as part of the roof is glazed.I have food and water inside to,but keep water in the bottle with niple drinker and this sorts out any spillages,the food is in the feeded hung from the roof so it dosen't get trown out either.They tend to fillup more as soon as get inside in the evening and because I'm bit lazy and let them out latter than sunrise they can eat in the morning too if they wish.

 

[crazypianolady]

If your coop is dark inside, they won't need food or water in there. I kept mine on layers' mash for a couple of weeks and then gradually changed them over to pellets. (Doesn't get thrown around as much!) I didn't give mine any extras until they were fully re-feathered - they found plenty themselves, scratching around.

Have they got access to mixed grit?

 

[Chuck]

If the coop is dark inside, there's no point in putting food and/or water in there as has been said. Battery hens are used to having feed in front of them constantly and in cages, have little else to do but eat and drink and their crops are seldom full. So at first you will notice this but they slowly re-adjust as they do to night and day and freedom to scratch and dust. They will have been on a very plain diet all their lives, probably mash, possibly pellets with just grit and water. So they should not be offered anything much in the way of different feed for some time. You may notice that some have crooked beaks or ones that don't meet and these will have been debeaked, either severely or mildly and this will determine whether they will be able to eat pellets easily, so you will need to try them gradually before changing completely. If you throw a few pellets on a clean piece of ground when you let them out, you will get a good idea whether they can eat pellets.
People who have had ex bats before will from experience, know what corners can be cut but for others it pays to go slowly.