Keeping Rescue Chickens on our smallholding. (What are they really like?)

Keeping ex commercial chickens for eggs. These rather worn out looking chickens make surprising friendly lovely pets and are prolific egg layers.
In the UK, we have a super chicken charity called, The British Hen Welfare Trust and they have distribution sites all around the country. Check out their website here: www.bhwt.org.uk/
Despite being at the end of their commercial life, these hens are by no means at the end of their lives. Up until now they have been intensively reared and now they can spend out the rest of their lives, on grass where they can scrabble for worms and insects.
We removed the very lowest in the pecking order, because we were genuinely worried that they would not survive the constant pecking. A couple really regressed but once they were seperated from the group they flourished. All their feathers grew back and both started laying again.
This particular variety which are probably a variation on the Warren, or Hisex varieties are very friendly and make fantastic pets for all the family.
If you want to see my other channel that is completely unrelated to this one then you can do so on this link:
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[@michellebarbour5777]

What a gentle, lovely film.

[@mycountrylife810]

Thank you Michelle - very kind of you.

[@AliasSchmalias]

Seeing the hens having a better life and become happy makes me so happy 😇🙏🏻

[@anniejefferson7329]

Just saved 4 out of 25. The flock was in nasty conditions. The poo was so caked on them the bath water was black. Then the dusting everyday with de for parasites. They didn't know what grass is. So sad. Pumping them up. My clucky crew took them right in. No fighting. Blessed. Although they are nekid they are loving life. ❤

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi there. Well done on saving some lovely animals. They will thank you in the eggs that you they will give you. They will look completely different in a few weeks time.

[@marilynreid7609]

I just love my sweet girls: 3 older and 4 young (1st eggs last week from the babies!). I have had so much fun loving and nurturing all of these lovely chickens! So glad to have stumbled upon this rescue mission. I wonder If I can do the same in Florida. Hmm.

[@mycountrylife810]

That is awesome! They a really are quite wonderful little creatures. Hopefully they will give you just as much pleasure as they have given us.

[@ukpaul9221]

Love your hens and love your attitude. For the ones with bare bottoms after time, it might be worth using the preparations to deter hen pecking. I've tended to isolate the over-pecked and then use the anti-peck stuff on their bare skin before re-introducing them . Your two 'casualties' seem to have done very well. Thanks for the video.

[@djanarchy508]

good thing you have done .. i plan to get hens very soon ..aand feel abit more confident getting resuces now..

[@GeorginasJourney]

This is amazing, well done, both of you ☺️

[@sonjaanderson5998]

Interesting

[@zaramalane7182]

This is amazing, may you be rewarded for your kindness and compassion x

[@kennethgolden4051]

Im so lost lost here , but they should leave for years. I have chickens that are over 5 years of age that are still given me eggs. Happy you given them a good home.

[@evelynwoolston7]

More hen rescue stories please! Are any of your hens still alive?

[@GEOPH2625]

These poor girls

[@asmith9140]

people should know how to treat hens and how to feed them properly round here I have known people think they just eat scraps that is just not true

[@JanetEfere]

I also got my rescue chickens from British Hen Welfare Trust - they looked so scruffy when we got them, but soon perk up

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi Janet. There can be real mixture. The last 4 I got were all full feathered, but the ones in the video looked a bit scrawny. They are much better now.

[@MingTheAsian]

Wonderful video really enjoyed watching this

[@asmith9140]

Years ago I got some I had to teach them to walk forwards

[@mycountrylife810]

It's very sad to see. Most seem agoraphobic to start with.

[@marym8028]

It would have been nice to have the camera more on the hens than on a man speaking. He could still speak, but we could see the hens

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi there. That's a fair point. I'll try to remember that next time.

[@handsthatrockcrochet]

Thanks 😊 I've always kept point of lay chickens from reputable farmers. Our last sets ( four in number ) leaved with us for about 8 years. They passed on late 2021. This time, I want to try something different, rescued chickens 🐔 or broilers. I have checked BHWT and am their waiting list for my area. My Eglu cube hen house is lonely in the garden.

[@AnneAndersonFoxiepaws]

That's lovely. I think I will look into this and get them healthy again.

[@blackcitroenlove]

What sweet chickies. They will be so richly feathered and happy as hens ought to be with you.

[@walkingthemiles4613]

Hi, just wondering how your rescued hens are doing a year later?

[@jewelcitizen2567]

Love the channel. Subbed last week. Would love it if you could sometime do a video on your Rayburn Stove and heating system.

[@mycountrylife810]

Great suggestion! Thank you.

[@chrishamilton-wearing3232]

At last , someone with a chicken run large enough for their chickens ! Too many times you see people, with all good intentions, putting 4 or 5 birds in a tiny 'chicken run' bought off Ebay which is only suitable for a couple of hamsters. Not only is your run large enough for the welfare of the flock , but it has a rain/sun shelter and it's on WHEELS ! No need for the chooks to have to wallow in a quagmire . And a coop on wheels as well. Full mark's too for letting the girls settle in instead of expecting the poor things to instantly switch over from caged life , again , the well intentioned brigade that treat their charges like christmas presents straight out of the box. I would love to see a video showing the construction and features of your coop and run . The time is fast approaching for me to film my own set up which I hope will be of interest to people. My run won't be on wheels but I will have a large enclosure in which the girls can free range. Excellent video, all potential chicken keepers should watch it . 30 minutes later. Just seen your video about constructing the run .

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi Chris - many thanks for your comments. The hens seem happy now - still laying eggs, albeit a bit slower now the winter nights are drawing in. We move the coop every 3 to 4 days so that they have fresh ground to peck and scrabble in. Ideally I would like to let them roam free, but previous experience has taught us that the foxes will get them.

[@chrishamilton-wearing3232]

@@mycountrylife810 We live in mid west France and our greatest threat is pine martens. Marte des pins as they are known here. We do have foxes but the local chasse ( hunt) keep them in check. Looking forward to your next video.

[@HumanOverPopulation-bl5oj]

Good job 👍 birdman vegan future

[@mycountrylife810]

Thank you. V kind of you.

[@davinasquirrel7672]

A friend of mine gets former production rescues. They really don't take too long to adapt into their nicer retirement life, and they do lay better than some of the heritage breeds. I have a slightly different arrangement, small flock, but I have a mixture of breeds so I can tell them apart, because I like them as pets. The bald backs on your rescues may have been due to them being bred with a rooster in their final weeks/months before being retired by the commercial farm. That way, they will get the fertilised eggs, put them in an incubator, and have their next year's production. The production birds are far less likely to go broody, and generally won't sit and hatch eggs, therefore the fertilised eggs go into (massive) incubators, these places have thousands upon thousands of birds. The other benefit to obtaining rescues, they are cheaper than getting heritage breeds from a breeder.

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi there. That's great to hear your hens are doing well. We treat ours like pets too. They look very beaten up when we first get them, but they soon fluff up and in about a month, they look a completely different hen. I also find that they are much more 'friendly' compared to a lot of heritage breeds too.

[@davinasquirrel7672]

@@mycountrylife810 You may be right on the friendlier aspect of some of the rescues, they experienced a less than ideal life, now have hit 'gold' at the retirement farm, so are more appreciative. That's my guess. I know from feeding my friend's rescues from time to time, they are not quite social at first (new surroundings and all). Then, once settled, they are quite friendly. Perhaps not quite as bonded as the girls raised from chicks (some are, some are not, so mixed results). But the bonded ones, super friendly babies.

[@sallen5642]

Hi, it would be very, very beneficial to spray all red, bare areas with a purple spray. This contains antiseptic and discourages pecking of the area by the other chickens 👍

[@jondaniel540]

I did enjoy this video. I have always thought of you as a gentleman. My wife likes your proper British accent. Well done for showing compassion to the hens. Are you still baling your own hay?

[@mycountrylife810]

Hi Jon. Many thanks for your comments. Still baling hay - in fact I've got a video coming soon on the problems with baling in the great british weather.

[@ruthbatt9029]

Thank for saving them free at last good on you

[@mikelee7535]

This is how all of ours have looked too. No feathers on their backs but it's great seeing them flourish fully feathered and living their best life!

[@mycountrylife810]

Yes, it doesn't take too long but they look so much happier now.

[@mathewhopwood76]

I’m thinking of taking on some ex battery chickens like in this video. I know you can’t put an exact number on eggs, yet ball park how many eggs per day would you reckon they’d lay? Thanks.

[@fredbaker3822]

great video thanks again! atb

[@diocletianrecords1089]

Liberation day.

[@philm7764]

Where did you get those wheels (4.50 mins) for the run? Really like your setup.

[@billsmithjones756]

Wonderful. Pleasure to watch and listen to the video

[@mohamed4218]

How is that chicken coop holding? i saw the video of when you first set it up! do you think i could use it as a bird aviary for budgies for example? thanks so much!

[@chrishamilton-wearing3232]

Hi. I am shortly going to be making a chicken run which will appear in a video on my own channel, hopefully in the autumn. I have researched construction methods, a lot of which use the tubular metal frame shown here. As with all things, you get what you pay for however, I would say that they would all be strong enough for budgies. Your most important feature will be what you cover the frame with. Netting is not a good choice as your budgies could easily get entangled in it. A small guage (hole size) wire mesh is the best way to go. Avoid chicken wire, even the smallest guage will be too big. I would suggest a PVC coated or galvanized square mesh no more than 15mm. Hope this helps.

[@myfirstloopfavourite47]

Thank you!!🥰🥰

[@TRUMP20Z4]

Great video, I am in Australia and work in a shed with 58046 egg laying chickens, I love them. I think I will save some when they are sadly culled.

[@mycountrylife810]

Oh my goodness, that's a lot of chickens. If you can give a few a good home afterwards, I'm sure they'll be grateful😁. A

[@Trth1707]

Wish I could save a few.😢