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

Рет қаралды 11,737

3 жыл бұрын

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.
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Пікірлер: 38

@zaramalane7182 Ай бұрын

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

@michellebarbour5777 3 жыл бұрын

What a gentle, lovely film.

@mycountrylife810 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Michelle - very kind of you.

@kennethgolden4051 7 ай бұрын

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.

@djanarchy508 3 ай бұрын

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

@evelynwoolston7 11 ай бұрын

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

@JanetEfere 2 жыл бұрын

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

@mycountrylife810 2 жыл бұрын

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.

@ukpaul9221 Жыл бұрын

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.

@GeorginasJourney Жыл бұрын

This is amazing, well done, both of you ☺️

@blackcitroenlove 2 жыл бұрын

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

@AnneAndersonFoxiepaws 2 жыл бұрын

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

@jeffreyfelshaw7316 3 жыл бұрын

These poor girls

@billsmithjones756 9 ай бұрын

Wonderful. Pleasure to watch and listen to the video

@sallen5642 Жыл бұрын

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 👍

@TRUMP20Z4 3 ай бұрын

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 2 ай бұрын

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

@elliegreen872 3 күн бұрын

Wish I could save a few.😢

@handsthatrockcrochet 2 жыл бұрын

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.

@myfirstloopfavourite47 Жыл бұрын

Thank you!!🥰🥰

@MingTheAsian Жыл бұрын

Wonderful video really enjoyed watching this

@jewelcitizen2567 3 жыл бұрын

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

@mycountrylife810 3 жыл бұрын

Great suggestion! Thank you.

@ruthbatt9029 2 жыл бұрын

Thank for saving them free at last good on you

@fredbaker3822 3 жыл бұрын

great video thanks again! atb

@jondaniel540 3 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

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.

@chrishamilton-wearing3232 2 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

@@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.

@walkingthemiles4613 Жыл бұрын

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

@mathewhopwood76 Жыл бұрын

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.

@philm7764 2 жыл бұрын

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

@mohamed4218 2 жыл бұрын

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 Жыл бұрын

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.