Rescue and Care for Ex-Bats

Whatever you need to know I'll do my best to answer as I'm sure other will too

With advice from experience, internet links and sometimes even a good guess:lollol:

 

I`ll start then,

How much space is needed for their care? Bearing in mind I would want to rehabilitate them first-do they need a small cage for a while so they don`t get overwhelmed?

 

Hi sweetpea101,

Do you hold a bat licence then or are you just offering general help and advice?

 

:lollol:You`re lighthearted this evening :lollol:TS

 

Claire, the more space you can give them the better, they adapt really quickly even on their frist day of fredom (bearing in mind it depends on the time of year you reascue them, they're used to a big heated, light flooded barn so outsaid life mid winter would be a bit different)

TS, I only have a lisence for the baseball bat I keep for emergencies:lollol:

 

How about a coop? PLease forgive my ignornace, ny knowledge of the welfare of chicken is WB Foghorn Leghorn cartoons I say.. I say.. Isay..

 

"This boy's as strong as an ox...and almost as smart."

Classic! :D

 

the rule of thumb with coops it that you get one to accomodate more than your houseing, so if your getting ? get/build one for ?+2. There are some fantastic designes on the internet for building(althought since becoming popular most sites charge for the plans) your own if that's what your doing.

 

Intresting, Ex battery hens certainly make good laters once given space and good conditions..... Several good freinds of mine keep them.

 

Bearing in mind that ex bats come from a controlled environment is must be quite a shock to them to be out in an unheated coop with winter coming on. Anyone know what the critical nightime temperature is for chooks and does anyone heat their chook houses? This sudden autumnal weather has knocked back our egg production from seven to eight eggs a day to 2 to 3. We have 3 older chooks and 6 ex's. The ex's have been with us since August.

 

Terrier according to google minimum and maximum temperatures to keep battery chickens are 8.1c min 14.8c max I would think they would take only a short time to adapt to lower temperatures assuming they have all their feathers if they are ex batts,maybe you can get the knitters in the hobbies section to knit some little jackets.:D

 

:lollol::lollol:I was thinking of those things that hang upside down and only figured out that the discussion was aobut chickens when I got further into the thread.

:dh: Had me wondering why anyone whould want to look after bats since you need to have a degree in the subject and a licence.

Ok...I'll get back into my shell. I'm stressing out about this holiday of mine, I think.

 

Walnuts right terrier, as the weathers started to slowly get colder they've grown more feathers to keep them warm in the winter and don't know of anyone that heats the coop up in the winter, the problem with that is the big jump in temprature from night to day and the light that a heater creates could intafear with their sleep.

Chucks do slow down their egg production in the colder months, this is natural, the ex-batshave been used to controlled indoor conditions but now they'be been rescued all their natural behaviour has returned, their heated in the sheds to keep them laying for a whole year where as naturally they do slow down/stop in wintwer and during malting.

 

I had to laugh when I read your post Shobhna. First laugh of the day so thank you :thumb:

 

They tend to huddle when the temprture drops thus keeping body heat up.... pleanty of straw or whatever in the roosting area and theyl be fine without heat.