Would you like to re-home some rescue hens? Little Hen Rescue regularly need pet home for rescue hens to live out the rest of their lives. They currently have hens looking for homes that were recently rescued from enrichment cages, most are well feathered and still capable of laying but this can never be guaranteed.
From my own experiences of keeping rescue hens what I can guarantee is this; any new hen rehomer will quickly adore their new feathery friends and form a close bond, you’ll suddenly wonder where missing hours in your day went until you realise they were spent watching these lovely natured hens finding their feet, visibly enjoying being a real chicken for once in their lives. I cannot stress enough how rewarding it is to witness the changes as they blossom into beautiful garden hens with just a little TLC. It’s certainly one of the best things I’ve ever done.
Collection points from Norfolk, Cambridge and Essex with the main bulk of hens being kept at Little Hen Rescue’s base in Norfolk. If you can offer a home to some deserving hens then please get in touch with Little Hen Rescue by applying via LHR website: http://www.littlehenrescue.co.uk/Pages/Adoptinghens.aspx
Other resources:
Ex Battery Hens Forum (you can find me there), a friendly community to chat with other people who keep rescue hens http://www.exbatteryhens.com
Hen Rehoming Hub: Find a hen rescue near you! http://www.exbatteryhens.org.uk/
I live in an apartment these days (and in Amsterdam/ traveling a lot for work). But someday, I would love to do this… thanks so much for sharing!
Yes, Karen, you’re absolutely right and it’s a shame how people treat hens (and animals in general). It’s so rewarding to keep hens and takes very little effort. It’s soothing to watch them potter about, to listen to their happy talk…when I sit in the garden they just sit around me in the grass, enjoying the company. We rescued a cockerel recently because people hated his crowing in the morning. Quite strange when you think what noise traffic etc. causes. Got some young chicks recently to cheer up the old folk… :)
We’ve got some runner ducklings ordered at the moment but chickens are on the list too…I’m sure a couple of ex-bats can squeeze onto our little patch without too much trouble. Will check out the websites!
Excellent article re the hen rescue. Have now started the process for some hens. Great emails too, keep up the good work
Dave Buckingham
On 4 April 2013 09:57, The Garden Smallholder
Aw, this is soo cute. I really do want some hens. We are allowed to keep them on our plots but I just can’t seem to convince Adam yet. Our plot neighbours rescued some from a free-range place but you know they were skinny, had lots of feathers missing and were in such a bad way. Really opened my eyes to the fact that free-range doesn’t necessarily mean lots of space. Quick question, how many years do hens live?
Hi Anna,
Pure breeds will probably live to 8 – 10 years (sometimes longer) provided they’re cared for properly, hybrids approximately 5 years. Bear in mind that rescue hens (hybrid layers) are already 15 – 18 months old when destined for slaughter. I’d say the average life span for a rescue hen is 12 – 18 months after rescue, but I’ve had many reach 2 years plus. I have a rescue hen at the moment that I’ve had for almost 5 years, so you never really can tell. You have to take their past treatment into consideration, some are more traumatised than others. At the end of the day, any length of time they have to be little chickens is better than their fate at the slaughterhouse :(
I really admire what you are doing, Karen. I bought a rooster and hen trio of Silver-laced Wyandottes plus a Rhode Island Red hen. The two silver-laced wyandottes were laying last fall, stopped for the winter, and then started up again this spring. The Rhodie hen hasn’t laid at all so I suspect she is older than the trio, but she is by far the most independent and interesting of the flock. When I feed them in their run in the morning, she is in a hurry to get out of the pen to free-range and she’s the last one in at night. It doesn’t matter to us that she isn’t laying – we just enjoy watching them and having them around.
My old ex battery hen hasn’t laid for a long while now, but it doesn’t matter to me either. She’s slowing up now and I suspect her time will come soon, she must be at least 6.5 years old which is fantastic for a hen who was never meant to live past 18 months of age :/
I’ve done this myself in the past and found it very rewarding, as you say. They are all individuals and deserve a few years of retirement! All of mine were good layers.
We collected two new ladies from the Little Hen Rescue on Easter Sunday. Watching them blossom even in these freezing April temperatures is very rewarding! Both are settling in well and putting the existing poultry residents to shame in the egg laying department….
That’s wonderful to hear, Ginny. They’re amazing little hens :)
Poor hens, I’m glad there’s a way that they can be taken care of.
I am glad to see that someone is championing this issue and trying to find solutions.
My heart is breaking. I wonder if we have anything like this in Missouri?
Awwww hello littluns :-) x