at the end of the week before last week we took in some new girls....
a free range egg producer due to clear out a shed of hens so that they could be replaced with younger, fresher models....
he asked if we could help find homes for them as he is a kindly soul who had already taken this particular batch of girls on from another farm where they were deemed too old, unfit for purpose....
he had given them an extra year of life, an extra year to come and go out of their spacious barn into fields with trees...
we asked around but sadly as most folk only want ex battery hens if they are looking to take in rescues, and rightly so, we found no new homes...
on chicken removal day the word reached us that the hens had found a new home all together, another farmer was buying them all to start his own free range egg enterprise...
home number three for the girls but at least it was better than facing slaughter...
stephen was at the farm when collection happened, he watched as hundreds of frightened hens were pushed into huge crates, most in reasonable condition, slightly feather pecked but this is what large groups of hens do
suddenly at the back of the barn he saw a group that were more than slightly hen pecked...
he decided to gather them up and bring them home as he knew that moving on to a new large commercial farm was not the answer for these girls...
so
he arrived home and i opened the boot to find thirteen girls...
to say i was shocked is quite an understatement, i had to have a good cry before i could even face moving them in to their temporary accommodation...
the condition of these so called free range hens is appalling..
is this the reality of our free range egg industry?
plucked bare in places, pale combs and terrified of any sudden noise or movement...
always on the defensive ready to rear up and attack...
stephen was informed that often hens at the back of these free range barns never go out, i wonder if this is purely by choice or because they are so bullied by other hens that they stay huddled at the back for safety?
my argument is that surely any decent farmer would notice hens like these and move them forward, encourage them to go out, treat their open wounds...
sadly i know that time is money for these businesses ...
anyhoo
our girls are settling in well, sunbathing, scratching in the compost, dust bathing, they have even met some of our own happy hens...
they are getting used to us but if truth be told i am struggling to get used to them...
their reactions are so different to our hens, they attack each other even when they are outside if they believe that another hen has a better spot to sit, they flatten themselves to the ground if i make any sudden movements near them, they hate, hate, hate to be picked up, they do not respond to the joy of someone throwing down delicious morsels for them, they cannot be bribed to go in at night with a shake of a feed bucket as they have no idea that this is the place food comes from...
so
the hens and i will take each day as it comes
for my part i will stop crying whenever i look at them
and for there part they will feather up, settle down and learn the ways of how to become a happy hen that is very much loved...
and we are both asking if you lovely folk out there would check, check, check where your eggs come from, i by no means want to put down the free range egg industry as it is a VAST improvement on the battery system, but if you can find eggs to purchase from a neighbour with a few hens, or stop at a sign at the end of a farm track then hopefully you will eat eggs that have been laid by a happy, happy hen..
and if by chance you are thinking of taking in some hens of your very own then please consider taking in some of the hens that we will rescue when our local egg producer is ready to move on more hens..
although we do currently have ten girls looking for a new forever home as soon as they are in better condition
our plan is to take the girls that are in poor condition, those that need us most so please join our waiting list if you can by contacting me at
thankyou thankyou thankyou
t x
Oh, sad little things. I know what you mean about having to get used to them Tracy. Ours, like yours, just love a cuddle and are so happy around humans. Just shows what they have endured doesn't it? well done you xx
ReplyDeleteGosh I'm really shocked that these free rangers look so much like ex batts.It really makes you think how they've lived. I'm glad that our girls have always provided us and our neighbours with what I term as 'happy' eggs.
ReplyDeleteWe did have a batch of 'mean hens' once, just how you described yours but they eventually calmed down considerably and were lovely.(we reckoned it was 'cos they'd 'been inside' it was like Prisoner cell block H here for a time) The ones that lay blue eggs can be a bit unsociable too funnily enough. I'm sure they'll fit in fine soon, your doing a grand job girlie. x
ps sorry I'm commenting on an old post but I'm reading my way through backwards!