Used to drinking from drip-feeders, they didn't recognise a dish of water until dabbled under their beaks, and their unfamiliarity with solid ground led to some unsteady wobbling.
But once former battery hens find their feet, they pick up very quickly. After just a few days, their egg yolks went from pale yellow to a deep orange that looked and tasted delicious. Once into their stride, they started laying eggs faster than we could give them away, to the delight of our neighbours, who at once began contributing kitchen scraps: veg peelings, apple cores, lettuce leaves, stale bread. [...]
Last year the Battery Hen Welfare Trust rehoused 11,457 hens; all now lead happy and productive lives. Hens live for up to eight or nine years, but a farming cycle clears out the tired birds at just a year old, even though they still have plenty of eggs left in them.
Perhaps the most shocking figure from the Trust's site is this one: On average a battery hen lays a mere 15 more eggs a year than a hen that has been kept in barn or free range conditions.
Does anyone know of a similar organization in the States? (via rw)
i have memory to share from when i was about four years old.
we lived on a small farm and our dozen or so chickens had been 'liberated' from a battery farm .. not by an organisation, they were older birds that my mother persuaded the farmer to part with.
unfortunately for them their legs were under developed , but great fun for a four year old , they were pretty slow and easy to catch ..
"henny penny" was a tame favourite and , i do assure you , i could never of hurt any of them , i used to regularly 'cook' her (and the other girls) by putting them in kitchen cupboards .. poor Mum , eggs and chicken s**t everywhere !!
just imagine .. go for a saucepan .. chicken , reach for the cereal .. chicken .. you get the idea
eventually , of course , i grew up a little bit and i tell you what .. i'm no chicken !
(pic of 'Biscay', a Steppe Eagle)
I live in West sussex & am getting a few hens. I would like to adopt 2 battery chickens. Do you know anywhere I can source them locally please ?
I don't know, but I'll bet the Battery Hen Welfare Trust can point you in the right direction. Email them to see if they can provide you with local information.
recently i rescued four ex battery hens i had two a couple of weeks earlier then after realizing just how easy they are to look after once the garden had been made safe!! i went back for two more...i wish i had had the four together as the two that started to get their fittness back were bullies for a while and i had to separate them until the last two for on the road to recovery. Its great to have such tame birds. I whislte to get them in and now after just six weeks they are used to the sound and wonder in as soon as they hear me...Go on give it a try anything you offer is better than the life of hell they have had. Paula. stoke on trent