Little Brown Hens

Beautiful Brooches

2008-08-28T15:02:00.005+01:00

I just wanted to share with you that I have just recently bought a couple of brooches made by a young lady who is helping to raise funds for the North London Hen Rescue.

Katt makes a range of henny brooches. I actually placed an order yesterday and paid by paypal and they arrived about half an hour ago. How is that for customer service?

Here is the link to details of Katt's brooches.

http://www.downthelane.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4198

RIP - Little Hen

2008-08-12T18:08:00.002+01:00

Little Hen (featured in the One Week since Rescue post) sadly passed away at the weekend. Up until the very end she had been cared for and loved by Phil and Paul. It's very sad to think that this little lady only had two weeks of freedom, but the wonderful thing is the love that was given to this little hen, not only by Phil and Paul but by the many people who waited daily for news of her.

Phil wrote a thread on the Practical Poultry forum, which received in excess of 11,000 'hits' - if you are able please have a look and read the comments. There is also a link to a piece of music that Phil played to Little Hen.

I am not afraid to admit I shed a lot of tears when I read the sad news.

It's commendable that the other 1,700+ hens which were rescued the same weekend as Little Hen are in loving homes as ex-battery hens. It's sad that this has to happen in the first place. Hens should not have to live in cramped cages. Look at the photo below of Naked Dave flapping her wings and expressing what being a chicken is all about.

RIP Little Hen.

Isn't she lovely!

2008-08-06T17:53:00.002+01:00

I just wanted to share a lovely photograph, of an ex-battery hen who has fallen on her feet and is loved by her new family. Many thanks to V Tocher for use of this photo - by the way, the hen is aptly titled Naked (because she is sort of) Dave (because owner's partner has always wanted a pet called Dave!).

One week on from Hen Rescue

2008-08-04T17:56:00.005+01:00

It's been just over a week since the Norfolk hen rescue took place. Over 1700 hens were rescued by NLHR

It's encouraging to read, on so many forums, stories from novice poultry keepers about how much they are enjoying caring for these ex-battery hens.

Little Hen is getting stronger day by day, she was rescued by Phil (who is doing a fantastic job of nursing Little Hen), she still has a long way to go but slowly does it. She has had her claws trimmed and her beak trimmed and is eating and drinking, she is so weak that she finds it hard to stand un-aided.

I can't help but pray that this little lady makes a full recovery, how can anyone consider buying eggs from caged hens.

The next rescue is due to take place in October and anyone wishing to put their names down to re-home hens should visit the North London Hen Rescue website.

When is a Chicken not a Chicken?

2008-07-30T18:58:00.005+01:00

So - when is a chicken not a chicken? When she is a battery hen!

The North London Hen Rescue spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday (26th - 28th) July 2008 between a farm in Norfolk and various points throughout the country in the process of re-homing these lovely little hens. Although some were feathered and appeared a decent weight, many people were shocked at what they saw.

The little hen above has been named Ginny, if you look closely you can see that apart from being quite bald she is in poor condition and you can see her bones sticking out.

On the scales you will see her weight reads 438grms. A hen of her age should be over 3kg. Ginny is currently being cared for by a lovely lady, Linda. It's hoped she will survive and make a good recovery.

This is Little Hen, who is being cared for yet another fantastic person, Phil. As you can see Little Hen is quite small, is not much bigger than a pigeon. Sadly, this little girl is not well at all and we are all hoping for a miracle.

These lovely little hens aren't just one-offs. The majority of hens had very overgrown claws, poor condition and quite bald. Here are just three more. Hopefully over the next few months these girls will blossom into the beauties we know they are.

If ever anyone wanted a reason to stop eating eggs from caged hens this has to be it!

A heart-felt thanks to the NLHR team, everyone who entered the sheds, to everyone who helped co-ordinate the rescue and the hundreds of wonderful people who have opened their hearts and their homes to these little ladies!

Ex-Battery Hen Rescue

2008-07-12T14:54:00.006+01:00

One subject very close to my heart in the plight of the battery hen. My introduction to hen keeping was over three years ago, when Chris and I took over our allotment. It was in a bit of a state and I thought the best thing to help clear and fertilise the land would be some hens.

After doing a bit of research I decided I would like to offer a home to some ex-battery hens. Chris made a lovely hen house and run for them and the day arrived for us to go and collect them from Lincolnshire. Chris thought I was mad going to all the expense involved of creating a home for them and spending 4 to 5 hours travelling to and fro collecting them.

He soon changed his mind when he saw them. They were thin, anaemic looking hens - hardly any feathers. I was shocked that I could see their bones. The lady who was re-homing them to us was really glad we were taking them and told us that she had kept the best looking ones for us, with us being new poultry keepers. I was so upset to hear this - goodness knows how awful the others had looked.

Three years down the line - those ladies have all sadly passed away - the time they had with us was time spent living a real hen's life - scratching around in the soil, feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs, dust-bathing and eating themselves silly. Granted they didn't like the rain or snow and simply took themselves off to their house for a little siesta.

Quite recently I felt the urge to take on some ex-battery hens and became involved with North London Hen Rescue.

The hens spend 50 weeks of their short lives cramped into metal battery cages. No room to move, no place to perch, no nesting boxes - no life basically. After that they are classed as 'spent' birds - they have basically been forced into churning out egg after egg for the cheap egg market and then they are sold for a pittance to the people who process their flesh.

The next rescue of ex-battery hens is due to take place in a couple of weeks. I am proud to say I am helping to assist in co-ordinating in the South Yorkshire area.

No hen, regardless of whether it is battery, barn or free-range, is discriminated against.

Hens and Mucky Water!

2008-07-10T13:57:00.002+01:00

Where is our Summer? Has it come and decided not to stay?

Today started promising, sun was shining, sky was blue, a few greyish clouds off in the distance. Half an hour ago the heavens opened and we had a bit of a downpour. On a positive note this means I won't have to go and water all of the plants on the allotment, on a negative note it means the hens will be sheltering in their hen houses and looking miserable. Our horse will be stood in his stable, waiting for the sun to come out.

The first thing our hens normally do on a morning is to go and have a drink of water from the drinkers. This morning I noticed that they were drinking from all of the mucky puddles in the hen runs. Just wondering why they prefer this to the clean drinking water available - perhaps it is because it is tap water, perhaps they are lacking something in their diet which makes the puddles more appealing.

Over the winter months I tend to put straw down in the runs to make it a bit better under foot for the hens. May have to start getting some straw sooner rather than later, at this rate!

The Sun is Shining!

2008-07-02T08:39:00.005+01:00

What a beautiful day! The sun is shining, the birds are singing and I don't have to go to work till later this afternoon. I'm going to spend some time at the allotment.

There's lots to do, I need to clean the hen houses out and put new shavings and 'fluff' the nest boxes up. The ex-battery ladies have settled in really well. Little Peggy is improving day by day. One good thing is they are all looking a lot better, bald patches are now being replaced by new feathers coming through. Due to the fact that they have known only one temperature within the battery they did seem to lose a lot of feathers when they first came to stay. Everything seems to be settling down now.

After I sort the hen houses out I have some planting to do. Hmmmn, don't know what I've done wrong but the garlic bulbs I planted seem to have died over the last couple of weeks. Don't know the reason as yet - all my gardening books are in the loft due to the fact that we have builders in the house and every room is a mess. What started off as a few weeks worth of work is now spreading into a few months!! Hopefully, will have a new kitchen fitted shortly as I am itching to preserve, pickle and can as much as possible.

It's wonderful how a bit of sunshine makes us all feel better - only thing now is that fact that we have passed June 21st and the days will start to become shorter.

Here's hoping July is a lovely, sunny month. This time last year we had just had the floods. The field next to where our horse is kept resembled a lake!

Sad Day

2008-06-24T18:02:00.004+01:00

Over the weekend I noticed that Maisie, one of our blackrock hens, had a small prolapse. I isolated her, putting her into a clean pen and then rang our veterinary practice for advice. Luckily, I work at one of the branches.

Following the advice of one of our vets, I kept a close eye on Maisie over the weekend. The prolapse kept protruding and after taking her into work yesterday morning - and speaking to one of our clinical directors - decided the best thing for her was to put her to sleep. The options given all had risks, I could not bear to think that she would suffer in the future.

She even laid an egg on the examination table. Bless her!

It's so sad, she was only a year old. Life is a very precious thing, something a lot of us take for granted. Sometimes you don't know how blessed you are until something happens which just helps you put things into perspective.

Peggy & Her New Friend (Me!)

2008-06-19T19:11:00.005+01:00

It was a big day for Peggy today - she was, at last, going to be allowed out of her cat crate. She stood at the door of the hen house for a few moments and then decided to venture out into the sunshine. It truly was a lovely moment, I felt quite emotional.

Peggy made her way to where the soil is dry - Cornelius and a few of his ladies were sunbathing. One of our bantams decided that Peggy wasn't going to join their little soiree and tried to attack her. I just walked between the two of them. Peggy followed me to the gate, where she stood for a moment before turning and going to get a drink of water.

The weather was good so I took the opportunity to plant some herbs in my herb garden. Before I knew it a couple of hours had passed.

I decided to check on Peggy, I walked through to Peggy's run and decided to sweep up some loose sand which had been kicked out from their sandpit. I sat down for a moment and who should come over ..... Peggy!

Pretty soon she had climbed onto my knee and gently lay down. Within a quarter of an hour she was snoozing - and so was I. Occasionally, Cornelius would come over to check I was behaving myself. He is a very gentle cockerel - a truly lovely lad!!! When he could see everything was OK he would wander off, have some pellets or eat some of the greens I had brought in for them.

After an hour I decided I needed to get on with other jobs. I got up and put Peggy onto the area in front of the hen house, which is paved over.

Looking at her sunbathing, I wondered she had earlier felt reassured by my presence or if it was simply that I looked a comfortable place to rest - but it was a lovely time to spend together.

I cannot help but remember that these hens were destined to be made into tinned pet food. Every day I get pleasure from watching these little hens and I thank Carly the lady from North London Hen Rescue who made it all possible for these little hens to enjoy life as it should be - scratching around the soil, enjoying the sun on their backs.

Little Peggy

2008-06-18T17:19:00.003+01:00

One of the hens rescued on 27th May had a bruised foot. The injury probably happened on the day of her rescue.

To keep her out of harms way I put her in a cat's crate and then moved this into our large hen house.

Peggy, as she is now called, has gradually recovered and is now walking quite well on both feet.
Tomorrow I will let her out with the other hens and monitor how well she does.

I'm really pleased that two weeks after being rescued she will now be free from being 'caged' for good.

Princess Running Fox has grown very confident and now runs to me - in the hope that I will have some titbits for her. She seems to follow Cornelius around quite a bit and is intrigued by his tail feathers. When he perches on an evening she can often be seen resting her head on his tail.

So far, so good. Fingers crossed that they will all continue to make a good recovery and enjoy their new lives.

A Trip To The Vets

2008-06-12T22:55:00.006+01:00

As well as our hens, we have a cat, a horse and a dog.

Our dog, Monty, has lived with us for 15 months. He's an eight year old cross breed dog. He originally was taken into work by his previous owner to be put to sleep - why - because his owner did not want him. He told my colleagues that if we would not put him to sleep that he would go and 'stick him in the bath tub'! Needless to say Monty was signed over to us, Chris and I brought him home and here he will remain.

Today we had to take Monty in to see Laura, out vet. For the past few days Monty has been licking one of his back feet quite a bit. Seems he has an infection and has been put on a weeks course of antibiotics.

As you can see from the above photograph - Monty is NOT allowed on beds. Unfortunately, Monty seems to have a mind of his own and given the chance prefers our bed to his. He's an adorable dog, he has his odd moments, but hey who doesn't.

He loves Chris to bits and gets very excited when he hears the Audi coming onto the drive.

Chris and I often take him to the pub - Monty likes to go, he knows he will get a packet of crisps and a bowl of water to wash it down. Once we get out of our street and turn right he knows where he is going and pulls all of the way until he gets into the pub.

All of the men who go into the pub make a fuss of him, because they can see what we see - a lovely little dog who craves affection.

It's very sad to think of all of the hundreds of dogs who have been discarded by their previous owners who are waiting patiently in animal shelters all over the British Isles.

Eggs, Eggs and More Eggs!

2008-06-10T15:59:00.007+01:00

A few weeks ago my friend, Angela, gave me a lovely basket in which to collect the hen eggs.

A few days ago I made a silly mistake, forgot to take anything into the large hen house to collect the eggs. It was only after locking the hens safely away for the night and bending down to pick up a water dish that I realised ...... it wasn't a good idea to put eggs into my trouser pockets.

Ah well, at least now I will remember the egg basket.

I feel a bit like the Easter Bunny. It's still just as exciting (after three years) to go and check who has laid eggs and where.

Sometimes the new hens get 'caught short' as it were and lay an egg where they stand. We, sometimes, get eggs in the sandpit or under the cherry tree.

Today found one of our new ex-battery hens in one of the nesting boxes, covering herself up with bits of shavings and straw - bless her. This is much better than laying an egg in a battery and have it disappear into a rollaway, never to be seen.

So, here I am today, our hens have laid a total of 14 eggs, two up on yesterday and about 10 up on Sunday - unless you count scrambled eggs!!

My 'To Do' List

2008-06-09T12:22:00.004+01:00

I am on holiday from work this week. I have a number of tasks which I am giving myself to complete. First thing is to sit with a cup of coffee and a couple, no three, rich tea biscuits. That way I can focus on the first task - to write down my 'to do' list.

This list just keeps getting longer. Jobs in the house, jobs in the garden, jobs down the field, stable jobs, allotment jobs, hen-related jobs, etc., etc.

This morning I noticed how bare the runs are. After the floods of last summer, we thought that putting straw down on the floor of the runs would be a good idea. The hens have thoroughly enjoyed scratching over it and finding new things to eat. A couple of weeks ago I collected up all of the straw, together with a huge amount of hen poo, and composted it.

It was at that point that I realised that any grass we had underneath the straw had simply 'gone'. Oh dear!! I now have to consider sectioning off the runs and getting some grass seed down. One good thing about our hens they always have a good supply of greens to eat, even if it is cabbages from the allotment.

Why Can't I Do Girlie Things

2008-06-08T19:54:00.009+01:00

Today we decided it was a really good day to make a start on painting the stable, sheds and hen houses. Chris has very kindly bought me one of those paint sprayers - just to make the task that little bit easier.

Down we trundled with paint tins, paint sprayer and anything else we thought would make the job that little bit more bearable.

Now these pressure sprayers are always advertised by happy people, laughing themselves silly whilst spraying their woodwork. I've also noticed that they don't seem to wear their old clothes for doing messy jobs but their nice summery dresses and shorts.

Within half an hour we had both been nettled to bits and I was covered in a fine mist of dark brown woodstain.

An hour later, having taken the sprayer to bits three times Chris wanted to know why I couldn't just do girlie things, like baking cakes. I told him that I could bake a cake - to which he replied "Well, why don't you do things like have your nails painted and girlie stuff like that". I was on the verge of telling him that I used to get my (acrylic) nails done every couple of weeks, but after getting the allotment and always having chicken or horse muck taken out from under them, cut the blooming things off. They only got in the way!

After painting the stable went over to check on the hens. Our new ladies have really settled in well.

This is not perhaps the best photograph that I could take of Princess Running Fox. It was the only one I could take as she was enjoying herself running around, following Cornelius. That girl isn't going to get fat, that's for sure.

Little Wendy is a shy little lady who will soon grow feathers to cover her bare bottom. Problem with having a bit too much skin on show in the summer is the risk of sunburn. We'll just keep an eye on her.

It's strange to think that less than a couple of weeks ago, these hens were cramped into a battery cage and were destined to go into tins of dog food last week.

We've started getting some lovely eggs from these girls. Now these are the sort of ladies you can really enjoy spending girlie time with.

The New Ladies

2008-06-07T11:58:00.005+01:00

Well, it's been just over a week since we collected our six ex-battery hens. They've adapted well to living within our little hen community.

We have had ex-battery hens in the past who arrived quite bald and miserable looking. The new ladies were in pretty good condition - all things considered - they now share a run with several other hens (pure breed and hybrids) together with Cornelius, our light sussex cockerel.

Cornelius is a bit on the large size. It's been noted on several occasions that given the choice of food or a fine looking lady he will go for the food. A perfect gentleman!

Three of the ex-batts have been given names. The first to be named was Princess Running Fox - at the moment she has a bald bottom and four very long tail feathers sticking up - she reminds me of a native north american head-dress. She spent her first day of freedom running around as if being chased by Mr Fox - hence the name.

Two of the other lovely ladies have been called Wendy and Linda -named after two work colleagues (equally as lovely!).

I am sure the other hens will be given names in due course.