battery hens

kerrysgold

Has anyone adopted/bought any battery hens? I know it's fairly easy to do in the UK because the BHWT organise the rescue of thousands of hens but I don't know if it's possible here.

myjugsarehuge

We bought some "battery hens" by accident 3 years ago, the ad in the buy and sell said "2 year old free range hens" for sale. What a joke - there were about 100 sad brown hens with hardly any feathers, all packed in an old shed in a village the other side of Macroom.

We bought 5 @ €2 each, wish we'd had more really but we were just starting out and didn't know if we could cope with more. Only one old girl still with us now, very inquisitive still, comes and pecks on the patio door for food.

This is a pic of her facinated with some newly hatched chicks last summer http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n283/myjugsarehuge/mountainview017.jpg

I'd say give a few old hens a home with pleasure if you have the room and time but they are a commitment, you have to be there every day to feed them, let them out, shut them in and be prepared to look after them if they are sick. Also old hens won't lay many eggs if any so it really is a labour of love.

Glowing

Oh god those chicks are so cute. Can I keep one in my pocket :P

Lauragoesmad

A lady I know in Leitrim bought 15 battery hens and you should see them now. They look like totally different chickens.
When she took them out of the van for the first time, they wouldnt move because they were so used to being in an enclosed space. They just sat still for the first day or two.
I'll find out where she got hers and I'll get back to you.

kerrysgold

aww, she's lovely, the little chicks are beauties :wub: I'm going to get some as soon as we move (hopefully, depending on if some farm will sell me some!) Do you think that place in macroom still has them? I wonder if they were selling the eggs as free range! I'd like to get about 20 or so, maybe more if I had an extra shed and probably a few extras to look for homes for. you're supposed to be able to house up to 25 in a garden shed if you adjust it with perches and shelves etc. what sort of housing do you have for yours? they are really nice, both my aunts and also grand-aunt have kept hens and ducks, they are quite amusing to watch get up to antics lol.

doctor evil

Good luck with it. I think if you have up to thirty you need to register them.

Toulouse

Have a look on this thread here, there's a few names and contact numbers for people who rescue battery hens. Might be of some use.

http://petsireland.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=11360