Ex Battery Hen and Ex Commercial
"Free Range" Hens Information
OUR NEXT
CHICKEN RESCUE DATE WILL APPEAR HERE
Thank you for considering
adopting one of 40 million hens currently producing
commercial eggs in this country.
The following is a guide
of what to expect if you decide to take on some of our hens for
their retirement.
Age - Your hens will be approximately one year old. This is
the time they would ordinarily go for slaughter. At this age, they
will have laid around 300 eggs. They will still readily lay, and as
a general rule you will get an egg every other day per chicken,
although some lay very regularly each day. You will see that egg
quality HUGELY improves over time!
Health - They can look
fairly threadbare for the first few weeks / months! However they
will have almost complete feather re-growth in time. Caged
hens can very occasionally develop fractures of their wings / toes /
legs when they get moved around, and despite every effort to ensure
they are fit to be rehomed, your hen MAY require veterinary
treatment soon after adoption. The Ex free range birds aren't
so prone to this and can move quite quickly, so be prepared! We can be dealing with large volumes
of birds on rescue days, and sometimes a poorly bird could slip
through the process, although this is very rare.
Your New Hens! - Your
hens will be slightly shell-shocked (excuse the pun!) for a few days
after adoption, they have spent all of their lives in tiny cages or
in large flocks and
when you take them home it will be the first time they have had
space, felt
grass beneath their feet, and seen the sky. But DON’T WORRY – it is
amazing how quickly their instincts return, and they will be
scratching around and sunbathing with their wings stretched out
before you know it!
Life Expectancy - There
is no guarantee how long a rescue hen will live. Some may only
live for a few weeks – however, if these weeks are spent in the
fresh air being able to stretch their wings we feel they are luckier
than a lot of other hens. On average they will live for a further
2-3 years.
If you decide to proceed
with adopting some of our hens, you will be given a ‘Caring for
Rescue Hens’ leaflet, which givens you more in-depth information.
You can also visit the British Hen Welfare Trust website at
www.bhwt.org.uk.
Chicken Accommodation Sizes The MINIMUM inside/overnight accommodation size is approximately 1½ sq ft PER BIRD, therefore; -
A 10 x 8 ft (80 sq.ft) shed will accommodate 50 chickens -
A 8 x 6 ft (48 sq.ft) shed will accommodate 30 - 35 chickens -
A 8 x 4 ft (32 sq.ft) shed will accommodate 20 - 25 chickens -
A 7 x 5 ft (35 sq.ft) shed will accommodate 20 - 25 chickens -
A 6 x 4 ft (24 sq.ft) shed will accommodate 12 - 15 chickens -
A 4 x 2 ft (8 sq.ft) hen house will accommodate 4 - 6 chickens The MINIMUM HEIGHT permitted would be 2ft – with a Roosting Perch @ 1ft from the ground. The MINIMUM outside accommodation size is approximately 2 sq ft PER BIRD. If there is a garden or paddock that the chickens will have daily access to then that is great! If the chickens are to be kept in a coop/arc then the measurements of the coop/arc will be calculated for how many hens this will be suitable for. i.e. a 4 x 2 ft coop/arc =8 sq ft which can accommodate 4 chickens. PLEASE NOTE that these sizes are GUIDELINES and there will always be an element of flexibility providing good welfare standards can be maintained. |