Battery Hens - please help

I hope people will open their hearts and gardens.

For the family who have everything.
Save a chicken's life this year!

I don’t think I’ll chance it with my almost tame fox.

There are foxes coming out of our ears, around here.
It's a foxes, dream.

DD has taken in battery hens and they have laid eggs.

We aren't allowed any here.

Allira

DD has taken in battery hens and they have laid eggs.

We aren't allowed any here.

Why not, Allira?

Nor here Allra according to our deeds.

Jaxjacky

Nor here Allra according to our deeds.

Oh, I’ve never heard of that. Are you on an estate?

LucyAnna2

Jaxjacky

Nor here Allra according to our deeds.

Oh, I’ve never heard of that. Are you on an estate?

Just a cul-de-sac but no, we're not supposed to have hens.

There's a fox around anyway and I just couldn't look after hens now so I'll look forward to seeing DD's.

My small development has covenants which prohibit keeping pigeons, pigs or poultry.

Georgesgran

My small development has covenants which prohibit keeping pigeons, pigs or poultry.

I wish our resident pigeons had read our deeds.

Someone here put up a pic once, of her daughters (?) battery hens.
They had little knitted ponchos on, to keep them warm as they had hardly any feathers.

This breaks my heart. I hope as many as possible can be saved.

I’d love to help, but have a phobia about chickens. I was bitten on bottom by one as a small child when visiting family who kept them. My uncle used to tease me about it for years, as I ran into the house screaming and lay on the couch sobbing, so whenever we went to visit, he used to lie on the couch pretending to cry.😂😂😂

I would love to, but I can't see my cat looking upon hens with a friendly eye.
He chases the pheasants off the property.

Development Conditions on properties prohibits keeping poultry. Apart from that very wooded area with foxes around.

We kept hens ( rescued battery hens) for years in a small field with a shed. Eggs were wonderful! Problem was, where there are hens you tend to get rats.

That doesn't sound like a very nice uncle! What a horrible thing to do, no wonder you are phobic of chickens you poor thing.

Battery hens are an evilly produced ‘product’ And that is what they are. A product. Not little creatures with nervous systems.. The cruelty is unspeakable and the conditions they are held in absolutely disgusting.
If people knew the truth of how they are reared they would never eat another egg. Barn eggs are not that much better.
I have recently become vegan because of the levels of cruelty in all animal farming especially also in the production of milk.

pS. My neighbourhood if full of cats and foxes. The hens would be distressed and killed for sure.

Mine too, plus I'm in a council flat.
I cant see a flock of free ranging chickens being popular.

I got six ex battery chickens 18 months ago - one died the next day, the fox took one and another died after six months but I still have three (+ 3 bantams and 5 other chickens). The ex battery ones arrived looking terrible with hardly any feathers but they look great now, they were also laying eggs with wrinkled shells (usually lack of calcium) but now they are normal. They are very rewarding but it is not all plain sailing. I have a ratproof feeder and automatic closer on the coop. Also you now have to register any chickens with DEFRA - even if you only have one.

Good to know the down sides. DaisyL.

Thank you.

I have one survivor from 4 I rehomed, they soon settled down and although they get rid of them at 18 months because their rate of laying goes down, nobody told them and they continued to lay, I still have one left 3 and a half years later and she still lays an egg most days. She does have a cock for company so isn't lonely
One of them died nearly 2 years after rescue, another about 2 and a half years after rescue and another 3 years later.
5 years old is old for a rescue, but non rescues can live 11 years, so very sad, it takes it out of them laying every day, they need a lot of good food.
They are so friendly to people, and they all have their own characters.
Best not to put jumpers on them as when the feathers start coming through they catch on the jumpers and that's painful for them.
Yes you do need to register with defra but it only takes a few minutes so not a big deal
Rats are there before you bring chickens into the garden, that I know for sure, next doors cats used to catch them before I had hens, and I would occasionally find a nest in the compost heap, they come up from the stream nearby and from the railway embankment nearby. You just become more aware of them as they eat the feed. So lots of mesh and stones and bricks etc if ever you see a hole or see signs of them. My old hens did get killed by a fox, I've tightened up on security now and the foxes now just snack on bunny rabbits in the fields down the road.