OFFERED; Loving Home for Hen

[gella]

Dear Forum Members,

Our hen Valentine has been left on her own since her longtime friend recently died after a period of illness. As we don't like the idea of keeping her on her own we are looking for a hen who could become her companion of old age. Do you know of a match? Perhaps someone who wants to stop keeping chickens, or has a too big flock at the moment? Or someone who has a hen who for some reason does not fit in very well in their environment?

We are based in East London, bordering Essex, so could collect from Greater
London with surroundings (Essex, Kent, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Sussex and East
Sussex). I will give an overview of our set up, so if anyone who knows of a
possible match can see if it is suitable for their hen.

Our hen house is suitable for 4 hens (6 according to the shops) and
attached to a plastic roofed, man-height run of about 2.5 x 2,5 square metres
(or 9 x 9 feet). There are foxes in our area, so we can only free range our hens
when we are in the garden. However, our run is fully fox proof, below and above ground level.

If you have any suggestions please get in contact. We are desperate to find a companion for our dear Valentine.

Thank you!
Bella

[manda]

Hi Bella and welcome...I'm a bit far away from you otherwise I would have happily let you have one of mine to come and keep Valentine company...here's hoping someone near will be able to help

[Benny&Co]

Hiya Bella and welcome from us too

So sorry to hear you have lost a little lady and hoping you'll be able to find another chooky to be with your little Valentine

I can thoroughly recommend these people, if you wanted to buy another hen/s
http://thornespoultrycentre.co.uk/

As you'll see, they're in Hertfordshire.

[gella]

Hi manda and Benny&Co and thanks to both of you for your welcoming words. Also, thanks for recommending a seller. I'll check them out asap. I normally only keep ex-bats, but might have to make an exception as there aren't any rescues this time of year and poor Valentine, who's already quite old in ex-bat terms, is getting lonely. She sleeps in our kitchen at the moment, since that's what she got used to when her friend Ada was ill and we kept her indoors. I found a breeder called Happy Chicks that take care of ex-bats and then sell them on, which sounded like a good idea. If anyone has any experience of them please let me know. Unfortunately their next delivery date to my area is a month away and I'ld prefer not to keep Valentine without companions of the hen kind for that long.

[Linda S]

Hi Bella i dont know if you are any where near Wigan because Lucky Hens have just put a post on and they are rehoming on 19th jan if you look on the bottom heading in this section you will find it. Sorry i cant do links hope it might help you Lindaxx

[perchy]

Here you go

viewtopic.php?f=75&t=44684

[gella]

Thank you so much Linda, for getting involved and perchy for the link. Just checked their location and they're in the north west. I'm in the south east.. my luck .

[perchy]

I will try a google for you, back soon

[perchy]

http://poultrykeeper.com/rehoming-batte ... s-for-sale

Interesting, and some details at the bottom of sites to look at

[gella]

Thanks perchy! Have checked. Doesn't seem like there are any rescues in my neck of the woods at the moment. Seems like that Happy Chicks 29th of January delivery date may be the best I can do for my Valentine. Feel so sorry for her though, she seems to be loosing her appetite already and she's only been on her own for 2 days! I suppose having some competition does the world of good to a chicken's appetite.

[sazchops]

Hi Gella.
I got all my girls from Happychicks ( 3 hybrids last year and 2 exbats in October ). They are about 20 minutes from me and I get food and lots of advice from there.
Sarah, the owner is great, really knows her hens. They rescue about 1000 ex bats at a time and keep them for about 3 weeks before rehoming just to make sure they have recovered.
It is a shame there isn't an earlier delivery to your area, personally I'm not good at waiting for new hens.

Oh and welcome to the Lane

[gella]

Thanks for that sazchops. I was hoping to hear some first hand experiences from Happychicks. At least I have them as a backup, but now I'm not really sure Valentine will even last that long. She has always been a very healthy hen but she is getting more and more depressed by the hour. Today she even went to bed before it was going dark! That has never ever happened before with her. I need to find her a friend asap before she makes herself ill too. Does anyone know of a responsible seller that delivers to you fast?

[Mo]

Someone in Hampshire is wanting to rehome 4 hens, if that isn't too far / too many.

Come to think, it might be a bit much for the single hen, being introduced to 4 who know each other - though at least she would be on home ground.

[Benny&Co]

Thanks for that sazchops. I was hoping to hear some first hand experiences from Happychicks. At least I have them as a backup, but now I'm not really sure Valentine will even last that long. She has always been a very healthy hen but she is getting more and more depressed by the hour. Today she even went to bed before it was going dark! That has never ever happened before with her. I need to find her a friend asap before she makes herself ill too. Does anyone know of a responsible seller that delivers to you fast?

Poor little Valentine, she's sounding a bit lonely isn't she - give her a hug from us

I'd say that Thorne's are a responsible seller but not sure if they deliver.

http://thornespoultrycentre.co.uk/contact-us.html

[gella]

Hi Mo,

4 more hens would just be too much for our little hen house, I'm afraid, even though we are in the midst of doubling the run in size. Also, we are trying to keep hen numbers to a minimum right now due to other family/life commitments. I can see why she would want them all to go to the same home though, I would be the same in her situation. I suppose giving Valentine away would be the most sensible thing to do, but we just can't imagine life without our little big lady, it's just not going to happen!