My name is Emma and I work with Jo at Little Hen Rescue, Norwich. We work with local farmers to rehome ex-battery hens and we now face our biggest ever rescue...........10,000 hens in less than two months..... The slaughterman is booked for 29th june, so the clock is ticking and we need help! Are you able to give a home to some needy girls? Could you volunteer? Would you be able to process some admin? Could you co-ordinate a rehoming session in your local area? Could you donate some spare items?
We currently have co-ordinators in the following areas: Essex Cambridge Northants Surrey Suffolk
Any help that anyone could give would be massively appreciated. We need to spread the word quickly.............
We're in Bedford and I could certainly help with admin - I'm a member of a few local forums so can use those to appeal for potential homes, and the local shopkeepers are quite helpful about putting up signs etc. Probably can't be much help actually on the day as we don't have a car, only a motorbike, but I could provide an extra pair of hands for anyone going over to collect, or give a new keeper in this area a hand settling their chooks in?
If you lend someone £20 and never see them again, it was probably £20 well spent...
Wish I could help but just taken 3 on the release on Saturday and although I probably have room I would be unsure of taking any more in till the current girls are settled. GOOD LUCK!
We collected our two from Sutton Bridge on Sunday. We are taking another one with the next influx. If you wanted any bought up to Lincoln from Sutton Bridge we could do that. Or if you've got any fliers we could distribute we will find places to put them.
Hi id like to help. I live in lancashire (skelmersdale). Dont know what i can do but i would try anything. Please get in touch if you need someone in Lancs.
3 kids, one rescue cat, 3 rescue hens and one fantastic husband
Hi, I'm afraid I don't have room for any more girls and although I do live in Oxfordshire which I know is a long way away I would be willing to drive to either collect some for someone else or meet someone half way. I really don't mind driving any distance as long as the girls can cope with the journey. If anybody wants some but cant get there then I could help that way. Just let me know.
The rescue bid began with the announcement that a battery farm is set to close, leaving its owner little choice but to kill any chickens without a home.
"He's given us a date - the slaughterman is booked for June 29," Emma Haines, who works for the organisation, told Sky News Online.
Hens can live for seven or eight years but are often killed when they are much younger, according to the charity.
Turning on the persuasion, Ms Haines said chickens can be the perfect recession pet as they are cheap to care for, help teach children about animals and many still produce eggs.
"They are easy to keep, all you need is a secure coop and a run.
"In urban areas, some people let them out of the run in the evenings."
She added: "They are scraggly and may not have many feathers but after a couple of months they are beautiful and glossy. They make wonderful pets."
All of the rescued hens are being rehomed with the co-operation of the farm owners.
The Norfolk-based charity believes the battery hen industry is down to consumer demand and is not the farmers' fault.
"The credit crunch is often used as an excuse for buying a cheap chicken, but it is cheaper to have your own hen and never buy another battery-farmed egg again," Ms Haines said.
Battery farming has become increasingly high-profile with celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall being among those who have spoken out against poor conditions.
Shops including the Co-Op, Sainsburys, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer have all agreed to phase out the use of eggs from battery farms.
Just a suggestion, but wuld it not be possible to work our a pony express transport scheme for those living further away who want hens. I live 20 mins from the A1 connection at Newark and could easily transport a bit further north if anyone wa interested in meeting me a bit further along the route.
Hi Emma, we (hubby and I) would like to help in anyway we can, I'm ok with a computer and driving but we are up here in Leeds, we could make people more aware with leaflets and posters if you like, my car is still off the road but I could help as a drivers mate, anything! you just ask and we'll do what we can to help free these gorgous birds.
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