In 2012 Battery Hen farming will be banned in the EU. Currently 16 million hens are kept in battery cages which have a floor space smaller than an A4 sheet of paper – they never get to stretch their wings or wander around. All their natural behaviour – scratching around for food, preening themselves is inhibitated to put eggs on our tables. After a year the hens are considered spent – they are no longer laying every day and are usually sent for slaughter.

This is where the Battery Hen Welfare Trust come in – through them people like you and I can rehome a few ex-battery hens and give them a taste of the good life!

If you register with them, you can rehome some ex-battery hens – they will be generally healthy but lacking in feathers, unfit and most likely pretty bruised. With a few months of normal care, they will be fully feathered and should be laying again! They will usually last for one to three years.

• Ex-battery hens will be used to a mash rather than pellets. There is an ex-battery specialist feed from the Smallholder range to help build them up again.
• Because they have been artifical light for 18 hours a day they may need putting back in the coop for a few days until they get the hang of it themselves.
• They will probably sleep on the floor rather than perch – don’t put them up there yet as their legs will be weak and jumping down may break them. Once they are fit enough to jump up themselves, they will be safe to jump back down.
• Hand up some distractions like corn to give them something interesting to do and distract any possible bullies!
• Pecking order – after a few hours, your brood will start to sort out who is top hen and the pecking order. If one emerges as a bully, remove her (not the victim) for a while to give some peace. Smear vaseline on the victims combs if they are getting bitten, to protect them and stop beaks getting a hold!

Battery hens are bred to be docile and lay lots of eggs, so you will have a friendly inquisitive set of chooks. For more information on re-homing some ex-battery hens, do check out the Battery Hen Welfare Trust

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