IT WAS hen believable! Hundreds of chickens were saved on Sunday, thanks to kind-hearted families.
When The British Hen Welfare Trust heard that the feathered friends would be sent to slaughter, they arranged for poultry in motion.
Once they reach 18 months old, these hens are no longer considered commercially viable and are classed as ‘end of lay’. But instead of being given the bird, the Welfare Trust appealed through The Wokingham Paper to find new homes for them.
On Sunday, 326 chickens were picked up from Wellington College by borough residents keen to ensure the fowls could enjoy England’s green and pleasant land: a far cry from the factory conditions they had previously been in.
The BHWT has been in operation since 2006, and said it had since rehomed 750,000 hens who would otherwise have gone to slaughterhouses.
Francesca Mapp, the charity’s marketing and communications manager, was at the hendover – sorry, handover.
“We’re delighted with the response, it’s been really good,” she said. “People have been terrific.
“The hens generally go in groups of two, three, four or five, but one person is taking 16.
“They mostly end up in back gardens and they’re very sociable animals. They’re best kept in groups.”
The birds might look a little scrappy, but the charity said that this is a result of the hot conditions of the vast hen houses they were kept in and not fighting or pecking off as they were bored. They added that the feathers grow back once the birds have acclimated to outdoor living.
Ms Mapp added: “They’ve never been in anything other than a cage.”
The charity arranges handover days like this around eight times a year. For more details, or to register for the next event, log on to www.bhwt.org.uk
