HENS destined for imminent slaughter have been rehomed thanks to the work of kind-hearted volunteers from The Vale.
A total of 160 birds were recently given a new lease of life due to the efforts of local members of Fresh Start for Hens, a national not-for-profit organisation.
Volunteers with the group are committed to making sure that ex-commercial egg-laying hens that would otherwise be killed, get the chance to live out the rest of their natural lives comfortably.
Mandy Latham, from Atch Lench has had her own flock of 30 hens for two decades and has been involved with the group for four years. She recently organised the distribution of hens needing homes from the new Evesham collection point at Ellenden Farm Shop.
“It’s an opportunity to give something back, save some animals and make a difference. It’s also good from a farming perspective and ethically for them to say ‘we don’t slaughter’ – it’s a good cycle,” she said.
The volunteers never leave a bird behind and Mandy often takes care of the ‘wonky’ ones who are not in a good way when they leave the farms. One hen named Gloria (after the Gloria Gaynor song ‘I will survive’) could not walk and was built a wheelchair enabling her to become mobile.
Mandy and colleagues regularly drive to farms all over the country to rescue hens for rehoming. “We are all slightly bonkers,” she added. “We are part of a volunteer army of crazy people who are just passionate about saving lives.”
A hen has a lifespan of five to six years, but when commercially raised birds are 72 weeks old, they are no longer considered viable, as the number of eggs they produce each week drops off.
According to Fresh Start for Hen, their carcasses are worth very little and are usually sold for dog food, baby food or processed pies. The group works closely with British egg producers and purchases the hens from barn and free range systems, just before their slaughter date.
Anyone wanting to rehome a hen should register their interest at freshstartforhens.co.uk or join the Fresh Start for Hens private Facebook group for further information.
There are also collection points at Redditch, Coventry, Solihull and Malvern.
