Ex-Battery Chickens Rehoused to Date: 115,719

The work of the Battery Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT) has received enormous exposure thanks to the efforts of the River Cottage Chicken Out! Campaign and the active support of various celebs. The BHWT's aim, to rehouse former battery chickens by finding them homes where they can enjoy their retirement in a stress-free environment, is laudable. Actually, that sounds patronising and trivial and I didn't mean it. What I meant was: it's bloody fantastic, challenging and commendable. There are currently over 20 million battery hens in the UK producing cheap eggs for the consumer. Most of these eggs are used in the processed food industry and therefore are 'hidden' from view, just like the hens in their cages. Originally founded by Jane Howorth in 1995, over the last three years the BHWT has seen growth to make a hedge fund manager swoon. Adele Hall, the Trust's regional co-ordinator for the northwest, spoke of seeking homes for just 187 hens three years ago. So far this year, she has found homes for nearly 5,000.

Jane first became moved by the plight of battery hens after seeing a Panorama programme back in the late 1970s entitled 'Down on the Factory Farm'. Having decided to do something about it, she began her campaign by writing to local MPs, the Meat & Livestock Commission and anyone else who would listen to her requests for better food labelling and an increased supply of free-range eggs in retail outlets. In 1995 Jane moved to Devon and began rescuing battery hens from slaughter herself. In October 2003 and several hundred hens later she decided to take 100 hens from a local battery farm in Devon with the specific aim of finding them good homes.

Since then tens of thousands of hens have been rescued from slaughter and given the opportunity to enjoy a free-range retirement. Most go on to become much loved family pets. What is important, indeed critical for the BHWT, is that it builds up a relationship with the farmers. It is not a case of us and them, the BHWT is NOT the Animal Liberation Front. The BHWT recognises that the factory farming industry has been built on consumer demand for cheap food. It's a well-worn argument that is going to take another hammering over the next 12 months. The organisation stresses that change is only going to come by consumers demanding it.

There are many heroes in this organisation, Jane Howorth for starters. Then there are the regional co-ordinators. I spent an afternoon at a rehoming day with Adele and found out very quickly that it takes more than just compassion to be a rescue co-ordinator. Firstly you have to be organised, and I mean Organised with a capital O. Imagine 80-plus eager families driving up a 200-yard single track to the co-ordinator's venue, with little opportunity to turn round and parking spaces for just six cars. Then you can understand why the coordinator has to give everybody a time and match it with the number of chickens they are picking up. 'It was sheer chaos one time earlier this year so I brought in a rough time allocation for rehomers to arrive at,' says Adele. Systems and controls have to be in place and you have to be logical and consistent.

Then you have to be tough, really tough. 'A real bugbear is those people who phone up to rehouse then they don't turn up.' Adele admits to having 'a feeling' about a customer. 'It's usually the ones who want 20 hens,' she says. She then has to get on to the customer, sometimes having to make five or six calls to see if they are actually going to turn up. 'I really don't mind if they have changed their mind, I just would like the phone call to let me know.' Among the heroes are the volunteers who come on the day to help out. They sweep, they hose down, they show how to clip wings, they give advice on feeding and offer a nice cuppa and flapjack. They provide essential support for the organisation and for the regional co-ordinators.

Then there are the people who have gone to such extraordinary lengths to make sure that these hens are given the very best life from now on. The 'baldy' hens go to the novice hen owner. Why? 'Because we know they will get stacks and stacks of attention and love which is what they will need.' It was warming to see the immediate bond people had with their new pets. And yes, before you cry out, Adele says quite firmly that these are pets, if they do lay eggs it's a bonus. On the day I visited we had folk who had travelled from as far away as Northumberland to pick up three hens. Adele remembers someone coming down from Scotland. Often the children would be holding out the pennies they had been saving up to 'buy me hen'. And everybody had come prepared, the chicken arc already in place, the mash already purchased. These people want to make a difference. Once in their new home the hens do make a speedy readjustment. Considering they haven't had space, daylight or even the ability to make choices they settle in to their new homes quickly and feathers grow back quite soon - just how rewarding is that?

Have any been returned? A couple, admits Adele. The reasons? Well one was because a neighbour complained about the noise one hen decided to make each time she laid an egg and the other because the new 'owner' couldn't cope with the initial vying for pecking order that has to happen in those early, crucial, days. It is vital and natural for the hens to establish a hierarchy and sometimes it's just not pleasant to watch. To the inexperienced it can be distressing for the short time it lasts. Rehoming a battery chicken, or any chicken for that fact, cannot be done on a whim. I asked about vets. 'Hmm, that is sometimes a bit of a problem,' said Adele. A lot of vets do not have a working knowledge of hens, certainly not in towns or cities where the demand is for nothing more unusual than a chinchilla. Maybe, just maybe, that will change with the growing urban farm/home farm movement.

Finally, I want to say a little bit about the farmers. Before you cuss and spit they too deserve a gong. Would it not be easier and more profitable to sell those ex-batteries onto a fast food outlet? Why wait for the regional coordinator to come along so they can give the chickens to them? On the day I was there, the chickens that were being rehomed had actually been sold to a Chinese restaurant. Once he had realised his mistake, the farmer bought the chickens back and gave them to Adele. Think on that the next time you have a chop suey. Adele can spot which chicken comes from which farm. Some are in better condition than others and they have different personalities depending on the hybrid, she says. Whatever the condition, It doesn't take many minutes for instincts to return, wings to spread and absorb the sunshine and beaks to discover the joys of drinking great gulps of water.

New owners are advised to keep them on mash for the first few weeks as 'that's all they have ever eaten, and all they know'. But given the chance they will discover the delights of the veg patch soon enough. There are currently 17 regional coordinators with the majority being in the southwest and east of England. There is just one co-ordinator for all of Scotland, one for the northwest, one for the northeast and two in Wales. Ireland doesn't have any and Norfolk and Suffolk have two between them. The role is strictly voluntary and although the rehoming days are rewarding there is an awful lot of work to be done behind the scenes.

Anyone wanting to make a donation can send a cheque, payable to the Battery Hen Welfare Trust, to The Battery Hen Welfare Trust, North Parks, Chulmleigh, Devon EX18 7EJ. Alternatively visit the merchandise shop on their website, www.bhwt.org.uk

This feature was reproduced courtesy of Home Farmer Magazine.
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