We use a different system to most. In most cases you join a list ready for the clearing of a battery building. The suppliers dont have the buildings available to store them, and think people wont pay the extra pence it costs to feed them for a few weeks until they come along. It seems a shame to us, not being in farming all our lives, to let these hens die for such a small difference in feeding, watering and housing them for a few weeks, espescially when we have buildings available here anyway, and we have found most people feel the same way.

So we rescue enough to supply people here until the next batch is due to go from a local battery farm. Like all battery farms they tend to have a company come and dispose of thousands per visit at certain times of the year, paying a nominal fee because they use the meat in animal products, but clearing the buildings quickly and efficiently. We go in just before this company and buy as many as we think we can re-home.

We have been doing this since moving here, just at certain times of the year, and are hoping we can now rescue loads more because of all the fantastic media attention recently.

These hens need a little extra TLC than normal hens for the first few weeks, but the rewards are great. We’ve raised lots of ex battery hens over the last 3 years just for fun, and our first hens are still going strong!

We also supply drinkers, feeders, starters books, powders, feeds and all the other bits you need to get started.ex-battery-hen