The British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT) is working to rehome chickens to prevent them from going to the slaughter. It aims to find new homes for ex-laying hens across the United Kingdom.
British charity seeking new homes for ex-laying hens
BHWT is seeking new homes for ex-laying hens at their next rehoming date coming up this month. It is carrying out the rehoming exercise to prevent hens that are past their laying phase from being slaughtered.
Hens reared for business purposes begin laying eggs when they are about four months old. Eggs are one of the most important outputs of a chicken in a poultry business.
However, by 18 months, the output of eggs by a hen begins to decline. Typically, poultry farmers send these hens to the slaughterhouse for their meat once production drops.
The British Hen Welfare Trust aims to save hens from slaughter and give them a better life. It works to rehome chickens all across the UK with regular drop-offs in Wales.
Moreover, the next location for drop-offs is in Ffrith, Flintshire, on April 11. BHWT will offer 66 free-range hens for adoption in Flintshire. The charity also scheduled another drop-off in Pembrokeshire for the same day, though all hens there are already reserved.
BHWT began operations in 2005 to rehome, 100 hens. It has now helped in providing new homes to about 1 million hens to date.
“The farmers give us their hens to rehome because they want a nicer life for them – they want them to go on and have a free-range retirement,” said Francesca Mapp, BHWT’s marketing consultant.
The charity now works with commercial egg farmers who give up their hens once their egg-laying capacity begins to decline.
Hens bring benefits to new owners, BWHT says
Members of the BHWT team have noted that the new owners of these hens also get something in return. These owners can get eggs, help bring gardens to life, and also serve as pets.
“Chickens are the funniest, quirkiest, most characterful little creatures that you could imagine. I don’t think they get enough credit for what amazing pets they make. They are cats and dogs with feathers – because you can literally pick them up and cuddle them…and they all have individual personalities,” said Francesca Mapp.
Over 50 per cent of people who rehome from BHWT return a second, third or fourth time. The charity also rehomes caged, barn, and free-range hens. However, caged hens are most likely to be without feathers.
Interested persons can visit the BWHT website to register their interest in rehoming hens from Ffrith, Flintshire. They can also find other drop-off locations on the website.