Help me give ex-farmed hens a home!

by Miriam in Arthog, Wales, United Kingdom

Help me give ex-farmed hens a home!
We did it
On 11th February 2025 we successfully raised £380 with 12 supporters in 28 days

Rescuing commercially farmed hens isn't chicken feed!

by Miriam in Arthog, Wales, United Kingdom

Did you know that all hens involved in commercial farming for eggs, whether caged, barn or free-range, are slaughtered at 18 months due to a drop in egg production, even though they may have up to 5 years of life (and laying) left ahead of them?  

Help me rescue at least some of them, and enable them to  lead a healthy, pasture-fed, organic  natural life span!

For two years, I've been trying to live sustainably halfway up a mountain in beautiful Gwynedd, on a 0.8 acre 'tinyholding'.  I'm living off-grid, growing my veg (or at least trying to), developing a small native tree nursery, have planted an apple orchard and started on a hedgerow, just using 'spare' trees as I go.  I'm managing part of the field for wildlife, introducing yellow rattle and other wildflower species at the sunny end and allowing self-seeded saplings to grow at the shady end.  I've just made it through my first summer as a beekeeper, which I love... and now... a chicken sanctuary!

The grass is greener... much greener here, in fact, than stuck in a barn, possibly in a communal cage, or at best, with a small hatch to a little outside space which you may or may not reach each day, and a life expectancy less than one quarter what it could be.

Here, they will have a large, predator proof (as far as it can be) outside run where they will be safe when I'm not around, but on most days will be free to range over a large area of pasture, and even have access to the whole 0.8 acre to forage naturally. Their diet will be topped up with organic, non-GMO feed, and will be diverse, rather than them being totally dependent on grain-heavy feed.  And of course, they will be free to live out their natural life...

It's a mutual thing... for something to be truly sustainable, it has to benefit all parties, and these new companions will be a huge benefit to the land and what I'm trying to do here...

The last two years, my veg growing has been thwarted by huge armies (or so it seems) of slugs - I've collected up to 500 a day! But, I don't have an excess of slugs, I have a deficit of poultry! 

The problem is the solution!  Chickens would not only reduce the slug population without recourse to poisons (that would enter the whole ecosystem), they will help manage the land - reducing weeds, producing compost and preparing soil for growing.  And the slugs in turn  would help give them a natural, healthy, high protein diet... turning the slugs into something really beneficial.

Of course there would be eggs, though for me, that's not a motivation.  For many years eggs were not a part of my diet, until I recently found a very ethical local source.  But they will lay eggs, and in time, that will help cover costs for their happier new life.

As I looked into it though, it became important that I mustn't exploit chickens any more than they already are I was determind not to buy eggs or young chicks that would mean the males being killed, or have cockerels that would get  me into that situation.  I will only be getting rescues, ex-commerical hens, whose lives will be improved and lengthened.

But I mustn't count my chickens before they hatch! (Except, these have hatched, and are now living on chicken farms...)

Initially, I will be rescuing just 6 hens, to check the set up is working, safe and comfortable, and then very soon after, increasing that to twelve.  In the longer term, all being well, the plan would be to increase that up to 24, and if it goes really well then possibly a few more... though a balance has to be kept with maintaining the ecology of the site and ensuring they have all the natural forage and space they want.  As some are lost, then the numbers will be maintained by rescuing more, not by breeding.

But it's not chicken feed!  Initially, there will be outlay for the set up, and the first year of running costs. 

I've already put £250 of my own money into this, to buy the large run which is the starting point, and will be building the hen house to keep costs down.  Allowing them to forage is not only natural but of course reduces their dependence on commercial, shipped in feed, though some will still be necessary so costs are being kept as low as possible - another aspect of sustainability.

Estimated costs for that are as follows:

Set up (run, fencing, equipment, hen house): £400 (of which I've paid £250).

Donation to rescue charity for 12 rescue hens (plus a few extra if any are lost): £50

Running costs / year (food and grit) for 12 hens: £500 - £625 (roughly £1 / hen / week) - maybe lower depending on the balance between this and natural forage.

And of course, there's egg boxes, occassional medicines and herbs, and all the little things I've not thought of...

I'm hoping to raise around £500 towards this, especially for the set up.  

If all goes well, at about 18 months, things should break even, and from then on, hopefully it will be self-sustaining and allow for an increase in the number of birds rescued  In the meantime no hen will be 'disposed of' if they are 'unproductive'.  

If this appeals, then here's a chance to be part of it:

A gift of: 

£5 could rescue at least one hen.

£25 could buy a sack of organic feed.

£50 could feed that hen for almost a year.

Gifts totalling £400 can provide a comfortable, safe environment for them to live and find shelter.

And what would their new life look like?

- They would have a safe, comfortable, hand-built (from recycled materials) hen house.

- a predator-proof (as far as possible!) run, providing enough space to be considered free range (British Hen Welfare Trust standards) even inside this and 4 times RSPCA recommended space  / chicken where they will be when I am not on site to keep an eye on them.

- a much larger run where they will be when I am on site (roughly 5 days / week), and where they can do the work of weeding and slug patrol.

- a regular option to completely free range  over almost an acre of land, usually several hours, several times a week

- a rich diet of natural, mixed forage, including varied plants and insects, supplemented as necessary with organic, non-GMO feed...  far from just the wheat-and-corn-heavy diet they are used to.

- no cockerel, so no fertilised eggs and male chicks that would need 'disposing' of.

- a human guardian and collaborator (me) who will spend time working closely with them, sitting with them, getting to know them and their traits and monitoring their wellbeing on a daily basis. 

- a chance to live out their full, natural life span, rather than the severely curtailed option they were facing.

And we really will be collaborators and companions, me and the hens...

For me, 'keeping' animals is not about ownership, it is about mutual collaboration, respect, and connecting with them as deeply as I can.  I'm already excited about having them around and about getting to  know them, and grateful for all the benefits they will bring to me personally, not just to the land.  And I consider my role in their care as a real personal responsibility: I've been hesitant to take this on precisely for that reason, taking on the welfare of any animal needs to be approached thoughtfully and carefully, but the mutual benefits and the possibility of providing them a sanctuary are too rich an opportunity to be missed.

***THANK YOU*** for your role in making this possible!

By giving, you are saving hens!

This is your opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of these hens  I am deeply grateful for whatever contribution you can make towards giving them a new lease of life, and a happier one at that.

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