Not as scary as the others....

The ex battery chickens did not scare me at first because they ran away from me, and hid in the cage. But over the month they have become more relaxed and now when you walk into the back garden they always think that you are bringing food out to them, and decided to jump your way.

I can’t stand at the end of my garden now!

Sabrina



This time I had the chance to name one of the chickens.

Sabrina looked terrible when she came to live in our back garden. You could clearly see the feathers were not on her neck due to being tied up, and she always hid away in the eglu.

Now Sabrina’s feathers have grown back and she has more confidence. She can now approach the other chickens without being attacked by them.

Moo Moo



This chicken was named by my 3-year-old nephew, even though the name keeps changing.

Out of the ex battery chickens Moo Moo was the brave one, and was not afraid to approach the other chickens. Moo Moo had bold patches over her back, but still wanted to fight with the other chickens for the pecking order (a ‘top bird’ to which the rest will defer).

Even though she did not succeed she still was very confident and was not afraid.

Ronnie



Named after Ronnie from Eastenders by my 6-year-old niece. Ronnie was the quiet one,that always stood up for Moo Moo but still was quite subdued.

This ex battery chicken was not as bad as the other two but still had little marks on her back that you could tell she had not been kept in nice conditions.

All of the ex battery chickens had to have special attention paid to them, and were fed special food that would help them get healthy again. One of the tips told to my mom was to mix the chicken food with a pro biotic yogurt. It seemed to work as now all the chickens are all healthy again.

Not long now until we won’t be able to tell the difference between all six.

Here come the ex battery chickens

After my mom thought the chickens were the best thing since.....well since eggs on toast, she decided that the next chickens she would like to take care of would be ex battery chickens.

The ex battery chickens were kept in a small cage on a battery farm. They spent all day in a small cage; tied up by the neck.



When the chickens were released they couldn't walk as they have been cooped up in the cage for so long, some even had bald patches as they had been kept in an unhealthy environment.



The Battery Hen Welfare Trust work together with the battery farms, and help to rescue the chickens and to offer them the free range home they deserve. People who want to take care of the chickens will not be charged by the trust but many of the people make a donation.

Once the chickens were rescued they are taken to a barn where they are released to run around freely. People then have the chance to collect chickens and take them home. This is exactly what my mom did after a rescue took place at Coventry.

To see so many chickens running freely in a barn, many struggling to even keep on their feet, was heart breaking even as someone who is petrified of them.



When the chickens were brought home they were placed into an eglu similar to the one that the other chickens live in.



However the chickens had to be kept separately from the first chickens that we took care of because they would begin to fight.

So then we had three more!