All posts filed under: Rescue Hens

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A short guide to rescuing chickens

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We rescued our first lot of chickens back in 2012, little did we know how they would change our lives. They after all the reason we both became vegan. Read more about that here. Fast forward to 2015 and we have rescued another 3 chickens. We are by no means experts but here is a little guide about what we know.         1. Chickens have personalities too – there are bolder chickens and more timid hens, they feel pain and they can make their feelings known when they want to be let outside. You know when people talk about a pecking order, yep that definitely comes from chickens. There is always a pecking order. When we first got chickens it was the saddest thing to watch them establish and then to watch poor little Rosie right at the bottom of that order. God she was bullied. But, I’ve come to accept this is just the way they live together, there is always a top chicken and a bottom one and the order can change. If …

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Life after death: Ivy – the boss

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Sadly this week, Ivy one of our two remaining chickens, passed away. It is so sad to think that chickens can live up to 10 years but that the rapid egg production of our rescued, commercial hens takes such a toll on their little bodies that Ivy, Gwen and Ruby only lived for a short 2-3 years. We got to know our chickens so well, we knew them all individually by their characters, so losing them has been very upsetting for us. We see them as part of the family just like anyone would see a dog or a cat. We are so happy to have given them the chance to live half their lives outdoors, running around (yes they love to run, Veronica was always running around with them and they all followed her around endlessly in circles!), digging for insects and worms and having a good dust bath. So with Ivy’s passing I’d like to share with you how we got to know her and how she found (pushed) her way to be top of the …

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Life after death: Gwen the rescue hen

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The way in which we buy and consume our food doesn’t always leave much room for thought. We shop in supermarkets where everything is laid out neatly on shelves in clean, pretty packaging. We might look at the price of different products on offer, or the design of the packaging but there is not much else for us to consider. I started to become more connected with my food after I re-homed four ex-commercial hens. Suddenly my eggs weren’t packaged, clean and stamped. I found them in a bed a straw and if quick, still warm and occasionally a little bit soiled. The questions people were asking me about keeping my own chickens were very telling of our disconnected lifestyle. “You can’t just eat them, don’t you have to sterilise them?” “But isn’t it weird knowing that they’ve come straight out of the chicken?” “If they stop laying eggs will you kill them and eat them?” Simply because an egg has been stamped doesn’t mean it is now somehow different and suddenly fit for our …