We had been hoping to rescue six battery chickens last weekend. 

First the bad news. They have not yet arrived, we had to cancel their pickup due to the seriously bad weather our part of the world has been experiencing these last two weeks. Not to put too fine a point on things it was literally a case of taking your life in your hands to get out of our place due to the snow and ice. Even today as the thaw sets in one still needs a 4x4 and decent driving to make it out in one piece.

Now the Good news. The next batch of rescues is due to happen around March April time and we will be giving a bunch of those ladies a new home instead. The six ladies due to come here will have been found alternative homes with folks not living in such out of the way places -- it is nice here but it can be a little isolated at times of bad weather.

Six weary battery hens are almost home. Starting a new life as free range chickens, that way nature intended.

7th February is their big day. This is when we take them home after they have been rescued by the Battery Hen Welfare Trust. Once home they will free range with our Appenzellers and Araucanas. Wandering free, getting wet when it rains, enjoying the sun on their backs and a dust bath when it shines.

We are looking forward to having them stay with us here — happy chickens give so much back, they are just so so relaxing to be with and of course there are the eggs. Nothing like those insipid watery ‘things’ you buy in shops — real free range eggs are rich, dark, and so full of taste. Truly a win win partnership.

Signed up with Battery Hen Welfare Trust to rescue and home some battery chickens over the weekend. We have always kept chickens but until now we always got the rarer breeds, Aracunas, Lakenvelders, Appenzellers to name but a few.

Until this weekend and a chance remark we thought the trust only operated in the south of England -- how wrong we were. The rescue is alive kicking and doing much good work in the north as well. 

It was always our intention to give a good home to some battery chickens and now we can. Happy days for the chickens and us. Nice thing is that our existing flock will be able to show them how to live as a real bird, not like the wretched caged scrawny existence they had before.

We hope to get our first rescues sometime mid January. In the mean time if you eat eggs, and have a little spare ground please do consider joining us and rescue some hens yourself. All the information can be found here. 

No need to worry about noisy cockerels as only the hens lay eggs and so only the hens are placed into the battery system in the first place.

Cost is minimal too, and more than offset by the eggs these ladies will produce for you. Allow them to truly free range and there is simply no way to compare the taste and quality of the eggs you will get with those bought from a shop — even those that are sold as free range are nothing like as good as the real thing.