Hens.
I have two. Anode and Cathode, a couple of ex-battery hens. Yes, that was a feeble attempt at humour in the choice of names.
If you have the inclination and a bit of space I heartily recommend getting a couple of hens to provide hours of fun and the side benefit of eggs far more tasty than any supermarket egg.
Have a look at The Battery Hen Welfare Trust which has a nationwide network of people who link with willing farmers to make some 'spent' hens available for re-homing instead of going off to slaughter to make stock cubes.
If you're any sort of human being with a sense of empathy for other living creatures, you'll understand why battery farming of hens for eggs should not be allowed. It is an utterly inhumane way to treat another living creature.
Hens can live up to seven or eight years of age. A battery hen does not see daylight in her short life except for the journey from battery shed to slaughter at about eighteen months of age. At that age, a hen is deemed 'spent' which means that she doesn't produce enough eggs to be profitable from a commercial point of view. I'm not surprised the laying drops - the living conditions of a battery hen are hell on earth.
When I got my two, almost a year ago, when they arrived they were terrified, feeble things. They had bald patches all over their bodies. What feathers remained were in tatters. Their combs were pale, swollen and floppy (not a good sign) and they could barely stand up. They certainly couldn't make it up a short ramp into their new henhouse - I had to lift them in.
A bit of TLC , seeing to their needs and giving them space, and oh what a change! They grew feathers, developed proper hen behaviours, adore rolling in the earth of the flower bed.. chasing each other for that juicy worm, snail, beetle...
And hens adore spaghetti.
Then there are the eggs. In the year I've had well over 300 eggs from my two hens. More than ample for my needs. And the taste of a truly fresh egg is something that makes such a simple ingredient into a gourmet experience.
Not everyone can keep hens. But please, when buying eggs, don't buy the 'value' or standard produced eggs. Please buy free-range or even better, organic free-range eggs. I'm not an organic bore, but it is true to say that the welfare standards for organic free-range eggs are the highest of the standards for mass-produced eggs.
Better still if you can't keep your own hens, if you've a local small-scale egg producer, where you can see the hens, buy local!
I have two. Anode and Cathode, a couple of ex-battery hens. Yes, that was a feeble attempt at humour in the choice of names.
If you have the inclination and a bit of space I heartily recommend getting a couple of hens to provide hours of fun and the side benefit of eggs far more tasty than any supermarket egg.
Have a look at The Battery Hen Welfare Trust which has a nationwide network of people who link with willing farmers to make some 'spent' hens available for re-homing instead of going off to slaughter to make stock cubes.
If you're any sort of human being with a sense of empathy for other living creatures, you'll understand why battery farming of hens for eggs should not be allowed. It is an utterly inhumane way to treat another living creature.
Hens can live up to seven or eight years of age. A battery hen does not see daylight in her short life except for the journey from battery shed to slaughter at about eighteen months of age. At that age, a hen is deemed 'spent' which means that she doesn't produce enough eggs to be profitable from a commercial point of view. I'm not surprised the laying drops - the living conditions of a battery hen are hell on earth.
When I got my two, almost a year ago, when they arrived they were terrified, feeble things. They had bald patches all over their bodies. What feathers remained were in tatters. Their combs were pale, swollen and floppy (not a good sign) and they could barely stand up. They certainly couldn't make it up a short ramp into their new henhouse - I had to lift them in.
A bit of TLC , seeing to their needs and giving them space, and oh what a change! They grew feathers, developed proper hen behaviours, adore rolling in the earth of the flower bed.. chasing each other for that juicy worm, snail, beetle...
And hens adore spaghetti.
Then there are the eggs. In the year I've had well over 300 eggs from my two hens. More than ample for my needs. And the taste of a truly fresh egg is something that makes such a simple ingredient into a gourmet experience.
Not everyone can keep hens. But please, when buying eggs, don't buy the 'value' or standard produced eggs. Please buy free-range or even better, organic free-range eggs. I'm not an organic bore, but it is true to say that the welfare standards for organic free-range eggs are the highest of the standards for mass-produced eggs.
Better still if you can't keep your own hens, if you've a local small-scale egg producer, where you can see the hens, buy local!
Oh, and if you happen to be in Norfolk, there's a battery hen rescue based at Newton Flotman called Little Hen Rescue so you can always try there too!
The transformation after a little TLC is amazing. Watching them discover and display their natural behaviours, such as scratching the ground for worms and dustbathing is truly satisfying.
ReplyDeleteBattery farming is a barbaric system, hens belong outside not in cages.