[harry]

100 chickens nearly 2 acres? tons of room after being in a cage for a year.,,,, are you saying death is a better option. also i did say i would sell some to cover costs after rehab etc. dam site less room in the cat food tin.

[MiriMaran]

I have 40 hens on 2 acres and they barely make a mark in the field - pigs however are another story!

[chickenfeed]

  :)i took 3 pol rir x black rock to our local auction a few weeks ago and they sold for foury pounds i must say i was surprised to say the least. on the same day the regular brown hens were selling around two to four pounds each.
i usually sell for ten pounds a pol i think this is a fair price when you take the cost of incubation, heat lamps, chick crumbs, growers, wormers etc. you will end up with great looking healthy bird that will lay a lot of eggs and when they stop laying they are a chunky bird for that curry  

[harry]

me too, currently got 25 ixworths 4 geese 15 ducks 12 sussex and a few odds and ends, no pigs, land is in great condition medium grass lenght. By the way mirimaron my butts started to leak

[MiriMaran]

  OMG CALL THE PARAMEDICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[shetlandpaul]

we have about 85 at the moment Ive been giving away a batch of crossed hylines and Shetland and they spread out over the fields quite happily and the neighbours fields to we have to chase the geese back home we had to take them out of the field one of our colts suffered a bad goose peck somewhere painful. egg birds are a waste of time for roasting. we did two cockerals a couple of weeks ago and they ended up pigeon size. the meat went down well though. gutting can be a problem if you have big hands.

[doganjo]

100 chickens nearly 2 acres? tons of room after being in a cage for a year.,,,, are you saying death is a better option. also i did say i would sell some to cover costs after rehab etc. dam site less room in the cat food tin.

It read as half an acre not 2 acres.  I don't know why they refused.

[harry]

THEY said there policy was anyone cannot sell them,  cant eat them, its their game and their rules but i was hoping for a reply from anyone conected to the organsation to tell me why they judge that what i offered was worse than slaughter, this was the norfolk area. IT WAS THE BIRDS LOSS, as ime now fully stocked and the birds that would have been scratching in the grass and sunshine are now tinned.

[Roxy]

From my experience Harry, most of the rescue organisations do not have a problem with finding homes for the hens.  I know our rehomers have to fill an online questionnaire in - and are asked about their intentions, regarding their hens.  After what they have been through, I think they want the hens to go to a pet home where they will be for life.  When the hens are taken on, the new keeper signs to say they will not sell them, or pass them on without letting the organisation know, and every effort will be made to rehome them if they are unable to keep  the hens at some time.  If you asked for 100, I think they would be suspicious about why you wanted so many, and would assume you were either a business, or going to sell the hens on for a profit.

The rehomers have to be aware as well, they may be subject to a home visit, to check on the welfare of the hens - and yours may well be all sold by the time this visit occured

I am not saying what you want to do is wrong, but if I am honest, with being involved in the rescues, I would prefer they went to homes for life.  Thats not to say you would not look after the hens well while they were with you .....I am sure you would .....but if everyone wanted the hens for the purpose you do, there would not be much point (in my mind) of us rescuing them.

Ok, I am probably too sentimental - wanting a happy ending for the hens!!!

[shetlandpaul]

i would say that was a little bit sentimental. maybe some do want them for pets but they are a farm animal and they have to serve a purpose. sorry for being mean but spent chickens have always gone to the pot. they can have a happy life while they lay but then its bread crumbs for them.

[Roxy]

I can see what you are saying Shetlandpaul - but I am pretty sure I speak for all the people who go to the farms and get the hens out - we are all volunteeres, no pay involved - if we thought for one moment that the hens were not going to what we consider the right homes, then we would not be helping at further rescues.  We go into the farms and bring them out for one reason - we care about the well being of these chickens.

I have a lot of ex batteries, many being the ones we brought back and thought would not survive - but they have, and I have never regretted bringing them home.  I am not a sentimental old fool when it comes to animals being eaten, eg. lamb, beef, pork, etc.  but these hens are different.  I get immense pleasure from helping them get a better life, and my reward is seeing them in a nice new home, enjoying life.

Yes, I know that is sentiment again - but there it is.

[shetlandpaul]

and of course thats your right. but these animals are meant to be farmed i don't think for a moment that your hens are not happy but how many can you rescue that are going to live a happy full life.

if your rescues depend on the pet community your placing weakened animals with people with little skill yes some do but if your re homing 10000 then each of those homes needs checking. what happens when the fad for chickens fades away. your looking at needing to re home 1000 of birds or they are going to suffer. maybe it would be better for the hens to be culled and anyone that wants to keep hens to at least to have read defras guides.

i have not heard of re homing spent cows or cast ewes. would love to see a semi in London with a flock of gummy sheep.

[Roxy]

Yes, I do get your point re the spent cows and ewes in a garden - some of my goats were in a little back garden when I rescued those.  Lady just gave them goat mix - no hay, no fibre, no grass.  No idea, basically.

I DO have concerns about where the hens end up, and speaking with some of the rehomers, eager as they are, its obvious they have not got a  clue about keeping any livestock.  But,they take the hens all the same, and if they cannot cope (which sometimes happen) there are people like me to take the hens back.  On the other hand, we have people who took a couple a few months back, and have now decided they want some more.  I like to think that most of the rehomers fall into this second category, and I think they do.  One thing I do know, is that these hens steal their new owners hearts!!!

As to reading DEFRA's guide, I do think the rehomers are aware of this, and the responsibility of taking the hens on in the first place.  I do my best to explain about them making the garden muddy, but until they get the hens I suppose the reality of it does not hit home.

Hopefully, battery farms will be a thing of the past, and we will not have a job to do - now that would be good!!!//

[harry]

ROXY no they werent suspicious of me because i firstly booked them then they gave me a date then there was a form to fill in and i told them i would be honset and told them i would sell some for a small fee to cover food and rehab, so i told them it would be no good me filling the form in on that basis, they said there were 1000s and any not rehomed would be killed. That was not them being suspicious of me it was me being honest. Wanting a happy end for hens, thats a laugh, the surplus were all tinned. Pity we cant ask the hens.

[shetlandpaul]

agreed on that. theres a lady up here that keeps two hens in her house. now that may just seem odd but in reality its cruel. i do worry about the hens that end up in runs no matter were they are from this can be worse than factory farming. unless they can wander like your typical farm yard hen then keep something else. i just picture the animal shelters being drowned with hens in a few years. they are not suited to small gardens.