16.07.10
Our Southridge Animal Centre in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, is currently caring for more than 100 ex-battery hens and is appealing for good and caring new homes for these beautiful birds.
About battery hens
Around 58 per cent of egg laying hens in the UK, that's 17 million birds, are still kept in cages.
Battery farmed hens live in cages made of thin wire mesh. They have almost no space to stretch their wings, move around properly or behave naturally.
The hens suffer greatly from damage to their feet and claws from standing on the wire sloping floors, and they are unable to escape aggression from other birds.
Conventional battery cages will be banned from 2012 throughout Europe, but so-called 'enriched' cages will still be allowed, which offer little improvement.
We are calling for all cage systems to be banned and for hens to be kept in well-managed alternative systems, such as barn or free-range. Find out more about the welfare issues laying hens are faced with.
Life behind bars
Before arriving at the animal centre, these ex-battery hens had never felt the sun on their backs or drank the dew from the grass. They'd never bathed in the dust or scratched for food. Things that birds naturally love to do.
Many of them have odd-shaped beaks having had them clipped with little regard to the accuracy of the procedure.
And some of them are totally bald where they were being plucked by the other birds sharing their cages. Luckily, their feathers will now grow back.
Free as a bird
As soon as these birds were given their freedom at the animal centre, they leapt at the chance to do everything that they could not previously do, and watching them was a very rewarding experience for centre staff.
Now they have a chance to lead happy, fulfilling lives. All they ask for is:
- a warm, dry, secure hen house with plenty of space and roosting perches
- quiet nest boxes for laying eggs
- a safe and secure outside area to roam around in
- fresh food and water
- and of course tasty vegetables and occasional treats.
In return, they will bring you so much joy as you watch their comical antics. And when they feel well enough and fully settle, they will give you tasty, fresh eggs.
Find out more about the care that chickens need in our pets pages.
And spare a thought for the much-maligned cockerel
The centre also has eight cockerels in need of loving new homes.
Cockerels are one of the most unwanted, abused and neglected animals that we rescue. Very often they are destroyed when only a day or so old because there is more demand for the female laying hens.
Those that live can end up abandoned, or living in terrible conditions and used for cockfighting, which is why they are unfairly stereotyped as aggressive. But these beautiful, noble birds deserve so much better.
They are territorial animals and protect their hens, but are also intelligent and affectionate. And not all of them are noisy - some very rarely crow.
Can you help?
If you have suitable accommodation and think you can offer some of these gorgeous birds a loving home for the rest of their lives, please contact:
RSPCA Southridge Animal Centre
Telephone: 0300 123 0704 (follow the link above to check centre opening times).
Think first...
Please remember that pet ownership takes time, money, commitment and patience - owning a pet is likely to change your life completely.
You can find out more about adopting an animal from the RSPCA, and find animals for adoption in your area, in our rehoming pages.
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