Come on peeps, all of you who, over the last few years, have told me that you would just love to keep hens. Now here’s your opportunity to help some little hens that hitherto have had a pretty rotten life.

500+ ex battery hens are now ready to start new lives with owners who will give them the care and attention they deserve.

Little Hen Rescue of Flordon, near Norwich, have rescued yet more hens that were destined for slaughter after having spent their lives in cages laying eggs for supermarkets.

These hens are friendly and make great pets. Those of you who are interested should phone Little Hen Rescue rehoming line Monday or Friday evenings (8.00 to 9.30 pm)  07717 757596 or, preferably, email Jo Eglen at littlehenrescue@aol.com  For more information visit www.littlehensrescue.co.uk

Over 800 rescued battery hens arrived at Little Hen Rescue last Saturday and I was there to help unload them.  They had endured the three and a half hour journey from Leicester pretty well.  I was surprised to see how good they looked. No featherless ones; none with bad peck wounds, or, indeed any sort of wound.  Apparently the farm from which the hens came, was particularly good on welfare and, although kept in large cages, all the hens looked really well.

I helped unload them from their crates into the large, roomy loose boxes where they’ll live until they go to their new homes… I wanted to bring them all home with me but, sadly, I couldn’t. Although I had lost Hattie the other week, I couldn’t take any. You have to take a minimum of two, but I have four and I think to add another two to the flock would be a bit too many for my coop, so I’ll have to wait until another falls of her perch. It’s about time for Dottie, who is 7 or 8, but she shows no sign of ‘popping her clogs’. Then poor Buffy didn’t, she just went. What a lovely way to go. No suffering.

For those of you who may be wondering how little Lottie, my surviving ex batt is getting on, she is a little star, who has started laying. Well…. sort of. She is Polly’s constant shadow (do you remember how awful Polly was too her when she first arrived?) – it’s so funny to watch. They are best of mates now. Long may it last.