Ringwood hen rescuers celebrated Easter with freshly laid eggs and the knowledge that they had saved the lives of the birds.
Hens which had been destined for the pot have been rehomed in in Hampshire and Dorset thanks to Ringwood rescuer Celia Marker who brought together the organic layers and the new owners.
The 1,202 hens were part of a flock of 9,000 from a farm in East Sussex, which were due to be slaughtered last month.
But thanks to a local appeal by Celia for homes and additional publicity when the hens were featured on BBC1’s The One Show, over 100 new owners came forward.
In fact so many people offered to take them that Celia ran out of hens.
Those lucky enough to get hens picked them up from Ashley Heath and Totton.
At Ashley Heath 55 rescuers collected 751 clucking hens. An assortment of boxes, dog crates and cat baskets were used to transport them to their new homes.
Children came with their parents to pick up the much-awaited hens but the adults were just as keen to meet their new ‘guests’.
Celia said: “The rescue has been very demanding as I am the only organiser for it. It’s been weeks of work and I’m relieved it’s over. The great pleasure is in seeing all those lovely hens, not 18 months old and with years ahead of them, going off to happy homes and not to the slaughter-house for pet food. Tens of thousands are killed at this young age just because the supermarkets demand perfect eggs – not misshapen, not thin shelled and, of course, cheap.”
While Celia’s work is over for another year or so, other hens are available from British Hen Welfare Trust and Fresh Start for Hens who rescue caged and free-range hens all year round.
The rest of the hens from the East Sussex flock were rehomed in Brighton and northern England.
