Camilla and Elizabeth Light up Cluckingham!

26th August 2011
I just had a beautiful moment of reflection on life.......in Cluckingham Palace! With a saddened heart, having just watched the beautifully haunting memorial service for the Samoan and Tonganese fire victims, I was approached by appreciation.

Elizabeth, with her red comb flopping to the right, ran across the yard to where I was sitting. Within the chook run we have a wire chair placed just outside the door. Without flinching she was squatting, wanting to be picked up. As she was seated in my lap receiving a pat, bald Camilla fluttered up to receive her pat too.

It was lovely to see these two girls so totally happy with their new life of freedom outside the confines that live within a battery “farmed egg production” cage.

Camilla and Elizabeth, the old boilers, have now, new name. In memory of the pained grieving family….. and for all the Girls living in a caged hell….. I would like you to meet Miss Faith and Miss Hope.

If you are reading this and you have chooks you would understand where I am coming from. For those without, or those unable to house their own hens, please do not buy eggs from caged hens. Lowered demand will lead to lower acceptance of locking these creatures into a life of mundane hell.

Their photos are below. These are a bit average because of the camera quality. We will take nicer shots tomorrow.

This is Faith. She has a balding chest and a clipped beak. Walking freely around the palace.

 Such a placid little girl. Wanting a cuddle with her new Dad.

With a blurred head....displaying her goods!

 Clucking around together.

 "Oh this cage is so big!"

29th August 2011
Well without a doubt Elizabeth "Faith" is the friendliest of all of our chooks. She shadows me every moment I am in the chook pen or yard. Without flinching she lines up for a cuddle.

I will keep you updated on their fruition into life at Cluckingham!

For those interested I have attached information from homesforhens.net

Approximately 11 million hens are living in battery cages in Australia.

Thank you for your interest in The Battery Hen Adoption Project.

The object of this project is to ensure long term loving homes where rescued hens can live a happy life after being in a battery cage. We are based in Brisbane, Queensland.

We buy the hens from the battery farm a few days before they would have been slaughtered. We only buy as many hens as we have homes for.

All hens have a quick health check before leaving. We only adopt out hens that we feel are healthy. Any unwell or lame hens are seen by a vet and then kept until well enough to be put up for adoption.

In order to adopt you need to be able to provide your hens with a secure coop to sleep in at night, preferably with a concrete or paver floor to keep them safe and stop predators such as dogs and foxes digging in. Even in suburban areas there are foxes.

When collecting your hens they must be put into the cabin of the vehicle. We DO NOT allow hens to leave in the back of a ute, a trailer or boot of the car. The best way to transport your hens is in large cardboard boxes, cat carry cages or dog crates with a solid base.

We ask for a donation which goes towards the cost of purchasing the hens from the farm, transport cost, vet bills, feed and bedding as well as ongoing admin costs such as telephone and printing. To find out the suggested donation price please send us an email.

If you are interested in adopting ex-battery hens please email us athomesforhens@hotmail.com and we will put you on the waiting list then notify you a few weeks before the hens are to be collected.

Caring for your hens

Once out of the cages battery hens adapt very quickly to a normal environment. Within a few hours they will be pecking at things, scratching at the ground, rolling in the dirt for a dust bath, stretching their wings open to the sun and just doing normal chicken activities.

They are often a bit nervous of movement, because they have never been exposed to it before. They can take a few days to get use to things such as tree branches swaying in the breeze or leaves blowing around as well as everyday noises like traffic or dogs barking. 

Before taking your hens home it’s a good idea to set up your coop with a flat surface with straw for them to sit in. A floor made of concrete pavers or a concrete slab is best as it is easy to keep clean and will stop predators such as dogs or foxes digging in. Even in suburban areas there are foxes.

At first the hens will not know how to perch but they will work it out in time. Remember they have lived their whole life on a slanted wire floor. You can start by having something just 10cm up off the ground with some soft straw for them to sleep on. If you purchase nest boxes for your hens it may take a few days for them to get the idea of going into them, but they will soon learn.

When you first let your hens out of the coop give them a small area to walk around in and explore. If you let them free range in a large area they may get disorientated and feel quite frightened. It’s better to start with small steps because EVERYTHING is new to them.

Because they have come from a controlled environment we recommend putting blankets over the coop or bringing them inside at night if it is cool for the first few nights, depending on how bald they are. They have never experienced ANY change in temperature and it may take a few weeks to acclimatise.  It’s better to be safe than sorry and end up with ill hens. If it is hot you need to keep them as cool as possible. You can put wet sheets or towels over the coop wire or move the hens to a cool spot and make sure they have lots of fresh cool water to drink. Please DO NOT spray them with cold water.

Most hens settle in quite quickly but it is best not to handle them or spend too much time “fussing” with them for the first few days, but you do need to keep checking them to make sure they are alright, just a quick look in to the coop to make sure they are all OK. Try to keep other animals away from the coop if possible.

To start with feed your hens commercial chicken food, mash or crumble. Please DO NOT feed them treats. They have never had anything but commercial mash or crumble food so resist the temptation to “spoil them” with treats or you may end up with very sick hens. Introduce new foods slowly and one at a time over a number of weeks.

Make sure each hen knows where the food and water is. They have never had to find food and water before. Jiggling your finger in the water often gives them the idea. It may take them a while to grasp the concept of having to get up and walk to eat and drink. Check to make sure each hen is drinking and eating.

You will need to put their food into a deep dish to begin with. Some of the hens may never be able to eat except from a deep dish, it depends on how mutilated their beak is from the debeaking process. Keep an eye on them and make sure they are able to eat and that their beak is not hitting the bottom of the dish and causing harm to an already damaged beak. DO NOT trim the beak, often the bottom beak is longer than the top due to debeaking, the bottom beak should wear down in time.

Pick up any droppings from the straw every day and always make sure they have a fresh supply of food and water.

 The Starfish Story

(adapted from original version by Loren Eisley)

While walking along a beach, an elderly man saw someone in the distance bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, picking up starfish one by one and tossing each one gently back into the water.

He came closer still and called out, "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

The old man smiled, and said, "I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in they will die."

Upon hearing this, the elderly observer commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it back into the ocean past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that one."

If you can make a difference to the life of one of the approximately 11 million battery hens in Australia by giving her a chance to live a normal life outside the battery cage contact homesforhens@hotmail.com