Hundreds of rescue hens looking for homes in Warwickshire

The British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT) will be saving 300 laying hens from slaughter and hoping to send them on their way to a 'long and happy free-range retirement' in Warwickshire.

The charity, which operates across the country, will be hosting its first official hen rehoming session in the county on Saturday (March 14), in Kineton.

The hens will be collected from their cages ready to make their way to their new family homes, and the BHWT is offering Warwickshire residents the chance to adopt their own hens.

BHWT rehomes laying hens once they reach 18 months old and are no longer deemed 'commercially viable'.

Hens kept in good conditions and protected from predators can live to seven-years-old and older. The charity collects the hens from farms and works with volunteers to find suitable retirement homes for more than 65,000 hens each year who would otherwise be destined for slaughter.

The caged hens may have bald patches because they have not been kept in natural conditions. However with a more natural lifestyle these return, their combs regain a healthy red colour and they quickly revert to their natural instincts of perching and scratching for insects and seeds.

The chickens go on to become much-loved family pets and even continue to provide their new owners with eggs in return.

Jane Howorth MBE, founder of the BHWT, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be holding our first hen re-homing in Warwickshire. We have a great new team of volunteers all ready to send hundreds of hens flying off to a free-range retirement, we just need the people of Kineton and surrounding areas to help us find them all suitable homes.

"All you need is a cosy coop, enough space for the hens to scratch for bugs and slugs and some room in your heart for these lovely girls, who really don’t take long to become part of the family.

“We’ve found homes for more than 750,000 chickens across the country now and there’s a reason they are becoming so popular to keep as pets.

"They’re intelligent, friendly and thoroughly entertaining to watch and we believe they are good for people’s well-being too. We’ll be taking these hens from their cages for the first time this weekend so please help us put a smile on their faces and send them off to experience life in the outside world."

The BHWT was founded in 2005 by Jane, who has been the driving force behind the charity that now operates from more than 40 locations, supported by almost 1,000 volunteers.

To book your hens simply register your details at www.bhwt.org.uk/register/ and then call Hen Central on 01884 860084.

Other rehomings are also taking place this weekend in Worcestershire, Devon, Cheshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Monmouth, Northumberland and Milton Keynes. For more information go to: https://www.bhwt.org.uk/hen-rehomings/