Hen Rescue Easter weekend

The next hen rescue will be held over easter; Thursday, Good Friday & Saturday.
We will be bringing hens back to Sutton Bridge on Saturday the 11th so if you are not already on the rehoming list please contact Jo through Little Hen rescue
Hopefully you can adopt your hens and they'll lay you some REAL easter eggs on Easter Sunday



HAPPY EGGS FROM HAPPY RoSAH HENS

Next LHR rescue

The weekend before easter will be when you can next get hens from Little Hen Rescue so please get yourself on the rehoming list asap if interested.


HAPPY EGGS FROM HAPPY RoSAH HENS

For anyone collecting hens from Sutton Bridge this weekend

These maps will enable anyone wondering how to find us if they have booked any hens from Little Hen Rescue this weekend. http://tinyurl.com/LHRSB
We will be doing a full days rehoming in Norwich before heading back with the Sutton Bridge hens which will get back to our Sutton Bridge collection point around 7pm. The mobile 'phone we will have with us will be 07500 693 207 and we will call you as we leave Norwich.
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If you haven't yet booked any hens, it may be too late for this rescue although we have more rescues planned later in the month. If you would like to book some for next time, here is the procedure;

Take a look at the website for Little Hen Rescue and read everything there is to know about homing these hens- accommodation, feed, bedding, health etc....

If you are able to provide what these ladies need and are still interested, please fill in one of the contact forms on the LHR website which will go through to Jo who runs and co ordinates each rescue.

Jo will email you back to say you are accepted onto the rehomers list and you will be told approximately when the next rescue is likely to be. Take this time from being told you are on the waiting list to make/buy your hens house, fence off any area you'd like your hens to be in and generally prepare for their arrival.

Please STATE CLEARLY from the outset that you wish to collect hens from Sutton Bridge. You will need to pay Jo in advance for hens collected from Sutton Bridge. Each hen requires a donation of £1.50 per bird but any extra is always gratefully received as the £1.50 is never enough. You can pay by cheque payable to Little Hen rescue or Paypal via the website. If you use paypal, try to include a little extra if you can because Paypal take fees from payments made thru them.

When a rescue approaches, Jo will be in touch and you will be given a date for receiving your hens. Assuming you have stated you wish to collect them from Sutton Bridge and we have your contact details, you should collect your hens promptly that evening as currently we are unable to overnight any hens that cannot be collected on the Sunday evening.
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On the day of the rescue, everyone is VERY busy. Your hens will be collected from the farm and taken back to base for a general health check.

It will usually be evening time when your hens arrive in Sutton Bridge as we have a full days rehoming to do first. We will call you once we know what time we will be there and you can see from the map and tinyurl where the meeting point is.

Once you collect your hens, take them home and put them straight in their hen house and shut them in until next morning. In the morning you can let them out into their pen and ensure they drink and eat. Your hens will have had a very long shocking day. They have never seen the great outdoors or experienced freedom to even flap their wings. They've never been able to look up and see the sky or scratched in the soil.

Hopefully you will grow to love your hens like we love ours and they will reward you with a few eggs which we always think are a gesture of goodwill for saving them from the abbatoir.

If you don't want to collect your hens from Sutton Bridge and can drive to Norwich instead, you are able to pay on collection day for them.

These images can be clicked twice to enlarge them. We hope they help you.



HAPPY EGGS FROM HAPPY RoSAH HENS

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HEN RESCUE CANCELLED AGAIN AAARRRGGGHHH

I've missed a few days online as i've been so drained.
The hen rescue is cancelled again. Not due to Bernard Matthews this time or DEFRA but the farmer wants to hang onto the hens a bit longer for their eggs. Poor ladies, almost free....then this!
There *should* be a different rescue on the 13th/14th March so hopefully everyone will get their ladies from that one.
It's so frustrating though especially with so many new homes lined up.

Past few days I've not done a lot. I borrowed Ruth's incubator and set 9 Pekin Bantam eggs in it. 7 of ours and 2 lavender ones of Ruth's.
I am so hoping we've done it right and they'll hatch into lots of Pekin hens :-) (prob all be cock birds that i'll have to rehome)
We got another Pekin egg yesterday but I let Mini eat it as a treat.


HAPPY EGGS FROM HAPPY RoSAH HENS

LATEST NEWS FROM LHR REGARDING WEEKEND RESCUE

Due to the possible out break of the Avian flu virus at 2 Bernard Matthews Turkey farms in East Anglia, we have to cancel the rescue for this weekend.
I am really sorry to all that were hoping to get hens from us.
The good news is that the hens will not be slaughtered and are being kept until we know the results from DEFRA. If all is clear and there are NO restrictions in place then we can collect the hens next weekend. All your time slots will be moved forward to Sunday 8th March.


HAPPY EGGS FROM HAPPY RoSAH HENS

NEW Sutton Bridge hen collection point

Thankyou to our dear neighbours for such tolerance on Sunday & Monday especially. We thought our dogs would be quieter than they were. This is why we have set up maps pointing to the NEW collection point so we don't bother you on future rescue weekends.


Our neighbours have been very tolerant this weekend as people have come to collect the hens we brought back from Little Hen Rescue and as we may possibly be helping out with Hen Rehomers-UK as well, we don't wish to put any more stress and noise on our neighbours than we already do. Visitors make our dogs go bonkers and they won't shut up until people leave and I hate to feel that I'm rushing people who may want to ask a few questions or have claws or wings clipped.

SO, to save upsetting anyone, any future collections of hens will be from HERE It's just off the A17 main road and very easy to find.
As well as the placemark on the map, there are written instructions too and if you click on the symbol you can put your own postcode in and get directions to there.
I hope this helps anyone collecting hens but you will have to be fairly prompt at your agreed collection time (or call us) as it is just a side road with no facilities. We only chose it as the meeting point as the swing bridge is such a prominent landmark to all from either direction.


Hope to see you soon
(The Mad Chook woman)


HAPPY EGGS FROM HAPPY RoSAH HENS

LITTLE HEN RESCUE YESTERDAY

Wow, what an amazing day!! Crap freezing weather here in Lincolnshire but Norfolk was lovely and sunny.
Jo had helpers at the farm who were loading crates while she drove back with 600 or so hens on the trailer and helpers were at the yard uncrating the hens as the masses flocked in to eagerly rehome some!
It was fantastic, we must've rehomed 1800+ hens during the day and at times we came close-ish to running out of hens.
The little baldies got their jumpers put on and some people thought they were so cute they were taking all baldies which was fab because at the end of the day there were hardly any baldies left to overnight at the yard.
Some hens were unwell and were put in the hospital wing, some (not many) sadly were too far gone and lost their fight for life as it all must've just been too much to cope with.
I wasn't physically able to run around catching hens but I clipped a few claws and gave advice to the new owners should they need doing again although they will probably be fine scratching around the gardens of their new homes.
People had travelled from all over. There had been an article on Radio Suffolk about their plight so we had people from Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and I think even Nottinghamshire.
A cameraman and reporter turned up from Anglia TV and although we couldn't see the news when it was on, we watched it online and they did us proud!!
A huge HGV truck from Leeders was on site selling food/bedding/vitamins/feeders/drinkers and everything you could possibly need for new hens.
Many new helpers joined in which was nice as I met a few new folks.....but it was sometimes difficult to see who was helping and who was collecting hens. (I'm going to take stickers or get some badges next time, lol)
We brought a little hen back with us who we've called Joan. She is off her legs...well she was. Her feet were curled and she really didn't want to stand on the flats of her feet. We've given her gentle physio by uncurling them and lowering her gently to the ground where she has held her weight for brief periods of time before dropping into a squatting position but if she's been like that a long time, this is just day one of recovery. She is certainly VERY perky and bright eyed.










Little unwell hen in the yellow jumper that Jo was taking home and some baldies awaiting jumpers









We had a fantastic time and were buzzing, roll on the next one! Jo was still rescuing today taking the total to around 4000 hens which is the biggest rescue carried out by Little Hen Rescue so far.
The work carried out by Jo and all the helpers is really commendable. Saving these hens from slaughter and hopefully people will be rehoming them and using their eggs and the farmers won't be restocking their sheds as demand for cheap eggs lessens! Lets hope!!!!!!!!!!


Here is Joan, our new addition for nursing as mentioned above


...and this is the most gorgeous cockerel. My alarm clock at 5.15am today. Mini wanted to keep him and was gutted when he went to his lovely new home with 4 ladies for company. He hasn't gone to live far away so I'm sure I will hear how he is getting on.

Rita's poem

There's no hen sweeter,
than our lovely Rita,

Who looked such a wreck,
Missing feathers and wonky neck,
With glucose drinks and treats for a boost,
She soon began to rule our roost.

Rita doesn't care for the other hens,
Instead, she sees us humans as friends,
She grew lovely new feathers and rejoined the flock,
But others pecked her bald of her lovely new locks.

They're growing back now, but Rita's in fear,
So she won't let the other hens near.
If the other hens come into her space,
She puffs up her chest, saying "get out my face"

"Leave me alone for I'm now not just Rita"
"I am now known as Rita the beater"

© Lyn Ray 2009




Snoozing with "Mummy"


Why would she want to be with other hens? spoilt rotten and loved so much.

LITTLE HEN RESCUE'S NEXT RESCUE- END JAN

LHR will be doing their next ex battery farm hen rescue at the end of January (date to be confirmed with farmer)
There will be 2000-3000 hens looking for permanent pet homes.
Anyone interested in having some rescued ex battery hens please contact Jo @ LHR to book them.

If you are in Lincolnshire and can book and pay Jo in advance, we can transport them back to the PE12 area for collection by yourselves if Norwich is too much of a trek for you as we will be helping on rehoming day.

A few pictures....and the egg count

We're now up to 26 eggs since the 1st Jan so not bad going. Rita laid 2 today- sadly the second one broke as she did it out of the box and it hit the pottery water bowl in the dog crate.
It is planned that she is joining the flock in one of the hen houses tomorrow night, now her feathers are growing thru so well. She will be outside, but separated tomorrow daytime to acclimatise to the temperature then put in the hen house after dark which seems to work for us when introducing anyone new.

Olive
the porridge munchers

Inside the playhouse (before a muck-out, oops)
the table "mezzanine", the hens seem to like it.

Mini with Newton
Chloe with Newton
The kids old converted playhouse (Duckingham Palace)
The proper hen house (Cluckingham Palace)

The kennel (Pekin Palace), formerly the ducklings were in here (before they out grew it) but it will be used for the new bantam(s) instead.

10 eggs to start off the New Year with.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL SUPPORTERS of RoSAH RESCUE

Here is just a basic update of the day. It was just the usual happenings at Rosah Rescue today.

Lyn's not feeling too well, that Fibromyalgia is making her life hell so I've volunteered to help with the blog until she's more up to it. Mark's busy enough without sorting the computer too.
From what I can gather the hens laid 10 eggs today including one by Rita who is getting a nice covering of feathers now- the spikes now have tufts.
Mark and Mini emptied the duck "pond" and refilled it once they had thawed the hose pipe out.
They also sorted the guinea pigs and all the other animals out before going off to sort Dolly (the pony) out. She needs mucking out, bringing in from the field and feeding.
Lyn has currently taken Lizzy back into the house as "she didn't look happy" and also Rita is still in until she has a little more feather growth. Lizzy and Rita are the two with crooked necks.

I've been asked to post that we urgently need homes for the young Giant African Land Snails. Please get in touch asap if you'd like some.

We still also need donations of animal food. Veg & fruit for guinea pigs, rabbits and snails, tinned & dried cat food, hen layers meal , pellets and mixed corn for the resident ex battery hens and also tinned sweetcorn etc...Anything you donate helps the rescued animals out and also Lyn & Mark who fund everything themselves.

Monumental moment- Rita laid an egg.....on me!

Bless Rita,
We brought Newton in for company and while he was investigating, Rita
came and snuggled on the sofa with me in my duvet (she much prefers it
to the straw of her box, lol) Anyway, she eventually stood up and Mini
yelled "she's laid an egg"....well I thought it was the rubber egg
that has been doing the rounds teasing everybody in the past few weeks....but it wasn't,
just a lovely fresh brown egg.
Marks gone to fetch some more mealworms so she'll get a treat for it.
She must be feeling a bit better. I'm soooo happy.

Must dash, it's almost hen warm oats time. The ladies were waiting for me earlier when I went to fetch DeeDee and BooBoo in for woofing.

Wishing a merry christmas to all

On behalf of the animals, we'd like to wish a very merry christmas to all of our supporters, especially Erica for continued support.
We've put out a request on our local Freecycle group for any leftover veg/peelings for the guinea pigs and ex battery hens so hopefully people won't throw their left overs away and will pass them to us.
The hens especially love cooked veg, the guinea pigs love raw sprouts, stalks, peelings etc...

Our christmas will be pretty much the same as an ordinary day.....we'll get up extra early with the children to see what Father Christmas has brought them, then let the chooks and ducks out and feed and water everything so we can come back in earlier ourselves to cook and eat dinner.

We've got the dreaded FROZEN veg ourselves as Hubby is cooking and to cut down on time as we have to be at the stables in the afternoon to give Dolly a muck out and her tea.

We'll be having vegetarian.......not sure what yet. (I'm quite happy with veg sausages, meat, tates, veg and gravy.

No one in the family wants dead bird for dinner which is a relief.

We'll be back online after christmas and the bedlam has gone and peace resumes once more.

Have a peaceful christmas....although I'm sure few people actually do have peace at christmas.

Little Hen Rescue 29/30 Nov 08

Click to enlarge pictures

These were all taken on the 30th November at Little Hen rescue which we helped out rehoming the hens to their new families.
Some of the hens on the above pics are barn hens and some are free rangers.
The barn hens look well feathered but had scrapes down their fronts as the nest boxes in the barns were sharp metal at the front.
We weren't at the actual barn rescue on the Saturday but apparently it was disgusting with the smell of ammonia and the catchers had to watch where they put their feet as between the slats of wood was a huge slurry pit containing a year or so's chicken muck.

The Freerangers were in fairly good health and a lighter, almost blonde colour. I pulled one out with a marble sized tumour in her wattle and she went in the "sick bay".
One hen appeared to have black eyes so Sarah and myself caught her only to find she had "eyebrows" as the feathers either side were missing, When rounding a few hens up, we found another with eyebrows and a young couple were thrilled to take both of them and I think theirs were had were their first hens so they were really excited.
We met some lovely people, both helping at Jo's and the people collecting hens and won't hesitate to help again even though I'm seriously paying for it today and well dosed up on tablets.

We bought some new family members back ourselves. Gertrude, Flossie, Newton and Lizzy.
Lizzy is poorly with what appears to be a tumour on her neck. She hadn't eaten for days at Jo's place and needed encouragement and I felt a need to nurse her but don't hold out much hope for her long term. We're spoon feeding her porridge, layers meal and glucose water. Her legs are strong but you can see she's not well. The tumour wasn't obvious at first as I thought she was just puffed out looking generally unwell with a strange stance but upon closer inspection she doesn't stand right and has a solid mass in her neck (above and to the left of where her crop is)
Gertie, Flossie & Newton (the Pekin) were put straight in the hen house when we got back last night and shut in with the existing hens and this morning I suppose they saw each other when daylight appeared but there has been no squabbling at all.
Lizzy is in an open dog crate in the lounge getting some TLC. I really hope she will just get well enough to exhibit "normal" hen behaviour. I now wish I'd also brought back the one with the tumour in it's wattle. She was quite feisty though and the only reason I spotted it was I waded in a stable to intervene in a squabble and she was the instigator and I saw it when I pulled her out.
Hens are just amazing. Can't remember my life without them....well My Grandad kept them all his life and my Grandma on the other side of my family kept Bantams so I suppose it's inevitable I'd get hooked too!

Below are pics of our own newbies- Click to enlarge them





Poorly Lizzy


Newton


Gertrude & Flossie

Jo is appealing for anyone who can knit to start knitting hen jumpers for the hens due to be rescued from a battery farm this month and also in the new year. They are expected to be baldies so if you can knit, please see details here on Little Hen Rescue's website

We're helping on the future rescues so anyone wanting to rehome any ex battery hens, please contact Jo at littlehenrescue@aol.com