"The Batgirls" of Cluck Apartments, Butts Green Pottery - Beaky at the back, Henrietta in the middle and Scruffy at the front - December 2010 - 3 months on from their initial arrival in September 2009.

In recent months we have added to our flock of ballerina bantam hens by rescuing some ex battery hens courtesy of the Battery Hen Welfare Trust. We have taken to referring to our bantams as the "the ballerina bantams" as they have ballerina tutu style feathers around the rump. Somehow when I see them coming out of the hen houses in the morning I expect to hear the music from the sugar plum fairy ballet accompanying their exit!! The rescue hens aptly named "the batgirls" due to their passed history of being battery hens seemed somehow both huge in size and rather ungainly initially. We were both shocked and sickened that hens could be kept in such a situation that it leads to a huge loss of feathers particularly around their neck and wings: Due to enforced periods of light in closed hen houses in order to keep them laying.  Poor bat girls they did look like extras from a horror movie when we collect them.

I was initially confused to see the head gear on all three was white and drooping over when I had been used to seeing chickens with bright red head gear. I later realised that this was a result of the enforced laying conditions that kept them laying when they should have been roosting amongst other reasons. I know many celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver have (thankfully) highlighted the plight of poor living and production conditions for chickens. It does not prepare you though for actually seeing it in real life. This begs the question that so many will have asked before me and will continue to until such practices change for the better - why do we need such intensive egg farming?? If it is consumer driven then we the consumers need to change our consumerism!

However on a more positive note I'm very happy to report that the "batgirls" have settled in well and now have a full complement of feathers and have turned into beauties, as you can see in the above photo. Their characters have emerged over time and they now have individual names - Henrietta, Beaky and Scruffy. Beaky's name was derived at due to only having half a top section of beak. Henrietta so called because she is rather regale and was the first to regain all her feathers. In addition she also seemed to gain her confidence from an earlier stage than Beaky and Scruffy.   

All three have become extraordinarily tame and rush to greet me if I wonder up to the pen to deliver an extra morsel of food.  Whilst this sounds completely stupid and unscientific they all somehow seem to be enjoying their new life and have a bounce in their step and enthusiasm for everything and everyone unlike when they first arrived. We will add to the "batgirl" trio who have now taken over the "cluck apartments" hen house, so watch this space for news. In the mean time I am enjoying my daily 5 minutes of time wasting just watching them mooch around and listening to their chatter. For the price of a bit of feed and a weekly clean out of the "Cluck Apartments" they are worth the little bit of effort it takes to look after them, as they provide great hen watching TV for me with the added bonus of lovely egg treasure as shown in the picture above. The large egg weighed 98gs and was laid by one of the "Batgirls". The smaller egg was laid by one of the "Ballerina Bantams".

Being forever an academic below is a link to the Battery Hen Welfare Trust and a couple of references to chicken related reads - go on give an ex battery hen a home!!

Battery Hen Welfare Trust
http://www.bhwt.org.uk
The "gallery of spoilt hens" on the menu of the BHWT web site is well worth a visit - surprising where some hens find themselves!!

Chris Graham (2007)
Choosing and Keeping Chickens.
Published by Bounty Books, London.
A useful guide to all things related to chicken husbandry.

Francine Raymond (2007)
The Big Book of Garden Hens.
Published by Kitchen Garden Books, Suffolk.
A lovely book that is wonderfully put together whist at the same time is very practical. Even has recipes!!