Urgent 'Cluck and Collect' homes in Milton Keynes needed for thousands of hens rescued from slaughter

The Milton Keynes Fresh Start For Hens group has put out an appeal on its Facebook page for people to register with them and 'cluck and collect' a flock of any size and keep it in their back garden if necessary..

The group is run entirely by volunteers dedicated to rehoming hens from the commercial egg production sector.

Their aim is to ensure as many people as possible are aware of the plight of the commercial hen, and demonstrate that there are alternatives to early slaughter.

And they want to place as many hens as we can into suitable homes thoughout MK, where they can live out the rest of their natural lives.

A spokesman for Fresh Start For Hens said: "Commercially, all laying hens are slaughtered at the age of 72 weeks, when their production drops slightly. Their carcasses are worth very little and are usually sold for dog food, baby food or cheap, processed pies etc.

"We work closely with British farmers and purchase the hens from the caged, barn and free range systems, just before their slaughter date. While these hens are often referred to as ex battery hens, the old style battery cages are no longer in use, with a new style, enriched colony cage being used instead."

"After commercially laying eggs for a year and a half the hens are ready to retire to their forever homes. Fresh Start For Hens refuses to leave a hen behind but the Collection Points can’t hold them forever."

Anyone in a position to take some hens should email the group of [email protected]giving their details, a contact number and the number of hens they can adopt.

The hens will then be handed over to their new owners in a Covid safe way from a Cluck and Collect collection point in MK.

The group spokesman said: "We rehome hens to a diverse range of individuals wanting hens as pets or companion animals. Hens have begun their new lives in town, city and country gardens, allotments, schools and residential care homes.

"You don’t need to have a big garden to keep a few hens. They will be grateful for the additional years of freedom you can offer them and reward you with their entertaining antics and probably an egg or two. To this end, we do not rehome to people wishing sell them on or for further commercial purposes."