Goodbye Clover - little red hen

Birker2020

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Yesterday we lost the second of our four ex battery hens which we rescued in July from the Battery Hen Welfare Trust - www.bhwt.org.uk
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Clover along with her friends came to us after spending their life in a small wire cage, having never breathed fresh air or seen sky or felt grass under their feet, forced to live under artificial daylight for 18 hours a day. The day we collected her the rescue association rehomed 550 birds, all of which would have been sent for slaughter had they not been saved by members of the public, like ourselves, that wanted to let these poor creatures live out the rest of their lives in happiness and peace. When we got them home and we set them free in their run the look on their faces when the saw the sky for the first time was unbelievable. They took greedy gulps of fresh water and within a couple of hours were scratting around in the grass searching for insects, all of which they had been denied for their sad little lives. Six months on our little flock of three were busy all day scratting around for worms, searching for new adventures and chasing us down the garden on the 'hunt' for worms. Clover died yesterday after an unknown illness. She went downhill very quickly and died peacefully. Just because she was a hen doesn't mean her life was any less valuable, and we loved her as much as she loved life. Goodbye Clover, we are glad we managed to give you some happy last months. Now you are free to scratch around for ever.
 
Ahh that's so sad but at least she had her last few months of normal life with you. I'm sure she's happily pecking away in hen heaven! RIP Clover x
 
Naww, bless her
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It is nice that she did have the chance to feel the grass under her feet.

I don't have room for chikens here but would love to have some when/if we move, I shall save that link for future reference.
 
awww thats so sad....hate them being all couped up.

such a lovelt htought though that she had the chance to experience freedom and all the nice things in life before she went on her way to hen heaven...

RIP Clover
 
Sorry to hear about Clover. We rescued 6 in July (I wonder if they were from the same place - ours were from the Bristol area) and are lucky that we still have them all. They have given us so much pleasure. You must get some more.
 
We have battery rescue hens, & every now & then one will go a bit quiet for a few days & then just slips quietly away. We just try & make sure they're warm & comfortable & have food & water within reach as they don't move around for the last day or so.
I love my hens & take great pleasure in letting them live out their days as naturally as possible. It's just a shame they have to spend their early lives the way they do.
 
I agree with you in that we should not think any less of chickens just because of what they are. Animals should be thought of in relation to us in how they make us feel or brighten our lives and not because of their species!
Well done you for rescuing these birds and giving them some tlc in the last years of their lives.
I would love to have my own hens but I don't live anywhere appropriate to have any at the moment, but one day I will.
I used to help my step dad with his when I was a teenager so I know about looking after them, it's just I don't have the right environment at the moment.
A country gal at heart living in the country but next door to townies and the likes that moan when farmers spread muck in nearby fields etc. I have one thing to say to people like that. If you don't like the country and its smells etc don't fecking live there, feck off back to the townies!
Sorry digressing there but people get my back up!
Anyways I hope the rest of your feathered bunch stay healthy this year, take care x
 
We 'rescued' a dozen ex battery hens last July and still have 11 of them. They have been fantastic, laying an average of 10 eggs per day between them (still getting half a dozen a day now). They adapted very quickly to being free range, to the extent that my husband was horrified to find two sitting in his brand new Volvo apparently waiting to go for a ride! When they first arrived they had lots of bald patches and their combs were a fleshy pink. Now they are feathered up, albeit a bit muddy, and the combs are red. They are happy hens and we are happy to have them.
 
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