My Passion With June Forsyth

As a family we watched their TV programme about battery farming methods and then saw some terrible videos about the conditions in which chickens are kept. My husband was reluctant to keep hens at first but when he saw how they are treated – each hen lives in a space equivalent to a sheet of A4 paper – he changed his mind.

We had the garden space to keep chickens and I have an enthusiastic neighbour who was happy to help. She was on maternity leave and I had been made redundant so with time on our hands we contacted the British Hen Welfare Trust (formerly the Battery Hen Welfare Trust) who rehouse ex battery hens all over the UK. Signing up for the trust is rather like being vetted to rescue a dog or cat – they need to ensure that you have the space and that you are committed and motivated.

The chickens they rescue and re-home are ex layers who are past their sell-by dates and not suitable for the table. We have had 10 hens over the last four years and all have carried on laying for us – we have two to three eggs a day.

When the hens first arrive they look miserable and usually have bald patches from where they have lost feathers through stress or have been pecked by other birds. The battery farms are heated so when the poor chickens arrive with us they are cold. My neighbour and I hatched a novel plan to keep them warm – we make them little gilets out of fleece baby blankets.

All our hens have names given to them by my daughter and my neighbours’ children. One is named Bunty after my mother-in-law – fortunately she has a great sense of humour. We even stitch fabric initials onto their gilets so we can identify them.

They lead quite pampered lives – we save vegetable scraps and peelings to make a sort of potage for them. Even my two cats are protective of the hens and will stand guard over them in the garden, watching out for any potential predators.

Until I had hens I didn’t realise that they can’t see in the dark so they just stay put wherever they are. That’s when they become easy fodder for foxes. Sometimes you find them sitting under the light by the back door because they are disorientated in the dark and we have to give them a lift back to the pen.

Chickens cheer you up and make you smile. Life can never be as bad for you as it has been for a battery hen.

I recently visited the James Herriot Museum in North Yorkshire where they have the most extravagant hen house. I’m now inspired to create a sort of Grand Design hen house in my garden for my next clutch of new rescue chickens.

June Forsyth is leader of The Bayford Foundation in Leeds.