mrsallen08 Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 (edited) Hello all I have just been selected as the pick up for Derbyshire for the rescue on Saturday 6th June! When I say 'selected' I actually mean thrown in at the deep end, as the usual woman, who I collected my own hens from, is in Australia atm!!! I know this week I am going to be very busy getting everything ready. Luckily we built a large walk in run for our rabbits only last week, so I think I will be using that as the collecting pen. I am very excited but very nervous! Hopefully it will all go well! Anyone else rehoming some hens next weekend? Heather Edited June 8, 2009 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJuff Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Blimey that's a lot of hens!!! Are they here yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsallen08 Posted May 30, 2009 Author Share Posted May 30, 2009 They are not all for me! Its next weekend when we will be rescuing them from the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJuff Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Oh I see!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peggotty Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Wow! How brilliantly exciting! Well done you! Wish I had somewhere to take more hens (even temporarily). I would love to be more involved - are you going/have you been to the battery units to collect as well? Hope it all goes well and the hens aren't too flummoxed and your collectors are all lovely! Let us know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathybc Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 best of luck and well done for helping to save all those chooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chick wiggle Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Hi Heather Your not in Selston are you? Although I think thats more nottingham than Derbyshire. I had an e-mail last week to say i am on the list to collect some lovely ex bats from there but havent heard anything back yet. Maybe I'm just a bit impatient...... cant help it Good on you tho, I hope all goes very well for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Crikey! Well done, in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 hi i run chicken sanctuary in cannock staffs for ex batts for rehoming im kooking for more ex batts rehomed 750 last month got 50 left do you know if any still available i have boxes to carry 180 hens rspca /defra reg i have 6 poultry farms i deal with down south looking for some in staffs area i keep my hens for at least week to recouperate before rehoming all go to good homes i like to deal with farms directly so they know me and who dealing with i have good relations with myother farms as they know me and know all hens go to good homes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tara Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Ive seen your posts before steve glad your still doing what you do best.Ive put a poster in my car of one of my ex batt girls showing people the price she pays for them.My father in law is not a nice man to animals ans came out with a nasty comment Why cant the world be full of animal lovers Hope you find loving forever homes for all your girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poachedegg Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Good luck with it - and well done for volunteering! ....... a very large glass of wine will no doubt be required on June 6th evening!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingRamses Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Serious RESPECT to you mrsallen08, well done, wish I had the space to do that!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 100 hens!!! Oh my word! Good luck with the rescue and rehoming. If it goes well, you could make it a regular event! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsallen08 Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 Morning all, Thank you for all your well wishes! Yes I will be driving to the battery farm with my husband and meeting all the coordinators there and then loading and driving back to my home with the hens, then unloading and waiting for their new owners. I think I will be a little emotional when seeing the farm but will be good to see exactly where my hens were from originally. Chicken Steve - You will have to get in touch with hen rehomers directly for that kind of number of birds. I know we are rescuing 2500 on Saturday but I think many will all ready be allocated. http://www.henrehomers.net Sandie foster - Im not sure where you're pick up will be Sandie, if you were emailed last week then you will be contacted shortly. Because the battery farm do not give us much notice it has been a little awkward to arrange the pick up points due to holidays etc. Which is why I was chosen at short notice! If you have not heard anything by Monday evening I would email whoever emailed you last week. I think this week will fly by so I am going to try and tidy the garden up a bit today to get ready! My brother is on leave from the army next weekend too so maybe I will be able to rope him into helping too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 All the very best for next weekend mrsallen I'm sure you'll be exhausted by the end of it (and well-deserving of that glass or two of wine), but just think how proud you'll be of 100 very lucky hens going to live lives of luxury with some very happy humans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daj198 Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Well done you! It's a great thing to do and I'm dure you'll find it very satisfying (not as much as the happy hens though!) I've been wanting to help with rehoming ex-bats for the BHWT but there's no co-ordinator in Reading Although, I have a big garden and would easily have room for 100 hens for just a day... Are you getting a vet in to do checks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsallen08 Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 Hi again! Dug over my girls run this morning so will be a bit fresher for the 'stampede' next weekend! Run is a walk in and 10m x 12m so will be lots of room for the rescued hens. My girls have stuffed themselves with worms all morning and are now sunning themselves! Hard life being an ex-batt! Daj198 - You should help! I don't know how the BHWT operate but with Rehomers you help out with a rescue before you hold your own. We go to the farm in the morning and then transport the hens all over the country to their collection points. So you could be a collection point for Reading etc. The birds are all checked over before they leave the battery farm. I know there is a vet at the farm who checks all the birds first but tbh I don't know what happens if a hen is hurt during the journey??? All it says on my info pack is to ring the main coordinator! hmm... glad you asked that will be going in my notes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daj198 Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Thanks for the encouragement mrsallen08, although I'm not sure I needed it! BHWT have regional co-ordinators who organise the collections, take the hens back home with them and then people collect them in the afternoon. Just the idea of organising something so tricky gets me very excited (I'm a bit of a freak like that) but large numbers of hens coming out of cages... what could be more exciting?! I'll try to help out at a relatively local collection to get a feel for it. Where's buffie when you need her? I'm sure she'll be along soon... Trouble is I won't be 18 until September so it's not really feasible until then. I'll keep thinking about it though You'll just have to hope a hen doesn't get hurt on the journey! I suppose if it's something quite bad then you could always hold her back and get a vet to look at her. Good luck with all the preparations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tara Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Hello all I have just been selected as the pick up for Derbyshire for the rescue on Saturday 6th June! When I say 'selected' I actually mean thrown in at the deep end, as the usual woman, who I collected my own hens from, is in Australia atm!!! I know this week I am going to be very busy getting everything ready. Luckily we built a large walk in run for our rabbits only last week, so I think I will be using that as the collecting pen. I am very excited but very nervous! Hopefully it will all go well! Anyone else rehoming some hens next weekend? Heather Well done you l wish l had the space to do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daj198 Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Just found out I'm within 25mins of 4 battery farms! Prime location Can you post some photos when the 100 arrive??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsallen08 Posted June 1, 2009 Author Share Posted June 1, 2009 Yes of course I will be posting so many photos!!! I didn't realise you were under 18 but there are loads of jobs that Im sure you could do besides actually having them at your home. Even though you may be near to the battery farms, you may need to travel to collect the hens. On Saturday henrehomers will be rescuing 2500 hens from one battery but its in the middle of the country and then everyone meets there and then the hens get loaded and sent off to all over the country! I know there are hens going as far north as york and as far south as devon! Im quite lucky that I am only about an hour and a half drive from the battery. I am going to be telling soooo many people at work today, all my customers and everyone! The neighbours have reacted quite positively though, however they do think Im nuts! I suppose a little eccentricity makes the world go round! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsallen08 Posted June 3, 2009 Author Share Posted June 3, 2009 I have now got my list of hens and rehomers! Total is 108 hens that will be travelling to hopefully sunny Derbyshire and then rehomed. Sandie Foster - I have pm-d you as I may be your collection point as even though I am Derbyshire I have people travelling from Lichfield, Coventry, Notts and everywhere in between! 3 more sleeps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daj198 Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Yes of course I will be posting so many photos!!! I didn't realise you were under 18 but there are loads of jobs that Im sure you could do besides actually having them at your home. Even though you may be near to the battery farms, you may need to travel to collect the hens. On Saturday henrehomers will be rescuing 2500 hens from one battery but its in the middle of the country and then everyone meets there and then the hens get loaded and sent off to all over the country! I know there are hens going as far north as york and as far south as devon! Im quite lucky that I am only about an hour and a half drive from the battery. I am going to be telling soooo many people at work today, all my customers and everyone! The neighbours have reacted quite positively though, however they do think Im nuts! I suppose a little eccentricity makes the world go round! I see. So rehomers take them all from one farm and then send batches to various parts of the country, wow! That must take some organisation and volunteers en mass! I think I'll get in touch with the Guildford BHWT co-ordinator to see if I can volunteer at some rehoming days- especially as my last exam was today! I'm looking forward to the photos... are you transporting them in crates in a trailer or in a van? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 I'd be really interested in volunteering for something like this aswell. I emailed a few weeks ago but haven't heard anything back, I appreciate they're busy though so will try again in the summer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsallen08 Posted June 8, 2009 Author Share Posted June 8, 2009 Hi Everyone! What a weekend! Thought I would give an update of what and how it all happened on Saturday! We had to meet at the battery farm for 7.30am! Yes thats early. I am not allowed to go into details about the farm or where it is but you would never know from the road or nearby village that this was a battery farm. And the most amazing thing when you arrive, you can't hear any chickens. Not one. There were volunteers from all over the country and the 2500 hens we rescued would be rehomed from Durham to Poole, Cardiff to Norfolk and everywhere in the middle! We were all briefed on what jobs we would like to do or not do. I was a runner, which meant when the hens were taken out of the cages I had to take them to the end of the 'aisle' where they were passed to be put in the crates. Sounds simple, but the fastest way to hold these birds is upside down. So the 'farmer' holds them by the feet and usually they just hang but somtimes, the more flighty ones will roll up and peck your hands. Sounds awful but apparently this is common practice in 'farming. Also they were only like this for 30-40 seconds before they were shown to the vet and put in the cages. It is a very fast process and the stronger could hold 4 hens at a time like this. Any poorly hens and a few cockerels we discovered were separated. The sick birds go to a rehomers home and given a lot of TLC and an expert eye before they can be rehomed on. There were 3-4 cockerels that we discovered, and there was all ready some rehomers that had said they would be happy to keep a cockerel! Once they were in the crates they were carried down to where the vans would be loaded later. All hens were packed but left outside so that they would no overheat in the vans. The way the vans are loaded is by who has the furthest to travel from the farm, they go first. etc etc. Hens are loaded in the back and then off to the local coordinator. I was acting as a local coordinator too so when we loaded our van we went to our home where the rehomers were collecting from. We took 104 hens home and I am pleased/relieved that all were collected and rehomed with no problems. We have kept 2 extra hens too to increase our flock! It is not nice visiting the farm but I know we will be back on the next rescue. Despite all the horrible things you see, when you know where the hens will end their day it makes all the difference. www.henrehomers.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
