Fresh Start for Hens holding Brundall rehoming collection

Vicky Sewell, a local volunteer for Fresh Start for Hens, has been rescuing hens for nine years and has gained expertise she can share with folk hoping to offer a new home for hens.  

The 57-year-old said: “Hens make the most marvellous pets; they are so friendly it’s nice to see them thrive and blossom in people’s gardens.  

Chicken malt at around 18 months old - this is when they are sent to slaughter (Image: Vicky Sewell)

“If given the chance they really do have the best personalities.” 

Before heading to Vicky and her team the hens have come from different types of situations but all the hens are egg layers.  

Vicky Sewell thinks that chickens make the most marvellous pets (Image: Vicky Sewell)

Vicky said: “Whether it’s a commercial hen in an enhanced cage, barn or free range they all become less commercially viable when they are 18 months old.  

“By this point they will be sent to slaughter and usually enter the food chain, but because they are reared to lay eggs, they have very little meat on them so many of them will become pet food.”  

Though the hens can be bare when they first go into their homes, this is normal as hens do malt at around 18 months, and during this time they stop laying, which is why they are no longer financially viable.  

The rehoming will be taking place in Brundall on March 11.  

Folk who register will be able to pick up their new hens from Brundall on March 11 (Image: Vicky Sewell)

Vicky said: “In order to come to Brundall and rehome some hens people just need to first register on freshstartforhens.co.uk.  

“Once registered we will then ask for photographs of both the coop and set up – if it’s all okay then people can come and pick up their new loving pets on the 11th.” 

People rehoming will be asked to donate £2.75 per hen. 

Hens are flocking animals so prefer to be in groups of three or more (Image: Vicky Sewell)

How to make an ex-commercial chicken happy

To make new hens happy, Vicky said: “They need fresh vegetables and some fruit though 90pc of their food should be layers' food.  

“They are busy animals and far more intelligent than people think so they need things to do.  

“For my personal hens I have a ladder, an old chair and I hang up cabbage and sweetcorn for them to peck at – if you give them enrichment, they are less likely to peck at each other.” 

Folk are asked to make a donation of £2.75 per hen (Image: Vicky Sewell)

When they first arrive in their new home, they will need time to settle in, and other than being helped into bed the first night they should be left for a few days to make it as stress-free as possible.  

To get started though, they need a coop and a run.  

For more information, Vicky can be contacted via Facebook on Watton Norfolk Fresh Start For Hens.