When I found about the life of a battery hens, I decided to rescue some of them. I wanted to give them a second chance to live like a normal hens in my backyard. If they lay eggs, that’s great, but it’s not my primary purpose. I’m ready to keep them as pets even if they don’t lay any eggs.
Some people don’t recommend buying ’spent old battery hens’ because they are often cripples that need to be taught the ways of the wild, such as how to perch. Buying those hens could also means that you are taking pity on them and supporting caged hen farmers by helping disposing of ‘waste products’.
That’s got a point, I admit. But I feel still responsible for what I had been doing before I knew about the battery hens. I was helping the industry by buying caged eggs from shops. What can I do about that now?
I’ll never buy caged eggs again, that means I’m not giving money to the industry through eggs any more. I will never recommend anyone to buy caged eggs, instead, I will give away any excess eggs of my hens to family, friends, neighbors to encourage the use of real fresh eggs. That’s something to make a small difference in terms of consumer’s attitude.
When I think about the farmer’s side, I understand that the industry cannot change dramatically overnight, I assume some factory people are there just because they have no other choice. We cannot take their jobs straight away. They have to make a living too. This kind of change takes time. I prefer to allow it a gradual change, giving the farms the chance to do things right eventually.
Keeping battery hens will remind me how horrible the industry currently is so my decision is still the same, I’m rescuing battery hens. But I added some alternations.
If rescuing battery hens could mean helping the farming industry, I want to do something that restricts the industry a bit to make the change happen. So I decided to buy ‘point of lay’ hens too. Point of lay hens are not spent hens. They are young and about to start laying eggs if they haven’t already. I’m assuming that’s what egg farmers buy too.
By rising those young hens as well as ex-battery hens, the power of restricting the industry is more than helping the industry (under my roof anyway). The power will influence people around me when I have extra eggs to give away. Hopefully, it will cause more people to avoid buying caged eggs.
So, here is my stance on backyard hens.
My stance: Every ex-battery hen I rescue, I buy a laying pullet. Also, I make donations to those organization who’s trying to set things right when I can.
– Four weeks later –
I now have two ex-battery hens and two young hens. They are doing so well and I’m so glad about my decision.
When I went to collect two ex-battery hens, I was worried to be honest. I was scared if they were like ‘really spent’ and my intention wouldn’t work…
I didn’t need to worry.
The farm where those hens are coming from does the removal every two months. By ‘removal’ I mean, ‘killing’. In order to reduce the number of slaughtering the adoption program has been run by a local lady. Local people who can provide those poor hens new home can rescue with her help. When I picked up my hens, the lady had about 50 hens waiting for collection. I thought it’s a lot to take but the real situation is different. According to her, the farm has around 2,500 hens to remove at a time, so 50 is not significant for the farmer to really care. She showed me a sad face and said ‘I wish I could rescue all of them…’
All 50 hens looked healthier than I thought. They had more feathers than I expected (they can peck feathers from stress), walking normally, eating well. It was their first day out of the cage so understandably, they were a little confused about the new situation, but they looked very hopeful to become ordinary hens.
A info pack was given with the hens to understand and be aware of the battery hens’ situation. I was warned that there were cruel pictures and stories in the info pack. I briefly looked at it then stopped because they were (not surprisingly) so upsetting. I already knew how cruel animals are treated for commercial human consumption. I didn’t need more dose of that.
I’m not saying I’m totally against killing animals for food. At the time of writing this post, I’m not a vegetarian yet. I don’t know if I can become totally vegetarian. While I’m working on this issue, I’d like to choose a way to eat ethically and sensibly as much as possible, also appreciate the lives sacrificed for me to give me my life. My step is small and slow, but I think there is something very important that we should be aware every time we eat.
Back home, ex-battery hens were released in the coop, separated from the young hens for a while.
The young hens and ex-battery hens looked similar but it’s hard to tell if they are the same breed at this stage. Ex-battery hens have lighter feather color, eyes are a little more red, their smell is slightly different. That could be just because of the stressful environment they were in, missing feathers and tired eyes.
When it was time to join them together in the same coop, they worked out on their pecking order. It was my first time to see how they do it. Watching it was painful and stressful. The ex-battery hens were placed at the bottom two in the hierarchy. The lowest looked miserable. I was so frustrated that I couldn’t do anything about it. That’s how they work things out. The nature is often very cruel.
The miserable one still laid an egg on that day. It’s a sad fact that they don’t have to be happy to lay eggs. It’s just a biological function. Many egg farmers are taking advantage of this fact and treating hens like rubbish!! My rage reappeared in my head.
Pecking order was decided without major trouble. Ex-battery hens look so much happier and they are getting back to themselves. Three days later, I now have constant supply of one egg per hen almost everyday. I enjoy looking after them and never get tired of watching them. They give me something warm in my heart. I’m really glad that I got them.
... I appreciate your support.
