When we started , it was called the Battery Hen Welfare Trust. Egg production drops off as hens get older. In a commercial chicken battery farm, as soon as production starts to fall off , the setup becomes uneconomic - the hens are cleared out , going to pies, dog and cat food and the like, and another lot are brought in .
The BHWT rehomes hens when the battery is finished with them . Some don't survive coming out of the battery.
We've had them for a few days , locking them in a henhouse with food and water so they get used to the new 'home' . And even in this setup they have more space than in a battery.
And today we let them out , so they have their first experience of soil, scratching for food, wind and rain .
Weve got an additional 10 hens. And some are out exploring
Missing feathers is very common - crowded together in a cage , they still have a 'pecking order' ( where do you think the term came from ? ) . The industry solution to this is to trim the beaks of the hens .
And in a battery , the eggs are laid and then roll down an incline. So the idea nest and stuff like that hasn't developed . So you find eggs laid all over the place
And to compare , here's one of this lot of Ex-batts and one we got last year
All to save a few pence on the cost of an egg .
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