Hen hold her tail down

[Suechooks]

Sorry to hear that but obviously a decision you had to make. xx

[petal]

the poor thing, at least she had a few days of fun with you after such an awful life. I wish they would ban battery egg farming full stop, I can't think of anything more cruel. we had some ex battery hens when I was a child, one of them lived for many years, completely freerange and laid one white egg a day. i was heartbroken when the fox finally got her.

[frias]

To everyone who kindly posted helpful advise about my chicken a who was holding her tail down. I took her to the vets today and she was diagnosed with a growth in her intestines, which from the feel of it was causing a major blockage, so I had her put to sleep

It seems to be quite a common problem with ex-batts. I've also had one put to sleep because she had tumours. God knows what these girls have been through in their lives before rescue.

[Hilary B]

the poor thing, at least she had a few days of fun with you after such an awful life. I wish they would ban battery egg farming full stop, I can't think of anything more cruel. we had some ex battery hens when I was a child, one of them lived for many years, completely freerange and laid one white egg a day. i was heartbroken when the fox finally got her.

Deep litter 'barn' egg production is very little better (and in some ways a bit worse). While people want 'cheap' eggs, there will be poultry concentration camps.....

[Eco-Chic]

Deep litter 'barn' egg production is very little better (and in some ways a bit worse). While people want 'cheap' eggs, there will be poultry concentration camps.....

What happens Hilary?

[Hilary B]

They are kept by the thousand, in dim light 24 hours a day, and there are so many in the shed that a dead bird can go unnoticed for days at a time. The beaks are 'trimmed' so they can't peck each other, out of boredom or just plain fighting, and in such a large flock the 'low ranked' birds are REALLY going to suffer, especially since they have nowhere to get out of the way without getting IN the way of another 'higher ranked' bird.

[Eco-Chic]

Sounds just as disgusting as battery cages

[matthew2riches]

Sounds just as disgusting as battery cages

Sad to say it is....

[MaureenHall]

Sounds just as disgusting as battery cages

Unfortunately while there's a demand from the public and food product manufacturers for cheap eggs the system will be with us for ever

[Suechooks]

Even the so-called "enriched" cages will be dreadful fo the lower ranked girls as they will have upwards of 60 others chasing them off the food and pecking them. Difficult to see how this can possibly be classed as an improvement in conditions for these poor birds.

[RichmondHens]

I had a customer who used to rave about my eggs. Then when I put the price up she got huffy and went off to buy barn eggs from another supplier, because they were "much cheaper". Didn't last long though. She came back to me for more eggs saying "oh what's 20p between friends", I suspect because mine tasted a lot better! You get what you pay for!

[RichmondHens]

Meant to say, the terrible conditions these barn and battery hens are kept in really does affect the egg quality, and I'm always amazed that people continue to want to buy them when they taste so *******

[MaureenHall]

Meant to say, the terrible conditions these barn and battery hens are kept in really does affect the egg quality, and I'm always amazed that people continue to want to buy them when they taste so *******

That's because they've never tasted a really FRESH egg from our girls

[matthew2riches]

That's because they've never tasted a really FRESH egg from our girls

Exactly! Once you've had one from a happy hen you'll never want a supermarket one again!!

[Eco-Chic]

Matthew,

Who could resist buying eggsies called Happy Hen Eggs? They sound delicious. If I ever get to flogging my [lovely laydees] eggs that title is so nicked