California Girls…

Saturday evening saw the grand launch of Uncooped, an online exhibition curated by the National Museum of Animals in Society in Los Angeles.

As well as celebrating the beautiful creatures that are chickens, the exhibition highlights the plight of the millions of commercial hens across the world and features pictures and stories of people’s pet hens – showing just what wonderful characters chickens are!

We found out about it when my very talented artist friend, Lesley Ann Cooper, was approached by the museum’s curator for paintings and stories. She sent them some of her beautiful ex-batt portraits and then very kindly put them in touch with me for some stories.

Naturally one of two of my girls were very keen to ‘crack the American market’, most notably a certain Miss Effie Chicken. Graciously she let Miss Basket appear in her photograph and story and the two girls now think of themselves as international celebrities. No doubt we will soon have demands for a red carpet, champagne breakfasts and mealworm fountains…

California Dreamin’…

All joking aside I am enormously proud of my girls for being chosen to appear in the exhibition and I am also enormously proud of the lovely Lesley, whose wonderful artwork makes quite a few appearances.

And poignantly a certain Miss Bunty Goodchicken also features in the exhibition. Her story was written as she was slowly losing her fight against the scars her caged life had left on her body. As we still mourn the loss of this most precious of hens, it is reassuring to know that her story is being told in another country; so that more people will read of her brave battle to enjoy a free range life and be inspired by the little hen who blessed our lives for two years.

Miss Bunty Goodchicken, BHAW

Uncooped

To see Effie, Miss Basket and Bunty Goodchicken go to Get To Know, then Portrait Gallery. Bunty is on line 2 and California Girls Effie and Miss Basket are on line 13.

To see Lesley Anne’s artwork click on Advocacy , then Chicken Advocates and scroll down to Battery Hen Rehoming Organisations.

Caring For Ex-Batts; A Dream Come True

My chickens have changed my life in so many wonderful ways! They have made me laugh, they have filled my life with joy, they have saved me from the brink of despair and highlighting their plight has given my life a real meaning. At last I can make a difference, albeit a tiny one, in the lives of some of the beautiful creatures we share this planet with.

Another, and completely unexpected, way was to let me finally realise my dream of becoming a writer. Writing to me is the best, and sometimes only, way I can express myself. As a lifelong stutterer I have never been able to say the things I wanted to. Anyone who stutters knows you become a self-editing machine and sometimes it is easier just to say nothing at all.

But by writing I finally have a loud, clear, eloquent voice that people listen to. Ever since I was a little girl I have wanted to write a book; I used to write long, rambly (rather rubbish I am afraid) stories, and send them to publishers. Unsurprisingly I never got a reply! As an adult I continued to try and write novels but eventually realised that I had the imagination of a peanut.

‘Write about what you know,’ they say, but until my girls came along I didn’t really ‘know’ that much about anything! I had, however, been lucky enough to spend some time writing for and editing a newsletter for my friend Brigit’s wonderful charity, The Big Green Idea, which gave me that first little confidence boost. The thrill of having someone read and comment on what you have written is indescribable! I was ‘speaking’ and someone was actually listening!

Then my first three A girls arrived and suddenly everything just slotted into place! My girls became my life; changing their lives became my mission. Audrey, Agatha and Aurora taught me so much about hen keeping and I was a willing (although possibly not too competent) pupil. Working in a library I had access to numerous wonderful books on hen keeping and I soaked up all that information. Suddenly, writing about them was as easy as loving and caring for them; it combined my two great passions and it felt completely natural, almost as if it was meant to be.

I was lucky enough to start writing for poultrykeeper.com and then branched out into magazines. Miss Bunty Goodchicken being a Smallholder covergirl is one of the proudest moments of my life. She looked magnificent!

As I learnt more and more about ex-batts, people started to contact me for advice and help with their hens. It struck me that, with all the plethora of hen keeping books available, there was not one on ex-batts. And they are special girls who deserve their own special book. Whilst their needs are similar to ‘normal’ chickens, they can sometimes require a little extra care and attention.

The book cover featuring Miss Audrey Chicken!

Publishers, however, were not interested in the book so, bravely or foolishly, I went ahead and published it myself. It seemed more important to get the book ‘out there’ to help new ex-batt owners than it did to continue to plead with publishers.

The book covers all the basics of ex-batt keeping and I have woven tales and pictures of my girls throughout the book. I hope my love for them comes across in these stories, and prospective or new ex-batt owners understand what precious girls they have in their care. A picture of every girl I have cared for appears in the book, it seemed very important that they all had their stories told; they are all individual and special girls after all.

Back cover featuring Miss Bunty Goodchicken!

My hope is that, firstly, the book encourages more people to rehome some ex-batts and save a few more girls from slaughter and, secondly, that it helps new ex-batt keepers have the confidence to give their girls the best care possible and experience the joy that is ex-batt keeping! Each copy sold will raise money for the smaller hen rehoming charities and even if just one more little ex-batt is rehomed or helped then it has done its job.

Jo xxx

PS Effie says she is happy to sign any copies – with her special muddy footprint!

Introducing Miss Hettie Chicken!

Friday evening saw the arrival of a beautiful blonde lady to our little Rosewarne flock!

Miss Hettie Hen, a glamorous mix of Light Sussex and Cornish Game, had been badly picked on by the hens in her flock. Her lovely owner, who had raised her from a chick, was distraught at having to part with her but needed a loving home for her where she would be safe from bullying hens. And spoilt rotten! So, naturally, she came to us!!

She is currently in her own coop and run until she settles in but apart from a little shouting by Grace Kelly, and Eliza giving her the evil eye from a distance, all has been calm. I have high hopes Miss Hettie Hen will soon be in with the big girls!

She is a sweet, gentle, beautiful girl; I have so missed having a white hen in the garden since my darling Clara passed away, Hettie has arrived at the perfect time!

Welcome to our home sweetheart xx

Miss Hettie Chicken

The Goodchicken Sisterhood

With the sad loss of Miss Bunty Goodchicken in March, our flock is without a Goodchicken. My dear friend Fi, is keeping the Goodchicken name alive with her two new girls, Miss Isobel Goodchicken and Miss Valerie Goodchicken so Bunty’s spirit lives on but I felt the need to pass her Goodchicken mantel on to one of the girls in my sadly depleted flock.

Gary and I discussed it at length and two names were clear contenders. Greta and Miss Basket.

Miss Basket has befriended little friendless Effie and has nursed her into the happy, confident free range girl she is now. Unable to mix with other hens, Effie has to be kept separate and Miss Basket has forgone her chance of being in the big flock to stay with Effie. Often playing Melanie to Effie’s Scarlet, Miss Basket needs her own moment in the spotlight. But Miss Basket Goodchicken sounds wrong!

Greta Garbo is the sweetest girl. Sporting a big, bare, beautiful bottom due to a mass of scar tissue built up over her time at the farm, Greta is the kindest, gentlest girl. Never throwing a peck in anger and bottom of the flock she makes it her mission to clean everybody’s beaks, all the time! So happy in her new life, Greta’s joy is contagious.

So who to choose? Drum roll…

After more discussion we have decided that both girls deserve the title. Greta will now become Miss Greta Goodchicken and Miss Basket (who was originally called Eleanor) will be like the royals and have two titles: Miss Basket, also known as Miss Eleanor Goodchicken.

Miss Eleanor Goodchicken (Miss Basket)

Miss Greta Goodchicken

After this momentous decision I came up with the equally wonderful idea of expanding the Goodchicken Sisterhood to include other special hens all over the world.

If you have a hen that is worthy of the Goodchicken name, who is sweet and kind, who never throws a peck in anger and whose gentle spirit and soul are a shining example to her sisters, please send me her name and photo and I will add her to the Goodchicken Sisterhood

Miss Clara Chicken – rescued 29th June 2011, went to sleep 22nd March 2013

When Miss Clara Chicken arrived to live with us, she was unable to walk. Along with her Amberlink sisters, Constance and CocoChanel, Clara had spent over two years in a cage and her legs were so weak, she couldn’t even stand up. Of the three girls, Clara’s case was the worst and even when Constance and Coco were managing to hop about, poor Clara could only sit and watch.

Every morning and evening we lifted her in and out of the coop and bathed her legs daily and rubbed them with arnica gel. Named after Clara, the little crippled girl in Heidi, our Clara’s legs finally became strong enough so that she could walk. She never lost her limp completely though but when she ran she looked as though she was skipping.

First steps…

Clara and her sisters

She did however still enjoy being picked up out of the coop in the mornings and sat there with her wings outstretched almost as if to say ‘Pick me up Mum.’ And so she became my Cuddling Girl. A big, blonde, downy-feathered cuddling girl, Miss Clara loved to be sung to as well. We had a song, Clara and I, adapted slightly from My Favourite Things:

Raindrops on roses and feathers on chickens
Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with string, Clara is one of my favourite things.
Chickens in white feathers with blue satin sashes
Doorbells and sleighbells and Clara with eyelashes
Clara that flies with the moon on her wings, Clara is one of my favourite things.

We used to walk around the garden, Clara nestling in my arms, the two of us singing and bwarking away respectively. She always recognised Her Song, even if I was singing it to myself, and she would come up and join in with her beautiful bwarks.

Beautiful feathers

Uncle Jason was quite enchanted with her on her only ever visit to the vets. She was chirpy and cuddly and chatted away to him as he checked her over. It was all going so well until he looked in her mouth and she burped in his face. Such a lady!!

She was a very happy chicken, was Miss Clara. So she was the perfect candidate to come with top girl Bella Chicken and I to a display at Pets at Home advertising our Fresh Start for Hens rehoming. She loved the attention!! She was happily picked up and went around the store in my arms bwarking contentedly at shoppers. She was stroked by so many people, all of whom were delighted with her and many of whom had never touched a chicken before. She was the perfect advert for how wonderful hens are and because of her hard work, many more little hens were saved from slaughter and given loving new homes.

Mud bath girl!

However, her moult in January totally transformed her relaxed happy character. Her re-emerging feathers caused her such pain she screamed if anyone came near her, she couldn’t even preen herself and she would not be picked up. No amount of Raindrop on Roses would calm her and she took to her bed for a fortnight and had her meals in the coop. Two weeks later as she came back out of the coop, she looked resplendent in her new white feathers, and sported a Light Sussex-esque collar of darker feathers. She was still not herself though, skittish and seemingly off-kilter. Something was most definitely wrong. We discovered that she was blind in one eye and had great trouble judging distances and locating small objects. Whether this was a slow degeneration or something triggered by the moult we had no idea.

Clara – One Year Henniversary Party Girl!

We managed to adapt things to make her life easier: she had breakfast in bed (a throwback from her moult days) of egg and mash and was then lifted out of the coop and into the greenhouse where the food bowls were always in the same place. When she was in our arms we sang Her Song to comfort her and reassure her all was well – it must be frightening to be lifted up and not know where you are. The ramp and any edges/steps she had to negotiate were painted white so she could see them and she was fed out of our hands four times a day. She managed to get around the garden very well and we were hopeful we could manage her problem. We were very aware that we had come full circle with her care – again putting her in and out of the coop; our girl needed us once more.

Magnificent girl (slightly blurry sorry)

At the same time Miss Bunty Goodchicken was ailing and Bunty and Clara, close friends for many months, stayed side-by-side providing support and company for each other.

However one night, without warning and after twenty-one months of freedom, darling Clara went to sleep with her sisters and never woke up. I do not know if I had missed something but I had found nothing wrong with her beautiful body except her blindness. She had come through the moult although it may have taken too much out of her. Or maybe it was the sad passing of her soulmate Bunty Goodchicken three days before. Maybe her life without Bunty was just going to be too hard. Our only comfort is that she went quickly in her sleep, without suffering and was cuddled up with her sisters.

It doesn’t make it any easier though. And I have tried to sing Raindrops on Roses to cheer myself up but it is not the same. I miss her bwarks, I miss her cuddles but most of all I miss my Clara. The garden is a much darker place without her beautiful blonde feathers brightening it up.

RIP darling Clara Chicken, find your beloved Bunty and fly high together my special girls.

Miss Bunty Goodchicken – rescued 1st February 2011, went to sleep 19th March 2013.

Miss Bunty Goodchicken, arrived in our lives one frosty February, just as the sun was starting to return to our corner of Cornwall. Very apt for a little hen who has brought light into our lives every day since.

One of our four B-girls, Bunty was a special girl from the moment she was rescued from her cage. Instant best friends with the feisty and soon-to-be-top-chicken Bella, Bunty’s gentle spirit and kind nature meant that very quickly she became Bunty Goodchicken. The Goodchicken name is the much-coveted title bestowed on only the most special of hens; whose loving soul is a shining example to her sisters. Never throwing a peck in anger, Bunty Goodchicken was indeed a Good Chicken.

Bunty’s first day of freedom, February 1st 2011

Her first year of free ranging saw her grow all her feathers back and settle into the sort of life every hen should enjoy; sunbathing, worm hunting, foraging, scratching, dustbathing and tucking up snugly with her sisters at night.

A particularly pretty hen, Bunty was also very photogenic. So much so that one of her best photos graced the cover of Smallholder magazine promoting an article on why we should all rehome ex-battery hens. Overnight, Bunty became an ambassador for exbatts and many of her caged sisters owe their new lives to Miss Goodchicken.

The original of that covergirl shot

Our Beautiful Covergirl

However, at the start of her second year as a free range girl, Bunty Goodchicken became ill. She had a prolapse and no amount of home remedies would help. So off to Uncle Jason the vet she went; the first of many visits and the start of her biggest battle.

Bunty had an operation putting in a purse-string suture to keep her prolapse in. She also had a suprelorin implant to stop her laying and thus stop the prolapse re-emerging. After three days of internal check-ups and monitoring, the suture was removed and after a further few days of anxious Prolapse Watch, she was deemed fit enough to return to the loving wings of her sisters.

During this time Bunty remained stoic and uncomplaining – a brave chicken as well as a good one. The vets therefore awarded her a Braveheart Award and the medal and certificate are now both very proudly displayed in the human’s coop.

Bunty’s Braveheart Award Certificate and Medal

However, the battle was not won. Bunty Goodchicken subsequently developed egg peritonitis – she was laying internally and the egg fluid building up – and was given medication to relieve this fluid build-up. At first she happily took her pills, ground up on a delicious treat, but she soon got wise so it had to be syringed in along with a painkiller.

For over a year, this precious girl was kept alive by her various pills and a couple of sessions draining the fluid from her abdomen. She remained her normal happy, chirpy self and enjoyed her free range life to the full. After the sad passing of two of her B-sisters (Bertha and Brigit), Bunty Goodchicken and Bella became firm friends with Clara and the three were inseparable.

During this time, Bunty Goodchicken became a household name. Not content with being just a covergirl, she also appeared in a chapter of Tales From the Coop, a book by the lovely Sophie Mccoy to raise money for exbatt hens, and most recently she has cracked the American market by having her story, photo and portrait appear in an exhibition in the National Museum of Animals and Society in Los Angeles.

Miss Bunty Goodchicken at her 2 year Henniversary party

However, slowly Bunty started to worsen and in an attempt to keep her precious life going a little longer, she trialled a pill to help relieve the pressure on her heart. Uncle Jason, amazed at how Bunty Goodchicken had fought to stay alive against all the odds, is currently writing a paper on her treatments. Due to his work with Bunty, he has subsequently been able to successfully treat many more hens. So she is also a medical pioneer.

However, she was not getting any better and we went to see Uncle Jason with that dreadful dilemma. Was she suffering? Were we prolonging her life just for ourselves? Could she live a little longer? It was a decision I wasn’t brave enough to make, so my darling Bunty, a Goodchicken to the end, made it for me. Whilst we were at the vets she started to fit and within seconds her heart had given up and she died in my arms. Her big, brave, beautiful heart, full of love and goodness to the very end, had finally decided it was time for Bunty to rest.

And it is now our hearts that are breaking.

But as we said goodbye to our girl, her spirit soaring to the heavens, we took a little solace in all the hens our darling Bunty Goodchicken had helped to save.

Miss Bunty Goodchicken: Covergirl, Exbatt Ambassador, Braveheart Award Winner, Medical Pioneer and (very) Good Chicken.

A big legacy for a little chicken.

Happy One Year Henniversary Miss Flavia Chicken!!

A year ago today, we had a phone call from the vets. They had had a chicken abandoned at the surgery who had been attacked by a dog. They had patched her up and she was fine but none of them could take her home. Would we have her?

It took me all of two seconds to say yes and within the hour the little hen had arrived at her new home.

A bit of research showed her to be a Black Rock, our first non-exbatt hen but a rescue girl none the less. Her name had to begin with F but my initial thoughts of Freda or Florence did not suit her. She was an exotic beauty and needed a suitably exotic name. As fans of Strictly, only one name would do; so Flavia she became!

Exotic Beauty Miss Flavia Chicken

As there was no room at the Inn, she spent her first few nights in the cat carrier in the greenhouse and her days in the human’s garden, eyeing her new sisters through the fence. Within the week though she decided she wanted to be with the other hens and just walked through the gate that had been left open and that was that. No fuss, no fisticuffs, no handbags at dawn. We were used to the traumas of integrating feisty ex-batts, so it was a dream merge!!

Little Flavia, lays an egg every day, without fail, and is a sweet and gentle girl. A flighty hen, she loves human company but hates being picked up!! As bottom hen of the flock she stayed out of everybody’s way to start with – I think at first the other girls thought she was a giant blackbird! However, with the arrival of Greta and Grace Kelly, she was very keen to establish that she was no longer bottom hen!

Henniversary Girl Flavia, Official Birthday Shot!

Her Henniversary dawned with a rousing chorus of Happy Henniversary to You…then a game of Spring Green Swingball and later in the day, special mealworm cupcakes complete with live yoghurt and sweetcorn topping! The hen party was in full swing when a gatecrasher emerged, helping himself to some cake, so a game of Chase the Kitten swiftly followed!

The Hen Party in Full Swing! Note the Gatecrasher!

The celebrations were widespread. Italy (Flavia’s adopted country) kindly won their rugby match and to finish the day off in true glamourpuss style, Flavia’s namesake, Miss Cacace herself, sent our Flavia a happy birthday tweet!

From One Gorgeous Lady to Another…

A special day for a special girl!!! Happy Henniversary darling Flav xxxx