The Coop is Here!!

Saturday 13^th of August dawned bright and sunny for the Grand Arrival of our new, bespoke, plastic coop and run. The girls had excitedly packed their bags, taken down their posters in Henderlay and were busy squabbling over bunks in their new home when the eagerly anticipated new coop arrived.

We were all like children on Christmas morning, jumping around in excitement and generally getting in the way as Chris the Coop Man tried to put the coop up with much hen ‘help’!

An hour later and the coop was up and in place and the girls waved their new friend Chris the Coop Man off before beginning exacting inspections of their new palatial home. Iris T Frizzle was the first hen in the coop as, being broody, we transferred her directly from Henderlay, followed by fellow broodies little Lemony and Iona.

I must confess, the coop is magnificent. The company that Chris the Coop Man runs, Arkus Coops is based just outside of Penzance and uses recycled plastic; so at least two boxes ticked there. He adapted the coop to the girls’ and my specific requirements and even made the run to be a tad taller than I am. It is on a special high stand to avoid my bending and has reinforced metal on the run, skirts and around the back of the coop as well very secure locks all over the place. Being plastic means the girls will not have to endure red mite and the coop has plenty of space for everyone and nice low perches for special exbatt physiques.

If initial reactions are anything to go by, the girls are very impressed and have enjoyed their very first night all tucked up together. Special times and special memories. I was very impressed with the magic door opener – although I was up early just to check it!

This coop and run were crowdfunded by many, many wonderful, kind and generous people. Without them, a new coop would not have been possible and we would have had to patch Henderlay up to try and battle through another winter. Their big and generous hearts have meant a greatly improved quality of life for my girls and a comfy night’s sleep snuggled up together. Exbatts deserve the very best and now my girls can have that. We are indebted to everyone who has helped us and thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

 

The girls, Gary and I have all given great thought to how we can thank everyone and, even though the girls thought people would each like one of their special eggs (I had to explain the failings of the postal service and the vulnerability of eggs in envelopes), it was eventually agreed on that we will have a memorial page on this blog so everyone who has supported us can have a dedication and photo of the hen/hens/pet/pets in whose name the donation was given. It is a small thing but one that I hope will be appreciated and received with the love with which it is offered. I will be contacting everyone directly over the next few days, although there were three anonymous donations so if they were you, please contact me!

Thank you all again, please enjoy the first few pictures of the coop and I look forward to posting many more.

Jo xx

 

Coop before run attached

Girls inspecting their new home!

Close up

Inside, ready for princesses!

Lemony hanging out with the Big Girls

Iris T Frizzle

Little Lemony contemplates Effie’s legacy

 

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Kind Hearts and Plastic Coops

Earlier this week I tentatively launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for a new plastic coop and run for the girls of Effie’s Garden. I wasn’t sure at all about doing it, but I am so very glad that I did!!

To say that I am overwhelmed by the love and support I have received is something of an understatement. In fact, I am quite humbled and rather emotional. To all of those who have helped us, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I have wanted to replace the Big Girls’ old wooden coop for a while but any attempt at saving was thwarted by vet bills, food bills etc. Henderlay is too small for all the girls to sleep together, and I currently have a chickenopolis of coops donated by lovely people, but I wanted all of my girls to sleep together and in safety, first and foremost, but also in the comfort they deserved and for me not to have to worry about red mite. I had heard about crowdfunding but, as my father said, it is just begging online, so was very concerned about asking people for money.

Well shame on me, because in only a few days, we have raised over 80% of the total target with many, many wonderful messages of love and support about how people had been inspired by Effie and her story.

And that, you see, is what has touched me the most. Effie died almost a year ago and her loss is still not any easier to bear. When she died, I found great comfort in the fact that her story had inspired so many wonderful people to rehome ex-battery hens. So many hens are alive today because of Effie – it is a big legacy for the little hen with a broken neck. Effie’s Garden, our microsanctuary, was started because I needed to celebrate and commemorate the life of this very special hen. Because she wasn’t just a hen, she was a survivor of a system that is so cruel and so inhumane that it breaks my heart every day thinking of what all those potential ‘Effies’ are going through. She symbolised all the suffering and abuse that is inflicted on these poor girls, but more importantly she symbolised all the strength of spirit and will to live these girls have; the same strength that made her overcome her emotional and physical demons and enjoy life as a free girl for over three years.

Quite simply, she was everything. She changed the lives of so many hens and she changed our lives too. There will never be another Effie, but her spirit and her story will always live on.

So to those that have helped us I am forever grateful to you and am currently thinking of ways in which we can thank you all properly.

“Saving one hen will not change the world, but it will change the world for that hen.”

Effie would send you all kisses if she could xx

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