Before making the decision to rescue hens, it is good to have an idea of what to expect.
Behaviour & Appearance
When you get your rescue hen home, you can expect her to be very unsure of herself and shy of her surroundings. The world that she has now found herself will be very different from where she spent the last year or more of her life. Everything from what she sees, hears and even right down to what her feet are touching will be alien to her as her feet may not have even touched the natural ground. They are very unlikely to have had very much human contact.
As the hen has been in this type of environment, it is possible her appearance will reflect this, for example, feathers could be missing from parts of her body.
The Transformation
In just a few weeks all this will change, your rescue hens are quirky individual characters. You will be able to help transform the life of the hen. It will be a great adventure, and really fun for you and your family. Your rescued hens will bring life to your garden. They will also lay tasty fresh eggs.
They are all quirky individual characters, who have a second chance at life. They will look and act differently for the first few weeks. Then they will become confident, friendly and maybe even a little bit cheeky, after developing their own personalities.
Be Prepared
While it is magnificent change for a hen moving from the commercial egg laying world to the beautiful surrounding of your garden for some hens the journey can be too stressful or one they may not be strong enough to make. Try to not let this deter you in trying.
Our guide is designed to offer you the advice to make it as easy as possible for both you and the rescue hen. It is packed with helpful practical advice which can be read through or dipped into as required.