British Hen Welfare Trust supporters David and Sarah Marek proved that eggs really can save lives. The hen-loving couple have raised over £100 for the national hen charity through the sale of spare eggs laid by their recently adopted ex-bat hens. Funds will directly go towards helping to re-home more hens saved from slaughter by the charity this spring.
David and Sarah Marek, who live in Cheshire, first heard about the work of the British Hen Welfare Trust in November 2014 when they received a copy of a book titled ‘Tales of the Coop’ written by Sophie McCoy, one of nearly 500 charity volunteers, based in Wigan. The book, a collection of heart-warming stories about the joys of keeping ex-bats (commercial laying hens), quickly influenced their decision to re-home three c-lucky ladies, and they haven’t looked back!
Faced with more eggs than they could scramble, poach and fry David and Sarah set up an Egg Club in spring 2015, and have been busy selling excess eggs to family, friends and colleagues at work, asking for £1 in return for a box of six fresh eggs.
David and Sarah told us their favourite thing about re-homing ex-bats from the British Hen Welfare Trust: “There’s lots of things! Each hen has her own personality and we spend hours just sitting and watching them get on with their day – eating grass, scratching, dust bathing and exploring the garden. The most rewarding aspect though is seeing them transform from little tatty and timid birds into fully feathered hens, enjoying a free-range life doing the things that a hen should be doing in a natural environment. We would recommend re-homing [these hens] to anyone!”
