The Great Eggscape

An amazing 500 hens were released from a life of battery egg-production last weekend and re-homed to free-range lives!  Phoenix Hen Rescue called on Thornberry to help rehome just some of a total number of 12000 hens moving on from their previous existence. 

A huge number of concerned members of the public rose to the challenge and adopted these ladies in small numbers, from pairs and threes to small flocks of ten or so to live in hen houses in gardens, orchards and paddocks.  T.A.S. hosted the release party, with 500 hens stretching their legs in the intermittent sunshine at T.A.S. as they awaited their new homes.   They arrived on Saturday mid-morning of 9th March and by Sunday afternoon, the soothing murmur of 500 softly clucking hens was stilled once more as all 500 were settled into their new futures. 

Huge thanks go to Terry Elliot and his crew from Rotherham College for making our ex-pig pen hen-proof and fitting some smart windows and a door to the stable for safe overnight housing for the few waiting to be collected.  Thanks also are well deserved for the team of volunteers who turned up make the process so smooth.

Our appreciative hens even laid us a few eggs to serve in our on-site cafe. An eggscellent thank you from them! 

Such has been the response from the public, whose imagination has been fired by the chance to act directly for the good of these creatures, that T.A.S. is adopting a further 650 hens for rehoming next weekend, 16th/17th from our Todwick Road site. Anyone wishing to re-home some hens ( more than two works best, odd numbers being ideal) can message T.A.S. on Facebook to reserve hens for collection on 16th/17th.  Secure and sheltered accommodation will be needed, with outdoor space available in daylight hours, safe from predators. £3 per hen adoption fee is asked, payable on collection. Written care instructions are available for novice hen keepers, with hen feed available to purchase.