Could you give a home to some hens this Christmas?

British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT) Rotherham co-ordinator, Louise Addy, will open up her Thurcroft home on Saturday in a bid to find hundreds of hens’ new homes.

The hens, which would otherwise go to slaughter at the end of their commercial life, will hopefully be re-homed to kind-hearted members of the public, and go on to enjoy a festive free range retirement.

Louise said: “What could be nicer than to embrace the spirit of Christmas by welcoming a few new members into the family fold?  

“Ex-bat hens make gorgeous, endearing, funny pets and will usually lay an egg in return for good hospitality.  

“They need a home for keeps though, not just Christmas, so please give adoption serious consideration.

“Ex-bats are simple to keep and have such friendly personalities, they will soon work their way into your hearts, and just think you could soon be enjoying free range eggnog with family and friends using fresh laid eggs.”

Anyone interested in having a hen as a pet must register by calling the charity on 01884 860084.

The exact location of Louise’s hen collection will be given upon registration.

The British Hen Welfare Trust is a national charity that re-homes commercial laying hens, educates the public about how they can make a difference to hen welfare and encourages support for the British egg industry.

Since its launch in 2005 BHWT has re-homed more than 450,000 hens from over 30 pop-up locations run by volunteers across the UK.

The hens are all commercial hybrids: Lohman Browns, Goldlines, Hylines or Isa’s, (all Rhode Island Red crosses).

They are approximately 17 months old, and are off to slaughter because they are deemed no longer commercially viable as they may be laying fewer eggs.

As well as hens from enriched cages (40-90 hens per cage) the charity also collects barn hens and some free range hens.