Read as pdf - British Hen Welfare Trust

Issue No: 2
Summer 2012
FREE
What’s best for
ECOEGG
It’s a male-dominated world?
FREE RANGE FRIDAY
FLYING THE BRITISH EGG FLAG
GALLERY OF ATHLETIC HENS
FREE RANGE RECIPES
vERMEX
Editor’s letter
With the Jubilee and Olympic
preparations in full swing, we at
the BHWT wanted to take the
opportunity to celebrate these
momentous occasions, and you
will find this Summer edition of
Chicken & Egg magazine laden
with examples of some of the best
of British. So with the Olympics in
mind, take a peek at our ‘Gallery of Athletic Hens’, and advice
for athletes (or aspiring athletes!) extolling the nutritional benefits
of a good eggy breakfast in ‘Eggs for Action’. And not to miss an
opportunity for fun, BHWT supporter, Amanda Baines, has written
a short tale about the ‘Henlympics’ taking place in her own back
garden this summer! To celebrate The Queen’s Jubilee, we have
some delicious British free range recipes including Royal Scones
and a classic Victoria Sponge, and a special Jubilee-themed
interview with our lovely Patron and devoted hen-keeper The
Duchess of Richmond in ‘Jubilee Scoop’. There’s also an article
about innovative free range egg farmers Tony and Gwen Burgess
who are well and truly ‘Flying The British Flag’.
For those considering keeping hens for the first time, Jean Gill
has written a charming feature summing up the pleasures of
feathers in ‘There’s something about a chicken’, and we have
introduced a top tips feature, this time tackling the basic art of
chicken wrangling (that’s catching a hen to the uninitiated!) in
‘Getting into a Flap?’. And then there’s an ethical dilemma for
you to consider, an update on the impact of imported eggs
focusing specifically on the Scotch variety, as well as news of the
latest recipient of our Eggsellence Award.
Our usual features, such as ‘Good Eggs’, covering some
highlights of your fabulous fundraising achievements, ‘Your
Letters’, and a competition to win an ecoegg (you’ll find out what
it is shortly) are all in here too, as well as a little indulgence on our
part relating to your views on our new Chicken & Egg magazine.
Better crack on then!
Best wishes
Jane
Chicken & Egg is a publication by
The British Hen Welfare Trust
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. Its ultimate aim is to see
consumers and food manufacturers buying only UK produced free-range eggs, resulting in
a strong British egg industry where all commercial laying hens enjoy a good quality life.
Patrons: Jamie Oliver, Jimmy Doherty, Antony Worrall Thompson, Amanda Holden, Antony Cotton,
Harbour & Jones, The Duchess of Richmond, Pam Ayres, Phillippa Forrester, Julia Kendell
FOODIE
ADVERTISE HERE
CONTACT Lisa Pope
chicken&egg@bhwt.org.uk
6
Eggy news
All things eggy you need to
know!
8
What’s best for
breakfast?
page
Looking for a healthy breakfast
that leaves you feeling fuller for
longer? We've got the answer
10 Liquid Gold
How the cage ban affected the
price of eggs
23
dominated world?
24 Flying the
British Egg Flag
An innovative farmer shows off
her hens
26 A cracking start
Our first Free Range Friday
report makes good reading!
34 Gallery
Your hens strive to make Team
GB!
36 Jubilee Scoop
The Duchess of Richmond tells
us about her flock
44 Free Range Recipes
A selection of yummy free
range recipes for you to make
at home
52 A des-res for your hens
Outlining just a few of the
many hen house options available for your hens
56 Your Letters
Front Cover:
Jim Carter-White sent us
this wonderful photo of his
’spring chicken’
page
62
Not all
eggs are
for eating!
The ecoegg laundry egg is the
revolutionary new way to wash
your clothes. It replaces washing
detergents and according to
manufacturers lasts for up to 720
washes.
The ecoegg is packed with scientifically
formulated, hypoallergenic cleaning pellets. These pellets naturally activate in the
water to gently lift away dirt and grime, without using any harsh chemicals, and the
product has won support from Allergy UK
for its hypoallergenic quality.
The ecoegg simply sits on top of your
laundry in the drum of your washing
machine and off it goes. We have three
ecoeggs to give away and all you have to do
is email us at competitions@bhwt.co.uk to
say you’d like to try it and we’ll pick two
winners from the hat. Entry closing date is
Friday 15th June.
Find the Golden Egg!
Making sure you buy food products containing British free
range eggs is a really serious business which helps both
the hens and our great British farmers, but we’ve decided
to introduce a more lighthearted way to remind you of this
by creating a regular ‘Find the Golden Egg’ competition.
Simply email us at competitions@bhwt.org.uk titling your
email Golden Egg, tell us which page it’s on and we’ll give
a tub of Nature’s Grub treats to one randomly selected
lucky winner.
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Remember you can
buy Egg Sketlers
through our online
shop at bhwt.org.uk
Did you know ...
One ostrich egg is the
equivalent of 24 hen
eggs. They take more
than two hours to boil,
and make an omelette
large enough to feed
15! Ostrich eggs are
available in season
from some
supermarkets but
don't come cheep
at around £19.99
each!
Not many of us get time for a cooked breakfast; a slice of cold toast on the
way out the door or a bowl of chocopops before school is more the norm for
those of us with busy lives. According to a recent survey in Countryside
magazine, 40% skip breakfast at least once a week and 46% of adults eat the
same breakfast every day.
And yet the old adage written in the 1960’s by American author and
nutritionist, Adelle Davis, ‘breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like
a pauper’ is as true today as when it was first used back in the 60’s.
We’re advised to eat healthily, and a study published in 2010 in the journal of
Nutrition & Food Science, showed that eggs are one of the most nutrient-rich
foods that money can buy and recommended we should be eating at least
one egg a day.
Three michelin-starred chef, Michel Roux, is certainly an advocate of free
range eggs; the maestro eats 6 – 8 eggs each week and is more than happy
to do so. He’s even created a recipe book called ‘Eggs’, published by
Quadrille, and you can buy it in our online shop for £9.99 (recommended retail
price £14.99).
If you need more proof that eggs are good for you, researchers at Cambridge
University studied how nutrients affect the brain cells that keep us awake as
well as how effectively they burn calories, and concluded that the protein
content of egg whites activated those brain cells that keep us alert and the
protein also sent a message to the body to burn calories. Conclusion? Egg on
toast is better than jam on toast!
And finally, fried or scrambled on toast for maximum health benefits?
Actually, neither, poached and boiled are both better for you having less
saturated fat and fewer calories. In fact a poached egg on wholemeal toast
rivals porridge in terms of nutrition and keeps you feeling fuller for longer.
8 / www.bhwt.org.uk
Michel Roux
Photo courtesy of
Martin Brigdale
10 / www.bhwt.org.uk
Photo courtesy of Guy Harrop
Scandalous though it may be,
approximately 49m hens remain
in old style battery cages across
the EU, and because illegal eggs
cannot be exported outside the
country of origin, the situation
in January quickly led to a
reduction in the supply of legal
eggs for processing. Food
manufacturers everywhere
suddenly found it increasingly difficult, not to mention expensive, to source
liquid egg and in some cases resorted to buying up eggs from supermarkets just
to keep their production lines running. Luckily, supermarkets kept ahead of
their game and we didn’t see any empty shelves.
This shortage of legal egg, anticipated by the UK egg industry, could have been
avoided had the EU Commission pressed countries that
were clearly not going to meet the ban
deadline to get a move on. Sadly, despite
much pressure from compliant
countries, there are reportedly still
12 EU member states flouting the
rules and causing disruption in
the marketplace; and whilst first
stage legal proceedings have
commenced against noncompliant member states,
the very earliest that legal
action will be taken is 2014.
The egg industry is a complex,
global industry, but there’s one
simple solution to helping the
welfare of laying hens: read food
labels and ...
With the Olympics just a month or so away, we thought it would be
interesting to look at just what our top athletes will be considering when it
comes to their diet.
Anita Bean BSc RNutr, a registered nutritionist specialising in sports nutrition,
has joined forces with British Lion eggs to look at how eggs can form part of
a healthy diet for active people, suggesting delicious quick recipes,
practical advice and healthy hints and tips.
Anita says: “What you eat and when you eat are important considerations
when it comes to sports performance. Whether you are a competitive
athlete or just enjoy regular workouts, you can get more out of your sport
by making small changes to your diet.”
As well as offering healthy and beneficial recipes for cyclists, runners and
swimmers, Anita also provides information on how best to replenish
expended energy, suggesting nutritious and cheap ‘recovery’ recipes for
use after exercise with a full breakdown of calorie, protein, carbohydrate
and fat contents for the real fitness fanatics.
For more information about Anita’s advice for athletes, visit the Eggs for
Action website at http://www.eggsforaction.com/.
Just a few of our FAB Fundraisers...
Deborah Ramsay’s definitely a good
egg; she raised £250 for the BHWT
by asking her company, the National
House Building Council (NHBC), to
match the funds raised during the
Northamptonshire team’s re-homing
day under a scheme known as
matched funding. And they came up
trumps! So Deborah’s total donation
to the charity doubled to £500 with
one simple request.
Kim Powell raised £170 by
selling food hampers at the
vet surgery where she works
as a nurse.
Fourteen year old Zara Bradfield is animal
mad and has a menagerie that many would
be envious of, which includes 3 chickens
(Ronnie, Franky and Bridget), a lurcher and
a Jack Russell (Ash and Dillon), 2 cats
(Deno and Rodney), 2 budgies (Brian and
Dave) and a stick insect called Mr
Stick. Zara also enjoys horse riding every
Saturday and claims she gets her love for
animals from her Mum and Dad who work
at Heathrow in the
animal section.
A pupil at
Charters School,
she is a keen
fundraiser for the
charity, recently
sending us £100,
and she has more
fundraising events
planned. Thank
you so much Zara,
you are a fabulous
supporter and we
love your
enthusiasm!
Lucy Ellen Green raised a useful £23.66 by
auctioning flowers with colleagues at work
and told us how she does it: “We get fresh
flowers in reception every week and when
the new ones are put in, the old bunch
used to get thrown away. We realised the
flowers still had a good week left in
them, so now most weeks we hold
a raffle. It is 50p to enter and if your
name gets drawn out of a hat you
win the flowers. It does not
generate a lot each week, but it
soon adds up. The funds are still
being raised for your charity so we
will be sending you more shortly.”
Jessica Pearce contributes a monthly sum direct
from her salary and persuaded her company, RBS,
to match the donation penny for penny, doubling her
original gift.
Thank you!
FUNDRAISING IN THE WORKPLACE
by Poppy Melchior, BHWT Fundraiser
Companies can support charities by raising funds in many ways and the organisation you
work for may be able to support your favourite charity, so here are a few ideas:
Payroll Giving
Did you know there is a way to donate more whilst costing you less? Payroll Giving is tax
effective because donations are deducted through your payroll before tax, for example, if an
employee signs up for payroll giving and pays 20% tax it would cost 80p to give £1 or £8 to
give £10. So your donations literally go further and less comes out of your pocket! Many
large organisations have payroll giving in place, however, if there is not a scheme in place
where you work and you would like to support your favourite charity in this way, do please
ask your employers to consider setting it up.
Matched Giving
This is where companies match pound for pound what an individual employee donates or
raises. For example if someone completes a charity fun run and raises £200, their
company will match this donation literally doubling what is raised on behalf of the charity. It
is a great way for companies to incentivise employees to support charities. If your company
regularly raises money for charity it might be worth asking them if they have a matched
giving scheme in place.
Charity of the Year
This is when a charity is nominated by a company for a set period of time, usually one year
and funds are collectively raised by staff throughout the course of the year. Staff are often
asked to vote for their charity from a short-list or are asked to put forward ideas to help
decide. Charity of the Year partnerships are a wonderful way of engaging employees in the
cause and raising much needed funds in the process.
Free Range Friday
Our new fundraising initiative, Free Range Friday, is a good excuse to enjoy a
cuppa and a nice piece of cake with your colleagues! Select a Free
Range Friday date and enlist some willing volunteers to bake
delicious cakes using free range eggs. Then invite your
colleagues to join you and make a donation for their treats.
You could also hold a raffle to help raise even more.
Free Range Friday takes place on the first Friday of
every month and is ideal for the workplace.
Simply email freerangefriday@bhwt.org.uk for a
fundraising pack.
If you would like further information on any
of the above, please do not hesitate to
get in touch with me at
poppy.melchior@bhwt.org.uk.
And thank you for helping us to
help the hens.
www.bhwt.org.uk / 15
16 / www.bhwt.org.uk
IT’S A MALE - DOMINATED WORLD?
Even if that’s what us girls may think sometimes, the same cannot be said in the
poultry world where it’s the chaps that get the harsher deal.
There are 40 million laying hens in the UK at any one time and in order to produce
those hens, millions of eggs are hatched each year. Despite attempts to skew nature,
the law of averages still rules and inevitably millions of cockerels are hatched too.
Cockerels do not lay eggs.
And the reality is that from the moment those cockerel beaks break through the shell
that nurtured them to chick stage, they become virtually worthless. They don’t lay
eggs and are not designed to make good meat birds either. Quite simply they have no
value to the egg industry and as such, before they can even begin to think about
uttering their first cockadoodledo, they are euthanized – their tiny bodies sold as feed
for reptiles and other carnivorous creatures.
American scientists are undertaking research to try to influence sex ratio, but as yet all
they have achieved is to identify that the stress hormone, corticosterone, injected into
hens five hours prior to laying results in a very high percentage of male chicks – the
exact opposite of the desired outcome! Without doubt the research is in its infancy
and when they do discover what encourages a hen to lay more female chicks, they will
then have to determine and prove there are no adverse affects on human health.
And before you get irate
about what appears to
be an overwhelming
waste of life – the fact
that cockerels even get
to chick stage incurs a
cost on the egg industry
as they have all gone
through the same
incubation process as
female chicks. Cockerel
chicks spend days being
coddled and cared for in
high tech incubation
equipment and the
industry are as keen as
we would be to see a
reduction in their
prevalence.
Continued on page 19
www.bhwt.org.uk / 17
18 / www.bhwt.org.uk
Sadly the same cannot be said for the general public who often
do not give consideration to the issues surrounding hatching
eggs. Many do it for the sheer pleasure of watching those
fragile wriggling helpless creatures come out of the shell and
develop into the gorgeously cute fluffballs that we all love to
see. But how many of us consider the consequences of
hatching cockerels? Our phone lines at Hen Central ring
constantly with requests for help from people who have
unwanted cockerels, something we are unable to do in almost
all instances given the charity’s focus on end of lay commercial
birds. In one morning recently, we were asked to take 10
cockerels, and are sometimes even subjected to emotional
blackmail with comments inferring they will be destroyed if we
do not take them!
The answer to this problem is simple: if you hatch out eggs,
expect some cockerels. If you cannot care for those cockerels
yourself, have alternative plans in place before you hatch!
To end on a positive note for the chaps, we occasionally collect cockerels from farms
where they have slipped the net, and survived in a commercial environment. Lloyd and
Bates are just two ex-caged birds that have lived here at North Parks for some time
now. Lloyd – the star of BBC2’s The
Private Life of Chickens in 2010 – thrives
despite the arthritis in his left leg, and
Bates, a monster-sized broiler breeder,
came to live with us at the end of last
year. He’s a gentle giant and one
exceedingly lucky cockerel.
www.bhwt.org.uk / 19
Advert Your
chickens
20 / www.bhwt.org.uk
You’ve been busy! And we’re loving your egg cosies – some of them are works of art!
Your knitting skills have raised over £150 so far and a recent batch which arrived
addressed to the Happy Chickens at the Egg Cosy Department of the BHWT set us
thinking. After debate, we decided we needed to appoint a ‘Director of Egg Cosies!’
There was instant interest in the position, which has a range of duties including quality
control, size testing, skill level and cute factor but after much consideration it was
unanimously decided that the post should be awarded to Andy, who needless to say
was thrilled to add this responsibility to his day job:
“There was a lot of competition for this position, but my appreciation of a well crafted
cosy shone through! Our supporters don't just knit cosies, they knit THE best cosies in
the country, and I will make sure every unique one is available to buy through the
BHWT shop!”
Please continue to send us your egg cosies, but fancies only – we have plenty of
plainer ones, the cleverer the pattern the more we raise!
Andy making cosie notes!
22. AD (P&T?)
22 / www.bhwt.org.uk
There’s something about a chicken
... By Jean Gill, BHWT Co-ordinator
There was an inevitability about my involvement with chickens, raised as I was on stories
of my late Mother’s contribution to the war effort: backyard hens, whose eggs could be
bartered for all manner of exotic contraband. Thus when my son - then still a toddler asked if we could add chickens to our menagerie I thought ‘Why not - we’ve got
everything else and at least they’ll contribute’.
Unfamiliar as I was with the actual practice of hen keeping, I had a distinctly romantic
view of what was involved: I thought ‘cats with feathers’ - arching indifference,
self-sufficiency, condescension, low maintenance, pristine cleanliness. Oh how wrong I
was. To my absolute dismay the first thing the new arrivals did was turn my vegetable
patch into something reminiscent of The Somme. Any effort on my part to restrain or
confine them was simply seen as a challenge, although, along with a few grovelling
apologies and trays of replacement flowers, they proved a useful tool in getting to know
the neighbours.
Similarly the concept of
demarcation was completely
alien to them: they took
napping on the spare bed as
an unassailable right,
something I might have
been able to accommodate
more easily if the only thing
they did on the spare bed
was nap. The list goes on.
Still determined to prevail,
I fought the good fight for
as long as I could but
eventually, tired, outwitted
and outmanoeuvred at every
turn, I realized I was no
match for these indomitable
little creatures so, on the
principle of ‘if you can’t
beat them, join them’, I
threw in the towel and
volunteered to become a
BHWT member.
I’ve never looked back.
24 / www.bhwt.org.uk
Birchgrove Eggs is a small business owned and run by Tony and Gwen Burgess.
They have 3,000 free range hens which roam their 30 acre farm in Aberystwyth, using
both Bovan hybrids (the brown hens) and Amberlinks (the white ones). Tony and Gwen
believe in giving their hens a taste of the good life - the land is pesticide and herbicide free,
which is why there are plentiful wildlife and wild flowers; they are Freedom Food accredited,
and have won several awards, amongst them the 'Poultry Farmer of the Year' in the
Farmers Weekly Awards in 2006. The biggest feather in their cap, however, was being
awarded the ‘True Taste of Wales’ which they won for Sustainable Farming Practices
2010 and 2011.
When the going got tough as feed prices soared and producer prices slumped, Tony and
Gwen came up with an innovative way to keep profit margins up, without compromising
the welfare of their flock. Eggs that don't reach the strict quality control measures imposed
by the large retailers end up being classed as seconds and having little value - as low as
20p a dozen in Tony and Gwen's case. So they decided to use the seconds themselves and
create a product that required eggs as a main ingredient. Tony takes up the story: "After
considerable market research and much trialling of recipes, we eventually came up with
what has proved to be a winning formula: Birchgrove mayonnaise. Currently we sell only
to the catering sector, and it's proven to be a resounding success with the last batch of
mayonnaise amounting to three tonnes! We hope to come up with some other ideas and
may even consider expanding into the retail sector - you could see Birchgrove mayonnaise
on supermarket shelves yet!"
Tony and Gwen are such a good example, again, of how we can produce some of the
very best food in this country with innovation, but without compromise. We wish them
well for the future.
If you would like to nominate a local farmer for our British egg flag, let us know at
info@bhwt.org.uk titling your email Flying the British Egg Flag and we'll check them
out.
A CRACKING START!
Our new fundraising and awareness campaign,
Free Range Friday, launched on Good Friday
and has got off to a great start challenging
supporters up and down the country to roll
up their sleeves, dust off their recipe books and
get baking whilst raising vital funds for the
charity. ‘We R Cakes’ in Stevenage baked an
amazing easter egg cake and then raffled it
to raise funds to help support Lisa Spendlove's
Free Range Friday . Kirsty Ranson and
friend, Izzy , dressed up as Easter bunnies and
sold cupcakes and eggs to their neighbours
and Russell's Garden Centre in West Sussex
also got on board and held a Free Range
Friday.
We thoroughly enjoyed getting into the spirit of
things at Hen Central holding our own Free
Range Friday at the local village hall – Lesley
in the office made these gorgeous little BHWT
cupcakes. We had a fantastic
turnout, talked to lots of
locals about our work,
had a raffle draw and
chomped our way
through a beautiful
selection of cakes.
Yum!
26 / www.bhwt.org.uk
And it seems you also had some fun!
We were delighted to receive the many
positive comments and lovely photos from
you, and whilst it isn't possible to thank
everyone who took part individually, a
special thanks goes out to Lisa Spendlove
from Hampshire , who organised a cake
sale and persuaded local pub, The Sir John
Barleycorn, to help her raffle off the few
remaining cakes raising nearly £300!
Thanks, also, to Russ Annis and
neighbours who raised £110 on our
second Free Range Friday ! They
had an afternoon tea party with
friends dressed as chickens (fun
friends!), and a very eye-catching
cake made by Russ' daughter,
which was raffled.
A huge thank you to Wendy Murray
from Strawberry Patch Childcare who
spent all week baking cakes with the
children. They raised £115 and had lots
of fun getting creative and making a
fabulous Free Range Friday sign,
posters, and an advert and painted a
large hen on their nursery window!
Thank you so much!
One little helper doing the eating,
another little helper keeping tabs on the
fundraising!
Collectively we have already raised over £750 so it just shows what an effective and
valuable way to raise funds this is. Thank you to everyone who took part and hopefully
your efforts will encourage others to do the same! The next Free Range Friday is
Friday, 1 st June. If you are interested in finding out more, please email us for a
fundraising pack at freerangefriday@bhwt.org.uk
And remember, you can follow us on Twitter @BHWTOfficial
and facebook.com/freerangefriday to help spread the word.
THANK YOU!
www.bhwt.org.uk / 27
28 / www.bhwt.org.uk
The short answer is no! The origin of the Scotch egg is a little vague: Fortnum &
Mason claims it invented the portable snack for rich coach travellers in 1738 using
small pullet eggs and rich paté-like meat, it then trickled down the social ladder
becoming a Victorian savoury dish using cheaper cuts, ending up finally as the
popular snack it is today served in pubs, cafés and enjoyed at picnics.
Neil Chambers, however, from the Handmade Scotch Egg Company believes it was
originally a northern variant of the Cornish pasty produced by Scottish smallholders,
pity then that more than any other processed food product it is the humble Scotch
egg that uses more imported eggs than any other processed product. In fact 60% of
the eggs used in Scotch eggs sold in the UK actually contain eggs produced in other
countries and because food labelling is currently so weak in the EU, you will have no
way of knowing which country the egg originated from, nor which system was used
to produce it. Fancy a caged Scotch egg which could have been made in some
overseas country where they still have hens in battery cages? Me neither.
We are pleased to hear that both CIWF and the RSPCA will be backing a campaign
for food labelling at European level, and we will continue to work with the industry
to generate further support for Production Method Labelling for multi-ingredient
foods across Europe. In the meantime, Neil Chambers who runs the Handmade
Scotch Egg Company can guarantee you BRITISH FREE RANGE eggs in his
premium product, and now he and his wife are transporting them around the
country from £2.85 each.
The company produces a score of different eggs from the classic Mac (free-range
pork) to a Blackwatch (black pudding and free-range pork) to a Just William (Tyrells
Crisps and free-range pork). There are also vegetarian options and Wee Ones with
BHWT volunteer, Amanda Baines, entertains all of us here at the BHWT with
her charming tails of Boadicea, Chief Hen, and her entourage! So we thought
we would share this one with you...
by Boadicea, Ex-Bat Chief Hen of All She Surveys
The stage is set and we are fully prepared for the Henlympics. Minerva,
being a structural genius, designed the ’stadium’ and as the more southerly
aspect of the site is banked, the velodrome was constructed there; at the
opposite end, the gymnastics arena. The pond is a toddle away and the
orchard will be used for Speedy Hide and Seek. Who needs an athletics
track?
I summoned the team: first and foremost My Entourage of Ex-Bats. Then
the Other Hens and That Duck. Samuel my Trusty Pigeon is at my beck
and call, and a passing heron volunteered to lift heavy objects.
There was the odd mishap and the occasional catastrophe during
construction. I despatched Esme, Sweetie Pie, Hetty, That Mophead and
That Duck to collect the garden roller from the top of the garden. A
commotion ensued. It appeared there was a discrepancy between the slopes
of the garden and the power of the shove to get said roller shifted. Its
operators shot over the pond, narrowly missing the somewhat startled
heron. Straight through the orchard, cornering the greenhouse and finally
finishing at the entrance to my site office. I gave them all the benefit of My
Best Glare. Other injuries have included damaged wings, squashed tootsies,
burnt beaks and singed feathers. Never leave an ex-bat and a power drill
unattended.
After a strict training programme with extra rations of ex-bat pellets, the
big day arrived.
The Opening Ceremony went ahead without a hitch. We started en masse
at the top of the garden. By the time we entered the Henlympic site, other
creatures had joined us. We assembled in front of the Velodrome. I gave a
stirring speech after which it was eyes down for a magnificent feast.
The Day dawned, the atmosphere was electric. First up: the cycling. That
Duck’s little legs were a mere blur! Behind him were Esme, Hetty and
Samuel my Trusty Pigeon. The cheers of assembled critters raised the roof
and Esme was the clear winner (after That Duck who forgot to leave
the track).
Gymnastics next. Two teams entered: The Ex-Bats and
The Others. My girls exceeded expectations and were
clear winners. Swimming came after. That Duck
entered and won as none of my girls ventured
further than the shallow end. No matter. They were
all resplendent in their matching waterproof togs and
they won a medal for that alone. Finally the Speedy
Hide and Seek. This was open to all comers and was a
marathon. The skills displayed throughout the race were
many. Team Ex-Bat won after a photo finish.
All entrants were tired but triumphant. No one went without a medal.
Rewards all round guaranteed beaming beaks. Beat that if you can!
www.bhwt.org.uk / 31
ronda
32 / www.bhwt.org.uk
BHWT patron Philippa Forrester’s
Ever-so-chocolatey Chocolate cake!
Philippa fronts our Free Range Friday campaign
Cake ingredients:
170g / 6oz soft margarine
170g / 6oz brown caster sugar
140g / 5oz self-raising flour
25g / 1oz good quality cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
3 large free range eggs
Pre-heat the oven to 180°c,
350°f , gas mark 4.
Beat margarine and sugar
together in a bowl until light
and fluffy. Add all 3 eggs, then
sift the flour, baking powder
and cocoa into the bowl
holding the sieve high to
incorporate air.
Beat the ingredients together
using an electric whisk, then
give a last fold to ensure all the
ingredients are well
combined.
Divide the mixture evenly
between two well greased and
lined 7”/18cm tins and place on
the middle shelf of the oven for
20 minutes. Check the cake is
springy to the touch and then
turn out immediately and allow
to cool.
To make the chocolate butter
icing, melt the chocolate in a
bowl over a pan of simmering
water. Beat together the icing
sugar and butter, and add the
melted chocolate until well
blended. Spread half the
butter icing over one cake,
assemble the top layer and
spread the remainder over the
top. Use a fork to create swirls
and then cut into wedges and
enjoy!
Chocolate Butter Icing Ingredients:
110g / 4oz soft unsalted butter
225g / 8oz sifted icing sugar
85g / 3oz dark chocolate
OF ATHLETIC HENS!
GALLERY
‘OK,who pecked the
boat...?!!’
Fiona Mackenzie’s
hens might be sunk!
And the winner of the chicken 100 metres is...
... Vanessa Chapman's Speckledy!
Jo Lowry’s Sprocket thinks trampolining might
be her forte!
‘Right, time for a spot
of warming up’...Fi
Reekie’s Phyllis doesn't
want any strained
muscles!
And Fi Reekies’s Helen takes up the
gauntlet in the Great Grape Relay!
If you would like to
submit a photo to our
Gallery, please send to
lisa.pope@bhwt.org.uk
‘I think I'll start with a star jump followed by a back flip and then the splits! ’
Sarah Hirst’s little hen prepares for the
chicken-nastics competition
The high jump it’s a doddle!
For the Jubilee edition we interviewed The Duchess of Richmond
who resides at Goodwood Park in Sussex. She comes from a family
of devoted hen-keepers and is a Patron of the British Hen Welfare
Trust.
Q1: Who reigns supreme – posh birds or paupers?
I don’t have any ‘posh birds’ any more, I only keep ex-battery hens
now. I have six which all came from the British Hen Welfare Trust. The exbats have so much personality – they are bossier too! And it’s very
funny watching them chasing the cock pheasants.
Q2: Hen housing – princess’s palace or maid’s maisonette?
It’s something in between the two - I would describe it as ‘Country
Manor!’
Q3: Your hen-keeping approach: monarchy or anarchy?
We have a Bantam cockerel – but the chickens sort him out – he’s a
little frightened of them, so it’s definitely the chickens who rule the roost
at Goodwood!
Q4: Your favourite eggy brekkie – fit for a King or a dainty princess?
I like a light breakfast, so if I had to choose, it would be a boiled egg.
But I like scrambled egg for lunch!
Q5: Free range arrangements: freedom of the realm or in the tower?
The chickens have a big run in the garden; I daren’t let them out
because of the foxes. But they have masses of space, a marvellous run
which has a good amount of sun, plenty of shade from the trees and a
laurel bush they like to shelter in from the rain!
Q6: The British Hen Welfare Trust— mother
hen or cock of the roost?
The British Hen Welfare Trust is definitely cock
of the roost! I think battery cages are cruel
and that’s got to be dealt with. I also think
that free range eggs are healthier and
more nutritious – you’ve only got to look at
the yolks to see that. Yes, the charity’s work
is absolutely essential.
www.bhwt.org.uk / 37
...continued
Q7: Hen feed: crumbs from the table or, as
Marie Antoinette said, ‘let them eat cake’?
I give them ex-bat crumb, a little corn, bran
mixed with hot water which they like better
wet than dry, pellets and a little bread for a
treat, but not too much. As a child growing
up in Scotland, my Mother used to make the bran in a pot on the
range and mash it – that smell of hot chicken food takes me straight
back to being an eight year old girl again – it is so reminiscent of my
childhood. I think keeping chickens must be in my genes - my
Grandmother and my Aunts all kept them and one of my earliest
memories is feeding chickens with my Grandmother.
Q8: Best royal hen name?
We have one called ‘Matriarch’ – as her name suggests, she is
sovereign!
Q9: Guilty pleasure - Creme egg or fried egg?
My Mother used to make ‘creamed egg’ – which is better than either
– egg and cream served in a little pot – quite delicious!
Q10: Bunting in the hen-house – patriotic or idiotic?
Oh yes, definitely with the Jubilee, it has to be patriotic!
Q11: British Farmers - for the crown or to the tower?
Well I would have to send the battery farmers to the tower... and the
free-rangers for the crown!
Q12: Bird’s-eye view at Goodwood?
The Goodwood hens have a beautiful cherry blossom tree, rose beds
and a beautiful view of the valley, dotted with sheep. They are VERY
lucky hens!
The Goo
d Cook
School
Sophie Fox runs The Good Cook School at
Cafe Create in Bristol and was delighted to
be the latest recipient of our Eggsellence
Award.
Sophie focuses on teaching basic cookery
skills to children and adults in the community,
and also runs a cafe where healthy, freshly
made food is served to staff working in other
parts of the building as well as the general
public.
Sophie was delighted to receive our
Eggsellence Award: “The Good Cook School
strives to work with individuals and groups
equipping them with the skills to prepare
nutritious and tasty meals. Sourcing good
quality ingredients which have been
produced with care is intrinsic to our
principles. Using free range eggs and
chicken in the food we serve and in the
recipes made in our cookery workshops is an
essential part of this message.”
“I am thrilled to be awarded the Gold
Eggsellence Award and my certificate is
displayed so all my customers can see that
we are committed to the welfare of chickens.
We fully support the work of the BWHT as a
charity which is dedicated to celebrating
good practice in cafes and restaurants and
helping to bring about improving awareness
of the living conditions of chickens and
bringing about positive change.”
We think Sophie is doing a great job in
helping to educate children about the
benefits of using local, fresh and high welfare
produce, and we wish her every success in
her work.
If you would like to nominate an eating establishment near you, please get in touch with
Rachel at the BHWT by emailing
rachel.shortridge@bhwt.org.uk.
By Richard Jackson MRCVS
Predator Mites
The battle between red mites and poultry
keepers is an age old one and seems to
be getting more difficult with mites
becoming increasingly resistant to some
products and the EU banning alternative
products. However, there is now a
groundbreaking, environmentally friendly
weapon in the fight against red mites predator mites:
Predator mites work by living in the coop,
killing and eating red mites as their source
of food. They are totally safe and avoid
the need to use nasty chemicals.
The idea behind predator mites is not to
entirely eliminate red mites from the coop,
otherwise the predator mite would be left
with no food source. Instead we look for
the predator mites to build up their
numbers initially, due to the abundance of
food (red mites), and once they have
killed off the majority of the red mite
population their numbers will fall too so
that a low level of red mites is maintained
alongside a few predator mites. The red
mite numbers should be so low that they
don’t cause irritation or harm to your
birds, but enough to feed the predator
mites.
Whilst you may think that the predators
aren’t effective in that they don’t eradicate
the red mites, and need to be replenished
routinely, it is important to remember that
chemical products rarely kill all red mites
and also need repeat treatments.
The initial pack of predator mites comes
with a ‘blue’ holder (which attaches to the
perch) and a ‘white’ booster tube
containing roughly 2,500 predator mites.
One tube of predator mites will treat 1
metre² of nest box space, however this
does depend on the red mite burden in the
house and we generally recommend that
owners use 2 packs in a standard 6 bird
chicken house.
However if you have unusually high
numbers of red mites then we recommend
that you use a ‘knock down’ agent such as
Die Mite six weeks before using the
predator mites in order to reduce red mite
numbers and so as not to create an
insurmountable task for the predator mites.
This period also allows for the ‘knock
down’ agent to break down before your
predator mites are placed in the shed so
they are not harmed. Red mite shakers
that have a high concentration of predator
mites can also be dusted onto the nest
boxes and around the houses.
The mites should be used within three
days of arrival, and the booster tubes replaced every 3-6 weeks depending on the
levels
of
red
mites
in
the
house.
If you have any
questions on the
use of predator
mites, please do
not hesitate to
contact us at
Chicken Vet.
Crikey, we didn’t quite expect the response
we got to our first Chicken & Egg
magazine. We hoped you’d like it, but you
obviously loved it! Thank you so much to
everyone who took the trouble to write to
us, we really appreciated your input and
hope you will allow us a little indulgence as
we share just a few of the comments you
made:
“Congratulations Jane on getting so
many hens re homed over the years. It
is all very well having a good humane
idea, perhaps many of us do, but to
actually make that idea a worthwhile
reality is fantastic but sadly rare. Well
done.
As for your magazine, I have never
seen anything like it, it is superb. Being
old I did need my daughter to show me
how to turn the first page on the email
version, even though the flashing is a
big clue.
We have had ex-bats for well over two
years now and enjoy their company
immensely. This satisfying family
pleasure is down to you.
On behalf of my family, and thousands
of grateful hens thank you very
much.
Andrew Negus”
Ladies
Well done to the Mother Hen and the
Arty Chick - I’ve just received my
ecopy and planned a quick flick
through before settling down to read
the magazine properly later – no
chance – it’s so good I’ve just read it
cover-to-cover!! It’s great!
I have a little flock of ex-bat ladies that
I’ve collected from the lovely Adele
(and Michael) Hall in Haslingden. My
latest girls were collected in January
and are all doing really well – they’ll
look lovely in a few more weeks when
all their new feathers emerge and don’t
look spikey. They are such a lovely
addition to my life I wish I had the
space to have more!
Free Range Friday is a fabulous idea,
the support from the happy egg co is
fantastic and will certainly go a long
way to promote wider understanding.
Keep up the good work! Kind
regards. Rachel
Hi, love the mag, looks like a lot of hard
work and passion went in to creating it.
well done and look forward to the next.
Jeff Collins ...............Barnsley
Hi Lisa,
I've just received a copy of the 'Chicken
and Egg' magazine and think it's
fantastic.
There are some great articles both
factual and fun. You and your
colleagues should be incredibly proud
of your hard work and dedication and
the huge difference you all make to
thousands of ex-bats.
Kind regards, Paul Hughes
Hello All at BHWT HQ,
Dear Leslie
I just wanted to say thanks for the
chicken and egg magazine. Both
myself and my chicken mad 12
year old son have enjoyed reading
it. I was especially interested to
see the article about happy eggs
as my impression of them had
previously been unfavourable after
the incident in 2010. I now feel
much more convinced that they
are fully ethical and would now
consider buying them again.
Well done on producing an
attractive and interesting
magazine.
Best wishes
Thank you for the new style magazine.
Initially, and rather curmudgeonly I opened
up the new style mag, expecting it to be
difficult to navigate. However, I was
pleasantly surprised to find that it's
actually easy and works well.
Having just read the article on the lady
who kept chickens on her roof in London,
moving them to the countryside, I felt that
I needed to send in my tip for anyone
living in the countryside as I do in deepest
Essex, backing on to open fields. I play
radio 2 or 4 quite loud in the garden from
the moment they get up until lights out in
the coop. They happily free range in my
large garden (10 girls and 7 ducks) without
incident.
Hopefully this radio ploy will continue to
keep away Mr Fox as it has for the last
18 months.
Great work, thank you. Regards,
Vicki Hughes, Gt Oakley, Essex
TIPS FROM OUT IT HELP DESK
A few people had problems opening the
magazine and/or found the print too small to
read, so I asked our IT guru to give us the
answers to your questions:
To be able to view the magazine as a ‘Flip
Hello Lisa
g
g
Book you will need the Flash plug-in on your
ken and E
The new Chic really good, the
PC or other device. Unfortunately internet
ks
magazine loo
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browsers on iOS devices and some smart
m
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only proble
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phones (iPhone for example) do not yet
it
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it in a diff
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a
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our magazine in this way. There is a pdf
ic
with ch
download available on the newsletter page of
Anne
the BHWT website for those who cannot view
our animated version.
For those who are able to view our Flip Book but find the text a little too small it is possible
to zoom into the page by simply clicking with the mouse on the page itself or by selecting
the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the screen (6th icon from the left hand
side). Clicking the page or magnifying glass a second time will zoom back out.
Royal Scones
SERVES 12
Ingredients
Method
24 strawberries,
picked & chopped
into ¼
Place the butter in a bowl and roughly chop into small pieces. Add
the flour and work the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it
looks like breadcrumbs. Add the egg and fold-in using a wooden
spoon. Do not use an electric mixer, as this will work the flour too
much and the scones may not rise. Slowly add the buttermilk until it
all binds together. Leave a small amount of buttermilk for glazing.
225g self raising
flour
75g unsalted butter,
at room temperature
50g caster sugar
1 large happy egg
2 tbsp buttermilk
Place onto a floured, flat surface and roll out to a thickness of 1”.
Sprinkle the strawberries over half of the dough, then fold the other
half on top making a sandwich with the strawberries in the middle
(the strawberries are trapped in the middle which will stop them
from burning when the scones are cooked). Press it down gently
until it is 1” thick again, remembering not to work the mixture too
much.
Mat’s Top Tip: Try using other berries such as blackberries or
raspberries in place of strawberries.
Recipes kindly
supplied by
the happy egg
co.
With a sharp knife, cut into 2” squares, place carefully on a buttered
oven tray and glaze the tops with the remaining buttermilk. Bake in
a preheated oven at 180°C for 12 minutes. You’ll know they are
ready when they’re golden brown and have risen.
They will naturally split in the middle where the strawberries are.
Perfect served hot with butter, or cold, with cream and jam on a
family picnic.
Victoria Sponge
Ingredients
For the sponges:
100g softened butter
100g caster sugar
2 medium happy eggs
100g self raising flour
For the buttercream:
115g unsalted butter
500g icing sugar
Pinch of salt
80ml milk
1 tsp Rose flavouring
Icing sugar to dust the
cake
Crystallized rose
petals
with Roses
Method:
For the sponges:
Mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Mix the
happy eggs together in a separate bowl, then slowly add to the
butter mixture (if the mixture starts to curdle, add a tbsp flour).
Fold in the rest of the flour until it has an even consistency (if
the mixture won’t drop off the spoon, it’s too thick, so add a
little warm water)
Divide the mixture equally between two buttered 8” cake tins.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 30 minutes until golden
brown on top.
Remove from the oven and cool on a rack
Slice the domed top off one of the sponges, so that it will fit flat
together with the other
For the buttercream:
Mix the butter until it becomes a smooth paste. Add the icing
sugar, salt, milk and flavouring and whisk until smooth and
creamy. Spread the buttercream thickly on top of one of the
sponges (the one with the dome sliced off) and place the other
sponge on top of it
Dust with icing sugar and sprinkle with crystallized rose petals
Sweet potato and cabbage hash
with baked eggs
Vegetarian
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Ingredients
300g sweet potatoes,
scrubbed and cut into large
chunks
½ essential Waitrose Savoy
Cabbage
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Olive oil
1 small essential Waitrose
Red Onion, chopped
4 Medium free range eggs
Cook the sweet
potatoes in
boiling water for
10 minutes until
almost tender.
Remove from the
pan with a slotted
spoon and leave to
cool.
Add the cabbage to the
water and cook for 2
minutes until tender. Drain.
Cut the potatoes into small
cubes. Mix in a bowl with the
cabbage, soy sauce and
seasoning.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan,
add the onion and fry for 1-2
minutes then add the sweet potato
and cabbage mix and fry stirring for a
few minutes.
Make 4 hollows in the vegetable
mixture, and taking the 4 eggs, crack
one into each. Cover with a lid for 810 minutes or until cooked through
and serve.
Variation
You can use kale or Cavolo
Nero cabbage instead of the
Savoy in this dish.
British Rhubarb, Macadamia &
White Chocolate Cake
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook 35 - 45minutes
Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark
4. Sift 200g of the flour with the
baking powder, bicarbonate of soda
and the cinnamon into a large mixing
bowl. Rub in 75g of the butter until
the mixture looks like coarse
breadcrumbs and stir in 100g of the
sugar. Beat the eggs with the yogurt
then beat into the dry ingredients to
make a soft mixture.
Spoon the cake mixture into a
buttered and base-lined baking tin,
about 28x18x4cm, and smooth
the surface. Top with the
rhubarb. Rub the remaining
butter and flour together and
stir in the rest of the sugar.
Add the chopped
macadamia nuts and the
white chocolate chunks.
Scatter over the
rhubarb.
Ingredients
250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
100g butter
125g golden caster sugar
2 medium essential
Waitrose Free Range
Eggs
150g natural yogurt
400g essential Waitrose
Rhubarb, cut into 2cm
lengths
50g macadamia nuts,
roughly chopped
50g white chocolate, broken into small chunks
Bake for 35–40
minutes until well
risen and a skewer
inserted into the
centre of the cake
comes out clean.
Turn onto a
wire rack to
cool. Serve
warm in slices
with Waitrose
Seriously
Creamy
Madagascan
Vanilla Ice
Cream or leave
to cool and store
in an airtight
container.
Recipes kindly supplied by Waitrose
Filling
25g butter
2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
15g thyme
300g English spinach, blanched & roughly chopped
1 medium potato, peeled, cooked and diced
3 free range eggs
100ml double cream
300g mature English Cheddar cheese, grated
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Shortcrust pastry
340g plain flour
170g butter, chilled & cut into
cubes
Iced water to bind
Serves 6-8
To make the shortcrust pastry, in a food
processor pulse the flour and butter until
the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add
iced water a little at time and pulse until a
dough is formed. Wrap and chill for half
and hour.
To prepare the filling, melt the butter in a
heavy based pan, add the onions and
thyme and fry very gently over a low heat,
stirring now and then, for 20 minutes until
the onions are very soft and starting to
colour. Set aside to cool.
Add the chopped spinach to the fried
onions and combine with the cooked
potato. Beat the eggs and mix with the
cream. Add the egg mixture, reserving a
little for sealing and glazing, to the
vegetables and mix in the grated cheddar
cheese. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt
and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6
Roll out two thirds of the pastry to the
thickness of a pound coin and use to line
the base and sides of a 20cm loosebottomed cake tin. Spoon in the filling.
Roll out the remaining pastry and use this
to form a lid. Brush the edges of the pie
case with the reserved egg mixture and
press the lid on, sealing the edges well.
Bake the pie in the oven for 35-40
minutes, until golden brown. Rest and
cool on a rack before removing from the
tin and serve at room temperature.
Recipe kindly supplied by BHWT Patron
Harbour & Jones
50 / www.bhwt.org.uk
BHWT Supporter, Sue Easton, runs a great Baking
Blog and sent in one of her favourite recipes.
You can take a look at Sue’s Blog at
notjustanyoldbaking.blogspot.co.uk/
Ingredients:
125g butter softened
125g caster sugar
2 free range eggs
125g SR flour
75g chopped walnuts
For the top of the cake:
Icing sugar
1 egg white (taken from one of the 2
free range eggs)
Walnut pieces to decorate
Method:
1. Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees or 160C fan. Cream together the butter and sugar
until pale and fluffy. Break one egg into a bowl; with the second egg separate the yolk
from the white and keep the white of this egg for the icing later.
2. Add the whole egg and single egg yolk beaten together to the creamed butter and
sugar with a tablespoon of the flour. Once incorporated fold in the rest of the flour
gently.
3. Add the chopped walnuts and mix in. Put the cake mix into a lined loaf tin.
4. Bake in a loaf tin in the oven for 35 minutes.
5. Once baked, test with a skewer, take out and leave to cool. When the cake is cold
make up some royal icing with the egg white and sifted icing sugar. You will have to
judge how much icing sugar by the amount of egg white.
6. Spread the icing over the cake with a palette knife dipped in very hot water to get a
smooth top. Decorate with the remaining walnuts.
Slice and enjoy with a cup of tea and chat about how nice this cake is, but how your
Mum’s walnut cake really was so much better.
If you would like to submit a free range recipe, please send it to
lisa.pope@bhwt.org.uk together with a high res photo.
The eglu Go, hatched by Omlet,
offers a neat and tidy home for up to
three hens, you can buy the Go
through our online shop at
www.bhwt.org.uk/shop
Flyte So Fancy make our very own BHWT
Peckingham Palace available exclusively
through the charity, and suitable for up to 5 hens.
It has been designed with our special ex-bat hens
in mind, and is hand-made in rural Dorset from
the best Scandinavian wood with solid brass
fittings and a unique hen-shaped window in the
shape of our logo. The
innovative run options include
a "Refuge Run" which gives
the hen at the bottom of the
pecking order a place to get
out of the way.
The Peckingham Palace
costs £332.50.
There are endless options when choosing a
hen house for your ex-bats - here are just a few
The Posh
Hen House Company can offer a great addition to your
garden: offering easy access, tailor made nest boxes, four season windows
and accommodation for up to twenty chooks, this hen house looks stylish
too. It can be tailor made to suit your setting with stable doors and shingle
roofs. Runs are fox-proof and moveable. The Posh Hen House costs from
£799, and comes in a range of tasteful colours with a fifteen year
guarantee. Quote TPHH1 when placing your order and the company will
donate £50 to the BHWT. For more info go to www.theposhhenhouse.com.
www.bhwt.org.uk / 53
by BHWT volunteer,
Allison Sandle
52 & 53 & 54 – A DES RES FOR YOUR HENS? TO BE DONE
54 / www.bhwt.org.uk
As a beginner Allison didn't know how to handle her
first hens, so she thought it might be useful to put down
on paper the failsafe way to pick up (and put down) a
hen without flapping.
When I started with chickens six years ago, I knew no more
than what I’d read in chicken-keeping books. I learned the
hard way that despite what the book said, it’s impossible to
balance a 10lb Orpington on the centre of your hand without
getting beaten half to death by her wings and most of your
arm clawed off.
So if you’re new to chickens or your chickens are new to you,
you’ll need at some point to master the art of picking them up.
Here’s my failsafe method of holding a chicken without:
(a) her flapping so much you drop her;
(b) hanging onto her while she repeatedly whacks you in the
face with her surprisingly strong chicken wings, or
(c) squishing her under one arm so she can’t breathe
Whether it’s holding her for regular health checks or just
because it feels nice to hold a warm, sleepy chicken in your
arms, the good news is that ex-bats are one of the most
accommodating breeds when it comes to being handled.
The best way to approach a chicken is from directly above
her. Distracting her with corn works a treat. The second thing
to remember is that a chicken’s wings are not like our arms,
they don’t come out of the sides! Chicken wings are jointed
from near their spine and come out vertically, towards you.
The way to prevent any flapping until you get her in your arms
is to put your thumbs together and place them on her back
with your hands on either side, firmly holding her wings. This
will prevent her from lifting her wings. If she slips her wings
out, put her back on the ground, wait a minute, try again and
hold her more firmly.
Next, you’ll be able to lift her straight up so she’s resting
against your tummy with her head facing to your left.
With your right hand press her body into your tummy and let
go with your left hand. This goes right round her body so her
neck in your elbow and your left hand on the rounded part of
her abdomen.
In this position, she’ll feel nice and secure. Placing your hand
on her back will prevent her from flapping. And don’t worry,
your hand will not be touching her vent and in the unlikely
event she poos, it WILL miss your hand.
So now you’ve got your chicken, how do you put her down
again ?
Easy! Bend your knees and she’ll jump off of her own accord.
Our postbag is plump every week with your lovely newsy
stories, photos and feedback. Here are just a few:
Hi Clare,
I thought you would like to see
the attached photo of one of
your hens. We call it the Hen
Party. They are so happy on
the banks of the Tamar.
Best wishes,
John Foster
Dear Gaynor,
Yes we are finally ready to welcome our new family members.
The coop and runs are now ready and the infra red controlled machine gun
emplacements have been tested and repel foxes and badgers equally efficientlyif a tad messily?! Overhead threats are dealt with by netting and heat seeking
missiles combined with low level AWACS flyovers. Underground attacks are
handled by my anti-predator ferrous subterranean palisade system ...patent
pending - (iron bars hammered 2ft down into the ground at three inch intervals).
Mite powder applied and vets warned to be on standby. Electric fence batteries
on charge and tested on unfortunate beloved canine family members.
So my wife and her new best
buddy, who treats and feeds
her hens considerably better
than her husband, have
finally given the facilities
their seal of approval so it’s
all systems go - can I come
and live in your barn
please??!!
We would like four hens if
that is okay with you?
Best Regards Glenn Jones
Hi Lisa,
My daughter Siobhan turns 13
tomorrow (she’s the one who won
in the calendar competition with a
pic of Nutter and Double
Trouble). Of course I made the
cake with eggs from our chickens
but it seemed fitting to include the
chickens in the cake too.
Regards, Keili
Hi,
Congrats on all the hard work you do, particularly on the campaign to get rid of
battery hen cages - it was lovely to see the article on "Liberty" the last caged hen to
be rescued.
However, I've read somewhere that the UK hasn't in fact got rid of all it's battery
cages - is that true?
If so, shame on our government!
Regards, Jenny Smedley
P.S. As I'm disabled I often spend time stuck in bed- the "Chicken & Egg"
magazine, online , is brilliant- I'm lying in bed reading it on my laptop at this
moment! Eggscellent !!! :)
The UK is now fully battery cage free Jenny, so you can rest assured that any shell
eggs you purchase will have come from the minimum standards required by the
enriched caged system. This cannot be said for processed foods, so please do take
care when purchasing ready made goods to ensure the eggs are either free range or
British.
www.bhwt.org.uk / 37
Would you like to donate? If so, here’s our
standing order form. Thank You.
STANDING ORDER FORM
Your Full Name: Mr/Mrs/Ms .......................................................................................
Address:
……………...................................................................................................
…………………………………………………………….Post Code: ……….......................
Phone no: …………………………………………………………………….........................
Your Bank’s Name & Address: ....................................................................................
………....................................................................... Post Code: ………………............
Branch Name: ................................................................................................................
Account Number: ……………………………………Sort Code: ……………................
Please pay: Lloyds Bank, Barnstaple Branch (30-90-49), the sum of: £ ………………...
to be credited to the account of “The British Hen Welfare Trust” (Account No: 02429877)
on ………………………....... 2012 and a like amount thereafter on the same date of
each month/quarter/year (please delete as appropriate), until countermanded.
Signature: …………………………………………….........
Date : ……….....................
Print Name: ……………………………………………......................................................
When completed, please return this form to:
The British Hen Welfare Trust, North Parks, CHULMLEIGH, Devon, EX18 7EJ
Tel: 01769 580310
Your donation could be worth 25% more … if you are a UK Tax payer, for every £1 you
give, the BHWT can receive 25 pence from the Inland Revenue at no extra cost to you. All you
need to do is read and sign the declaration below.
Gift Aid Declaration
I want the charity to treat all donations I have made in the last six years, and all donations
I make from the date of this declaration as Gift Aid donations, until I notify you otherwise.
I understand that I must pay an amount of United Kingdom income tax and/or capital
gains tax at least equal to the tax that the charity reclaims on my donations in each tax
year (currently 25p for each £1 given).
Signature: ……………………………………………….. Date : ………............................
To the Bank For office use only:
When making payments please quote BHWT ref no: ………..........................................
In the event of any query, please contact Jules Rogers on 01769 580310.
BHWT SUPPORTERS have kindly sponsored over one thousand hens since
we introduced the scheme, which has raised valuable income for the charity.
We have now introduced two options, one for our younger hen friends under
16 and those for the bigger hen softies.
Sponsor hen story and certificate plus a six
month update on your chosen hen. A smart
notebook, a novelty pen, wrist band,
ruler and a BHWT button badge. £20.00
Sponsor hen story and certificate plus a six
month update on your chosen hen, A smart
notebook and matching pen, a magnetic
bookmark, a car sticker and two Lisa Pope
greetings cards. £24.00
You can find out more information about sponsorship on our website:
bhwt.org.uk or alternatively call Lesley on 01769 580310
Hen Health
Queries?
British Hen Welfare Trust
North Parks,
Chulmleigh,
Devon, EX18 7EJ
BHWT Careline
Phone: 01362 822904
email: bhwtcareline@
smallholderfeed.co.uk
Tel: 01769 580310
Email: info@bhwt.org.uk
Web www.bhwt.org.uk
Do you want to re-home some hens?
Call 01769 580310 or visit bhwt.org.uk
Berkshire - Crowthorne
Bristol - Clapton in Gordano
Cornwall - Camelford
Devon - Chulmleigh & Lapford
Dorset - Dorchester
East Central Scotland - Balerno
Essex - Great Totham
Hampshire - Waterlooville
Herefordshire - Winforton
Hertfordshire - Thaxted & Dunmow
Isle of Wight
Kent - Biggin Hill
Lancashire - Haslingden & Wigan
Lincolnshire South - Castle Bytham
Norfolk - Kings Lynn
Lincolnshire North - Swinderby
Northamptonshire - Brackley
Northumberland - Stocksfield
Oxfordshire - Didcot
Shropshire - Oswestry
Somerset - Midsomer Norton
Suffolk - Ipswich
Surrey- Cranleigh
Sussex - Chichester
Wales South - Gwernogle & Cardiff Gate
West Midlands - Allesley near Coventry
Wiltshire - Malmesbury
Yorkshire - Sand Hutton near York
You can sign up
to receive an
email version of
Chicken & Egg
magazine by
following the link on
our website home page at
www.bhwt.org.uk. If you prefer a
copy by post, please email Lesley at
lesley.beer@bhwt.org.uk. We
currently send out 30,000 online and
9,000 by post.
The yolk’s on you
if you throw this
away without
trying to pass it
on ... it’s a tiny ask
we make each issue. Help us
increase our readership and
persuade more people to influence
the welfare of laying hens.
We’ve got over 4,000 followers on Facebook now, it’s a friendly
flock and as well as chicken chat and advice, you can pick up
some great free range recipes and enjoy seeing all the happy
hens you’ve given a second chance to.
If all you’ve got time for is a bite-sized
nugget of chicken news, Twitter is the
answer. Keep an eye on us
@BHWTOfficial. It’s amazing who you’ll find on there,
even Jamie Oliver keeps an eye on us and recently helped
to promote our Free Range Friday fundraising campaign.
Chicken & Egg Magazine
is a British Hen Welfare Trust Publication
Editor: Devonian Wrinkle Neck - Jane Howorth
Design: Frizzle Chick (where are those straighteners?)
- Lisa Pope
Phone:
01769 580310
Email:
chicken&egg@bhwt.org.uk
CHICKEN
SIGNS
£10.50
EMMA
BRIDGEWATER
DESIGNS
EGG CUP
£5.95
HEN ON
NEST
£49.00
EGG CUP
£11.95
GIFT
WRAP
& TAG
£2.49
LADIES
T-SHIRT
£10.50
BHWT
CAR KIT
£7
BHWT
JUTE BAG
£6.00
bhwt.org.uk
Here’s a selection of henny gifts currently
available in our online shop. All profits come
to the charity. Don’t like shopping online?
Give us a call on 01769 580310 Monday to
Friday, and we will be happy to help.
The BHWT Shop is run here at Hen
Central, so every purchase directly
supports the charity – so please get
shopping!
64. M & S AD