Rescue hens with benefits

Helpless hens destined for untimely deaths are in need of good homes.

Every year, thousands of battery hens are sent to the slaughter at only 18-months-old.

Far from being old chooks, these hens have have only laid one season of eggs.

However, at the end of their first laying season, the hens take a four to six week break from laying.

No longer economically viable for farmers to feed the thousands of birds who are having a breather from laying, the hens are sent to the slaughter.

This is where the hen rescue comes in.

‘‘People think we go in the middle of the night with a balaclava,’’ The Sanctuary founder and saviour of hens Shawn Bishop says.

‘‘We have relationships with a few different farms and when it comes time for them to kill the animals, they give us the opportunity to rescue as many as we can rehabilitate and rehome,’’ she says.

The animal sanctuary organises drivers and transport to move in and collect as many hens as they are able to adopt out to good homes.

It’s heartbreaking to have to leave hens behind, Bishop says.

The rescued hens will continue to lay eggs, and have an expected life expectancy of five to eight years.

Bishop says the hens are ‘‘pets with benefits’’.

Visit animalsanctuary.co.nz to fill out the adoption forms if interested.