Batty ex-bats

by Ellie
(Suffolk)

We rehomed some ex-bat hens. They arrived looking shell shocked and just stood around on the lawn, not knowing what to do. Within a very short period of time their natural behaviours surfaced and they were soon scratching and making dust baths.

They were very friendly hens and used to like to sit on our laps when we were out in the garden. Henrietta was the most sociable and on one summer afternoon put her head in my husbands glass of beer to try some and then snatched his Belgium bun out of his hand and ran away with it.

Layla had a bit less sense, and put her head into a tin of green paint while my husband was painting the fence. Luckily it was water based paint so we were able to get it off fairly easily.

They were all real characters and good layers the year round. I hope to move to a more rural area next year so that we can have some ex-battery hens again.