The history behind our decision to rescue hens

I have always been a 'hen fancier'. We had always intended to buy a couple of hens but this was pre-empted by our local farmer offering us their escapees. They normally have 16,000 chickens which they keep for a year and then they go to slaughter, but eight of them escaped (these were the lucky ones!) We managed to catch six and the other two went to live with someone else.

Below is a picture of our first egg. We were thrilled. It's hard to explain the feeling you get. After the hen's traumatic beginnings. They are happy hens. They have land to move around in, weeds to eat, they don't have to share their food with thousands of other hens and their placing in the pecking order has got to be higher, hasn't it. Hens have worries. they worry about strangers, predators, where they will get their next meal. Any undue stress means that they stop laying. They need 12-14 hours of daylight each day to lay or artificial light. They need excercise. They need a diet containing all the vitamins and minerals they require in order to lay. It is no mean feat!

We were also given a hen coop which Chris (my husband) renovated. Before we got the hens we had a wasteland at the bottom of our garden which was always going to be a veggy patch and hen run. Within just a few weeks, it has been transformed. We have a double wooden garage and at the rear of that the hen coop, a greenhouse and some raised vegetable beds. I am growing onions, potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines, herbs and flowers.

Hetty, Henrietta, Baldrick, Hillary, Helen, Clucky

Hetty and Henrietta-well, typical names for hens really. the little girl next door named them. Both beautiful girls, very light in colour,

Hetty is the first out of the coop in the morning-a real character. Best to wear wellies as she pecks your toes. Hetty is numero uno in the pecking order; she is the boss. She is quite affectionate and will allow you to pick her up or stroke her.

Henrietta likes to go walkabout now and again, perhaps we should have called her Houdini. I once found her in the neighbours garden-well they say the grass is greener!

Baldrick was bald when she came to us hence the name Baldrick. She had no feathers on her rear end and was very thin, but she is getting stronger and has lots more feathers now. She is clearly at the bottom of the pecking order though and is bullied by the others. She's a bit nervous, but coming out of her shell (pardon the pun!). Bakdrick is always the last to go to bed. This is not because she is a naughty hen and doesn't want to go to bed, it is because she is at the bottom of the pecking order. Most of the hens take themselves to bed if we leave them late enough, but not Baldrick. We usually have to try to coerce her to go to bed.

Hillary is named after a lovely friend of a friend.

Helen was named by my husband Chris after his sister. She bears no resemblance (sorry Helen!).

Clucky so named because she clucks a lot-why else! She always comes when it is feeding time and just clucks. She makes more noise than the rest of them put together.

On average we get 4-5 eggs/day from them which isn't bad considering the horrendous summer we are having. I ought to make them a pair of wellies to waddle in. It is not good for hens to be in cold mud apparently. They already look like they are wearing wellies. I think that one hen isn't laying, but not sure which. We have only had them a few weeks so they are still settling in.