Under My Wing
A Sanctuary For Hens
Our mission is to save as many ex-commercial hens as possible from slaughter and to provide a home that will allow them to exhibit their natural behaviours
What we do
We save as many ex-commercial hens from slaughter as we can and give them sanctuary in a safe, caring environment that will allow them to exhibit their natural behaviours. We give the re-homed hens the identity they never had, and recognise and respond to their individual personalities. We provide them with a large coop and run, protected by electric fencing, with plenty of space to roam, they can dustbathe to their hearts' content, and eat as much nutritious food as they want! We will use the blog to record our journey, and the website to provide helpful guides and articles as both a reference for ourselves and also a help for others.
Why we do it
All ex-commercial hens in the UK are slaughtered at approximately 72 weeks old and those hens that are caged have never seen daylight, pecked at grass, or been able to dustbathe - we want to give as many hens as we can the chance to do these things. We've seen through the hens we've re-homed the transformation that occurs when a hen is given space to move, and an environment to flourish in, and the rewards that having these lovely creatures as pets can bring. The hens we re-home are the lucky ones; they are the ambassadors for the millions of caged commercial hens in this country that will never see natural daylight or have the sun on their backs and grass beneath their feet.
Latest from our blog
Beefree Designs Greetings Cards
We got a wonderful package in the post today – 12 greetings cards from the lovely Elaine Innes at Beefree Designs that she sent to us to sell to raise funds for the hens. The cards are beautiful, and we received the ‘Roaming Free’ series of 3 cards whose designs…
Fly High Lupin
Today we said goodbye to Lupin. She was one of the group of 12 hens that we named ‘The Laurels’ that were re-homed in May 2017 and she had over 11 months with us. Lupin had a limp when she first arrived and spent her first few weeks indoors recuperating…
Harebell, Jasmine and Lupin go to the Vet
Lupin has gone downhill the last couple of days and Harebell and Jasmine were due a check-up after their visit to the vet a few weeks ago, so all 3 hens put their seatbelts on and we drove to the vets. Unfortunately Lupin’s condition wasn’t good. Despite medication for the…
Fly High Lilac
Today we lost Lilac. She was one of the group of 12 hens that we named ‘The Laurels’ that were rehomed in May 2017 and she had over 11 months with us. My lasting memory of Lilac will be of a sweet little hen that, last summer, decided she wanted…
