​Dear friends,
April is here, spring has sprung! Winter is finally behind us and things are looking brighter everyday. Plus, I have some good news and some great news! The compulsory housing measures for poultry were lifted today! Due to an outbreak of avian influenza all keepers have been required to keep hens indoors since December. It's been horrible for our hens stuck inside constantly, we all know how that feels thanks to our covid lockdowns! This morning we opened the chicken hatch for the first time in months, I wasn't sure whether the hens would immediately come out or whether they would be a little nervous of the outdoors. I should have known better! As soon as the hatch was lifted they all came charging out squashing through the pop-hole, feathers flying and fighting for space to get through! Absolute chaos! It was so funny to stand back and watch the mayhem unfold which was soon replaced by a lovely peaceful scene as they got to work scratching, basking and dust bathing. It's wonderful to have the flock back outside where they belong! Avian influenza continues to pose a risk to poultry but the level has been reduced to 'medium'. This means that we must all continue to practice high levels of biosecurity and advice on this can be found on the APHA website. Ok, so that was the good news. Now the great news! Our own lockdown is also set to be relaxed somewhat over the coming weeks and these changes to the covid restrictions means we can finally RESCUE HENS AGAIN! Yes, the return of rehoming events! We have spoken with farmers and we hope a rescue will take place around the end of April. If you are hoping to re-home some hens I must ask, please do not try to fill in a booking form yet. Bookings will not be opened until a rescue is confirmed, at least the middle of April and we will send you an email when booking is active. At the moment, it is unlikely we will be running all 8 locations but we will confirm which events will take place in our next post. We are really excited to get back to doing what we love and saving hens from slaughter. It's been such a tough time for humans and chickens alike and it's great to have this to look forward to. I hope to see lots of you at rehoming events soon, in the meantime check out our support us page, any donations towards our costs are much needed and gratefully received. Keep an eye out for our next post because it WILL have dates on it for rehoming events! All the best Kathryn Vogel Director of Homes4Hens Rescue CIC (SC567846) Don't forget to join our mailing list!
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AuthorKathryn Vogel, champion of chickens/pig protector/ serial cat cuddler. DIrector of Homes4Hens Rescue Archives
March 2023
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