about me....

Hello, I'm new here. Actually I'm new to the outside world.  For months I lived in a cage on a farm laying eggs every day and being plucked by the other hens. It was hell on earth.  When I stopped laying at about 9 months the farmer was going to kill me and have me made into cat food or meat pies until those lovely people at the British Hen Welfare Trust came along and rescued me.  That's when my new life began. 

One hot Sunday morning a lady came and chose me from hundreds of others to be taken to my Forever Home.  She took 3 others as well.  None of us had any feathers except around our necks and we were all 'oven ready'. We were all terrified.  Have a look at this photo of us when we arrived.. don't we look dreadful! I'm the one in the middle with the black feathers just starting to show. 

After a little while the car stopped and we were taken and put in a run with a very comfortable sleeping compartment.  I was able to stand up straight and stretch my wings.. well what passed for wings as I didn't have any feathers on them just the spines that go down the middle.  But I was frightened, so very, very frightened. I had never been in anywhere so huge before.  Really I think I was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress.  Have a look at this picture of me when I first arrived, I'm the one on the right at the back.

My Mum called us all after Celtic Goddesses - Rhiannon, Brigid, Olwen and me.. Little Maeve.  I was so traumatised that I wouldn't come down out of the safety of the upstairs of the coup, but every day my Mum stroked and smoothed me, put food and water up for me and crooned to me.  People thought she was a bit bonkers doing that! Just imagine the picture.. a rather large woman sitting in a hen run crooning to a hen who insisted on hiding away... Over 4 or 5 days I began to feel a little less frightened and one day plucked up the courage to come down into the run with the others.  I was still really worried but the others were there and they looked after me.  That was just the start.. now there was no holding me back.  This was the outside world and I was going to enjoy it. It's been 2 weeks since my Mum rescued me and brought me home and my world has changed beyond all recognition.  Just look at me now..I still have no feathers on my back, underside or bottom but I look after the ones on my front.  One day I will have beautiful feathers and a beautiful upright red comb.  

Yesterday we had REAL excitement. Living in the big run there are 2 Buff Orpington's cross Golden Lion Warrens called Linnet and Morgan.  They are HUGE!!!!!  for 2 weeks we have been living inside a smaller run inside their run but yesterday our Mum left the door to our run off and we all went in to the big run together.   The other 2 were in laying eggs but when they came out they found us in their run!! If we had any feathers they would have been flying. Morgan, the top hen, attacked Rhiannon and had her held down by her beak and comb.  Now I wasn't going to stand for this so I ran as fast as I could across the run and jumped on to Morgan's back and started to peck at her.  'Get off' I was saying in my own clucky way.  Morgan didn't like me coming to Rhiannon's rescue and in a few minutes it was all over.  We all knew what the Pecking Order was and who was where in it.  The only thing to show for the fight was a few drops of blood on the combs and Rhiannon was limping a bit, but she had a good rest and she is fine now. For the rest of the day we all wandered around the big run together and were happy.  In fact we all banded together when a flock of about 30 baby sparrows came down and tried to eat our food.  We had such fun running around and scaring them off.  

So, here we are then.. happy living all together in our forever home in  on the moors in Cornwall.  I'll keep you up to speed with what we are all up to.  outside our run is a huge garden with a big green patch  Linnet said it's called a lawn but I've never seen green like that ever in my life and can't wait to find out if I can eat it and what it feels like under my toes.... then I would love to investigate those little buzzing things in the boxes under the tree.. and that watery thing with the newts in it.  So much to see, so much to learn about.  I am so glad I was rescued, life is so much better than being kept in a cage never seeing daylight and being pecked to bits by other hens just so some people can have cheap eggs.  So when you are next in the shops and you want eggs think about me  in the cage and how it made me so traumatised and see if you can find it in your hearts, and pockets, to pay just a few more pennies for your eggs so hens can have the life they should have and think of me, Little Maeve, in my forever home.