Knitting Jumpers for Bald Chickens
Last updated 2/26/2010 9:06:33 AM
Knitting Jumpers for Bald Chickens
Everyone knows that battery chickens have a hard life. They're cooped up in dark sheds all day and all night for about a year, until they have produced all the eggs they can and then they are usually slaughtered.
The Little Hen Rescue Centre in Norwich buys them and offers them as pets as an alternative. Unfortunately, a lot of the chickens have lost their feathers after being locked up in the dark for so long.
Now the battery hens which have lost their feathers are being knitted jumpers by a Somerset craft club to keep them warm. Considering the winter this year, the chickens are in real need of being kept warm.
The members of the knit and crochet club, which meets in the craft centre at Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre, Taunton, Somerset like to help charities and thought chicken clothes were a great idea.
"The hens usually come out of farms quite bald and can be underweight. They will soon fatten up and regain their feathers with the right care, but while they are waiting for their feathers to grown back they can benefit from our knitted jumpers", says Miranda McPherson from the craft centre.
Jo Eglen, who founded Little Hen Rescue last year, said she takes in up to 4,000 birds at a time and around 10% have lost their feathers because of their living conditions.
She said: "There will always be some baldies. There was one that just had eyebrows.
"As soon as they're out it takes up to six weeks, or sometimes just a week, to get their feathers back.
"We are constantly using the jumpers to keep them warm and some of the new owners take a spare with them."
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