Potts is a good egg!

Hen house

A Rochdale man has come to the rescue of hens, in what can only be described as a ‘heart warming story.’

Garth Potts, originally from Rochdale but currently living in Cumbria, wanted to buy some hens for fresh free range eggs but found it very difficult to purchase hens in the area he lived.

After asking around he was pointed in the direction of a local battery farm, which was selling hens to both take-aways and the local zoo.

On visiting the battery farm and seeing how the hens were living. Mr Potts decided he would ‘save’ as many as he could and left the battery farm with 39 hens.

He found that it took 4-5 days before they started to venture out of the hen house he had prepared for his new guests, because they weren’t used to moving around and had very weak leg muscles. It also took a while for all their feathers to grow back.

“Six months on, we are very pleased to announce that all the rescue hens are now in fine health, very happy and are laying eggs naturally faster than we can eat them!” said Mr Potts.

Mr Potts and his father Jim, who lives in Castleton, have built some hen arks and runs which they are selling along with a full starter kit including feeder/drinker, litter, bedding and special layers hen food. The hens come free with the purchase of the starter kit.

The first pair of hens were re-housed in Rochdale just in time for Easter and are providing their new owners with 1-2 eggs per day.

Mr Potts added: “We have worked out that the kit would pay for itself in approximately eight months in comparison to buying a dozen ‘free range’ eggs per week from a supermarket.”

If you are interested in giving a home to any rescue hens contact Mr Potts on 07887 612440.