If you are out and about in the area of Falmouth in Cornwall, England, you may see a rather unusual site. What may first appear to be a normal flock of chickens will quickly catch your eye, because of the stylish sweaters that some of them are wearing!
Many of us prepare ourselves for the winter by purchasing heavy knits, and they certainly do serve a purpose. At times, however, there are also other creatures that could use the same benefit, including battery hens, such as what you see in the image below.
Battery hens have spent the majority of their lives in small cages. They are forced to live in uncomfortable conditions because it maximizes profit by causing them to lay more eggs. Once they are released from captivity, if they are fortunate enough to be released, they have a difficulty acclimating to normal outdoor conditions.
The name, “battery hens,” comes from the living conditions that exist for these animals. When you look at the rows upon rows of connected cages, it will put you in mind of cells in a battery, hence the name. As they live in those cages year round, they do not develop the feathers that are necessary to keep them warm in the winter months.
Nicola Cogdon is a 25-year-old woman who has a love for animals, including chickens. She keeps approximately 60 chickens on her property but 30 of them are rescued battery hens. The rest of the chickens have been range free for their entire life. In order to keep the battery hens warm in the winter time, she started knitting woolly jumpers. Perhaps she says it best in her own words…
“It’s important to make people aware of the poor conditions the hens live in and the fact that they have no feathers when they are retired. The tank tops are also something really different that provide some fun for the chickens. They keep them warm and makes the chickens easy to identify.”
Nicola, along with her mum, certainly do have the most stylish looking chickens that I have ever seen. It has also caught the eye of people who have chickens as well, and they have been requesting that she make these woolly jumpers for their hens. They started doing so but they are not selling the product for profit, any profit goes to an AIDS orphanage in South Africa.
It is our hope that they outfit plenty of chickens and we would hope that they make some for humans as well!
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