08/10/2024
All things eventually come to an end……
Sadly the time has come to make the following announcement. Both Sue and Carolynn will be stepping down and we will no longer be volunteering or opening our Hailsham and Hastings collection points for Chicken Rescue UK. This decision was not made lightly or quickly but was due to a combination of reasons, both personal and professional.
Since our first rehome back in March 2022 (although I know many of you had been having hens from us way before then) we have, between us, in total rehomed :-
3,396 Hens
325 Ducks
1 Goose
1 Turkey and
18 Boys (cockerels/drakes)
Which means you have helped us save 3,740 lives.
We have loved helping these birds and we are so proud of what we, with your help and support, have accomplished in just 2 and a half years. That is a truly amazing figure for just 2 collection points to achieve. We would also like to thank our fantastic volunteers who have given up their free time to help at both collection points. They have been pecked, pooped on, wing slapped in the face and fallen flat on their faces occasionally too (yes Carolynn did once manage a spectacular ‘face plant’ whilst trying to catch a hen 😂) but no matter what has been thrown at them they have always had a smile on their faces, been ready to jump in and get their hands dirty doing whatever was needed of them and made every rehome day that bit more special. Without them we couldn’t have done it. Lots of cake has been eaten, and lots of laughs were had, precious memories were made and friendships were formed ♥️
But more importantly we would like to thank, from the bottom of our hearts, every single one of you who gave these birds a second chance. You opened your hearts, and homes, to these gorgeous little creatures who would otherwise have never known how it felt to have a name and to be truly loved. We have also loved meeting you, laughing with you, sometimes even crying with you, and we have loved seeing every single hen, duck, cockerel etc go off with their new families and to loving new homes. Without you we wouldn’t have achieved so much.
But, just because we will no longer be open doesn’t mean you guys can’t continue to change the future for ex commercial hens. It doesn’t matter where the hens come from or which organisation rehomes them. All that matters is that they get that chance. The British Hen Welfare Trust hold their rehome days at Raystede near Lewes and Fresh Start for Hens have collection points in Hailsham, Herstmonceaux, Heathfield and Hastings. So please, if we can both ask you for one last favour, continue to adopt these girls and change their little lives forever.
To say this has been a hard decision would be an understatement but it was a decision that had to be made. It is now time for us to close our coop doors 😔