Adopt rescue hens from a battery farm rehoming program

Battery cage hens are typically culled at 18 months when production dips below commercial targets. Rehoming programs rescue these hens and place them with backyard keepers. The hens still have 2-3 productive years and cost nothing to acquire.

How to Find Rescue Hens

• Fresh Start for Hens (freshstartforhens.org.uk) — UK-based but lists US partners
• Local Facebook groups — search "chicken rehoming" or "battery hen rescue" + your state
• Craigslist farm section — commercial farms occasionally list spent hens for free pickup

What to Expect

• Hens arrive pale, with patchy feathers and overgrown nails. Within 4-8 weeks on pasture with good feed, feathers regrow and combs redden.
• Egg production resumes within 2-4 weeks, typically at 4-5 eggs per hen per week (down from the commercial peak of 6).
• Most rescue hens are ISA Browns or Hy-Line Browns — gentle, people-friendly breeds.

Tips

• Quarantine new hens for 2 weeks before mixing with an existing flock
• Provide extra calcium (crushed oyster shell, free-choice) — battery hens often have depleted reserves
• Trim overgrown nails carefully with dog nail clippers on arrival