Fears grow for abandoned chickens after surge in adoptions during lockdown

The RSPCA is concerned about the number of hens and cockerels being dumped and fears rescue centres will be overrun with birds soon.

So far this year, it has dealt with 1,594 incidents relating to chickens across England and Wales, with 56 of those in Greater Manchester alone. The charity has also taken 280 chickens into its centres for rehoming.

An RSPCA spokesman said: “Concerns were raised during lockdown about the increase in pet acquisition and ownership, and we feared that people would soon lose interest and start to hand their animals over once life started to return to normal.

“In the spring, many hen producers reported huge surges in demand for chicks and we believe this may be because people panic bought birds due to shortages of eggs in the supermarkets but, due to the shops being better stocked, are now ‘surplus to requirement’. There are also concerns that some families may have taken on unsexed chicks, which have grown into noisy cockerels so are now being abandoned.”

Dozens of hens and cockerels have been dumped in recent weeks, sparking fears that charities and rescue centres will soon be overrun with unwanted chickens.

The RSPCA fears the problem could worsen as cases of bird flu are confirmed across the UK which would mean owners need to keep domestic birds indoors.

Alison Thorpe, who runs Lucky Hens Rescue in Amberswood, feared birds would eventually be abandoned after a surge in ownership earlier in the year. She vets the people rehoming her hens and has not had any returned, but has been asked to rescue hens obtained from other sources.

She said: “We did expect this to happen. We did take in some young hens that somebody bought at the beginning of lockdown and realised they can be hard work if you don’t have the right facilities and knowledge to care for them.

“We have taken in a lot of boys who were hatched during lockdown. We have 16 now. We can only take in so many, because of the noise as well as the fighting that they can do. They are alright if the hens aren’t about, which they aren’t here. It’s a 60/40 chance that boys will be hatched and people don’t realise this.”

Lucky Hens offers a cockerel rehoming service for people who wish to find new owners for male birds. She urged people considering adopting hens to always use a reputable organisation.

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