Happy Mondays star rescues hens as Wigan animal sanctuary saves 30,000th bird

Amberswood-based Lucky Hens Rescue held a rescue day at the weekend - its first since the coronavirus pandemic began - where new owners could collect birds that had been due to be slaughtered and provide a new home for them.

Among those picking up their new hens was Shaun Ryder, from Happy Mondays, and his family.

The star had spoken about rescuing the former caged hens on TV’s Celebrity Gogglebox and they are now in their new home.

On Twitter, he said: “Lots of hen love this weekend in the Ryder household! Edna, Mabel, Dusty and Flo are settling into their forever home exploring their new garden and getting lots of cuddles!! The girls were adopted from @luckyhens Rescue Wigan.”

He shared photographs of the hens, including some of them wearing hand-knitted jumpers in place of their missing feathers.

Lucky Hens rehomed a total of 564 hens on the day, which would have been killed if they had not been saved by the community interest company and given new homes.

That included the 30,000th hen to be rescued since the organisation was launched and she was named Melonie - inspired by Shaun Ryder’s visit.

Lucky Hens was founded in 2010 by Alison Thorpe to rescue and rehome caged hens which had been involved in commercial egg production.

They go to live in homes and gardens in Wigan and further afield, enjoying a new lease of life as much-loved pets.

It is not just hens that the rescue helps, with sheep, pigs, horses and ducks among the other creatures they have cared for over the years.

Lucky Hens will hold its next rescue day on Saturday, October 10, with dates in November and December yet to be confirmed.

To adopt hens or find out more, go to www.luckyhensrescue.com.

More information about the rescue and how to support its fund-raising efforts can also be found on its Facebook page.