Which comes first - the chicken or the (Easter) egg?Easter is almost upon us. It means different things to different people - for practising Christians, it is one of the two most important festivals in the religious calendar; for many of us in an increasingly secular society, it means a welcome break from work; and for children it probably means one thing above all - Easter eggs!
Why eggs? Ever since pagan times, along with the coming of spring, they have symbolised rebirth. And eggs, above all chickens' eggs, have also been part of our staple diet since time immemorial.
Hard times call for, if not desperate, then at least practical, measures. During the Second World War many gardens, and indeed whole parks, were turned over to vegetable growing. In the village where I used to live, the gardener for the ‘big house' told me that many families also kept a pig, and no self-respecting, hard working home would be without its chickens.
In the midst of a recession, many people today are discovering the age-old benefits and pleasures of husbandry. And of course, no ‘farmyard' animals are easier to manage and accommodate than chickens, which is why they are increasing so rapidly in popularity.
There is another reason for this, however. None of us can remain in ignorant bliss of the appalling fate of battery chickens - the scenes in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's television documentary made almost unbearable watching. Small wonder, then, that many of us are refusing to buy these battery chickens and their eggs, and are turning to free-range, or going one step further and rearing our own.
Earthwatch Development Officer Laura Howells has joined these growing ranks. She says: "After acquiring an allotment last year and starting to brew our own beer and cider, we decided to take on another new challenge to add to our aspiring self-sustainable life style. Reading 21st Century Smallholder gave me the inspiration to take on a pet with a purpose - chickens!"
Laura continues: "My research initially led me to farm sites where you can buy top of the range bantams for around £20 a pop, but a part of my eco-consciousness led me instead to find out more about rescuing ex-battery hens. The Battery Hen Welfare Trust offers members of the public who want to keep hens an opportunity to take home rescued ex-battery hens for a small donation."
Given the run of the garden, in a short space of time Laura's three hens went from being scared of humans and bald, to fully-feathered, with bright red combs and laying at least four eggs a week each. The hens are low maintenance, feed is fairly cheap, and the main expense was the building of a hen house to protect them from foxes.
"We did this on a budget, though, building it from reclaimed wood. We let our birds free range during the day without being around to keep an eye on them, and so far so good. They'll turn over your soil, do all your weeding and are great at keeping the garden pests down - they've got a real taste for slugs! Chickens are also incredibly funny creatures, especially ex-bats, as they've never seen sun, rain or snow before - they've never even had a water trough, so watching them learn about these things for the first time is very amusing."
Laura adds, "I never thought I'd feel an affinity to poultry, but when they come running over to you when you pop out into the garden in the afternoon, you can't help but smile. Plus the feeling that comes from knowing you've saved a sad little battery hen is pretty special.''