Saved from the chop – Henny the hen who thinks she’s a cockerel
By Conn Hastings
Henny the hen first made headlines on the back of her decision late in life that she’d prefer to reinvent herself as a rooster – but Henny already had a story to tell long before this identity crisis.
Because Henny is a rescued hen – and like millions of chickens on commercial egg farms every year, Henny was destined for the abattoir . . only to be saved from slaughter by LittleHill Animal Rescue and Sanctuary outside Loughrea.
Were it not for LittleHill, Henny would have ended up as low-grade meat, such as dog food – because she no longer laid quite enough eggs to be profitable.
Instead she – or he – is living out their days among the 20 other hens, eight small dogs, three alpacas, two cats and a rooster outside the town of Loughrea itself.
Henny’s rollercoaster journey began at the farm where she had been living in a small cage, laying eggs every day.
One day, Henny D’aville, to give her her full title, and hundreds of her feathered companions were placed in crates, stowed in a horse box and driven away. The journey was dark and scary.
For most egg-laying hens, this would be their final journey, from the farm to the slaughterhouse. At just over one year old, when their egg laying declines a little, these hens are considered unprofitable and are routinely culled.
However, for Henny and her friends, this journey was the beginning of a second life.
In a carpark in east Galway, Henny met Vivienne McCormack and Luci Kershaw, who took her back to their beautiful homestead overlooking Lough Rea.
“When we collected Henny and the other rescue hens, they were in a horrific state from being confined in cages,” said Vivienne.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.