Our Egg Club is made up of hundreds of like-minded hen-loving supporters who all use their girls’ eggs to raise even more money for the BHWT.
With that in mind we’ve got an Egg Club interview with member Rachel Robinson who told us about her club, how it got started and who her collectors are.
How long have you been keeping hens? Tell us about your flock (who’s in the gang, where they live etc)
We’ve had our 3 hens since June of last year so coming up to 18 months. They were rehomed from Kineton. The gang consists of Julia (after a character in Motherland), Sybil (Sybil Fawlty) and Margo (The Good Life). Julia is lead hen and the friendliest. She waits patiently outside the greenhouse while I’m in it, I dare not let her in as I’ll have no tomatoes left! Sybil is the noisy one, always squawking. Margot is affectionately known as Houdini. She’s escaped into neighbours gardens few times and if there’s a gap, she’ll find it!
How long have you been an Egg Club member? How did you hear about it and what made you sign up? Tell us about your ‘customers’ – are they regulars, passers-by, friends and family?
I started Egg Club in March 2022. At the time the hens were laying three eggs a day and there’s no way we could eat 21 eggs a week! I used to give the eggs to neighbours and friends but then I saw an article about the Egg Club on the BHWT site and thought what a good idea. Initially I asked friends for a small donation, then people contacted me who had seen my details on the Egg Club page through BHWT. To be honest I could do with more hens as I can’t keep up with demand!
Lots of people have said to me that there’s hardly anyone doing this in Birmingham and they wanted to know that their eggs were organic/free range and that the hens are looked after. I have a regular who lives locally who puts in an order every week. At one stage I was supplying eggs to a lady who lived an hour’s drive away. She said her kids now loved having boiled eggs in a morning as they knew where they had come from. She came to meet the hens too!
How do you find the Egg Club Facebook group?
I’ve used the Facebook page a few times to ask advice and help. Lots of people have made welcome suggestions and it’s nice to know there’s someone out there who’s had similar issues with their hens.
Do you have signage or a stall on the garden gate?
I don’t have any signage as I don’t have enough eggs left over! I usually sell plant seedlings in the summer and advertised the eggs then. Donations went to the Egg Club and lots of people seemed interested.
Finally, what do you love most about your hens and keeping chickens?
I love my chickens. To be honest we were a bit scared of the initial size of them when we first had them and I thought there was no way I could pick one up. Now my neighbours have seen me carrying Margot back after several attempted escapes! It’s lovely holding them too.
When we got them, I didn’t really expect any eggs. I just liked the thought that we were saving these poor chickens and they could have a nice outdoors existence with us. So, when Julia laid the first day, it was so exciting! We took pictures of the egg and shared it with everyone. Their eggs taste so much better than supermarket ones. The only downside is since keeping chickens I can’t face eating chicken so I’m a vegetarian!
If you’re not already an Egg Club member but want to join the gang, head to our dedicated Egg Club page to get started.
