Partnerships
Partnering with the British Hen Welfare Trust is a powerful way for your organisation to demonstrate its values, engage employees, and contribute to meaningful, measurable change. By supporting the rehoming of ex-commercial hens and championing higher welfare standards, your partnership helps give thousands of birds a second chance at life while also advancing a growing public commitment to ethical food production.
As our Patron, Prof. Ben Garrod, highlights, hens offer profound physical and mental health benefits, from calming effects and emotional connection to helping reduce anxiety and supporting people through challenging moments. These positive impacts are echoed in countless first-hand stories from individuals and communities whose wellbeing has been lifted by keeping hens.
Rehomer story
Sarah has rehomed dozens of hens over the years and says they make ideal family pets. “Whenever my kids, like five-year-old daughter Poppy (pictured), are feeling overwhelmed by school, I just say ‘hey, let’s go outside and feed the hens’.
“Suddenly we’re in the fresh air, back to basics. No screens. Back to nature. And collecting eggs has become a lovely family ritual. They really are the best family pets.”
Many people are surprised by how affectionate and loving hens can be. “Veronica – one of our flock (also pictured) – doesn’t see herself as a hen,” jokes Sarah. “She sits on your lap. She literally purrs!
Sarah’s other daughter Evie, now a teenager, has been involved with hens through the charity since she was tiny. “Now she helps me out on hen rehoming days,” says Sarah. “Which is a brilliant way of inspiring responsibility and social skills, outside of a school environment.”
Our ethos of positive campaigning has driven real change: consumer demand for high-welfare eggs has helped free-range become one of the most successful sectors in British agriculture, with more than 75% of the UK’s laying hens now enjoying outdoor access. And when businesses join us, the impact is even greater. Our collaborative campaign with Hellmann’s resulted in the brand switching to free-range eggs across its mayonnaise range, improving the lives of millions of hens and supporting farmers investing in higher-welfare systems. By partnering with the BHWT, your organisation can play a crucial role in shaping a kinder future for hens, farmers, and consumers alike.
Why partner with us?
- Make a difference at scale: Your support helps us care for and rehome hens that would otherwise have gone to slaughter, while also improving commercial hen welfare and educating people about their care.
- Live your values: Turn your organisation’s good intentions into real, lasting action.
- Boost your team’s pride & morale: Volunteering, fundraising, or sponsoring is something staff can genuinely get behind — and it’s fun too!
- Shine a light on your good work: Show your customers, employees, and stakeholders that your organisation is serious about animal welfare, sustainability, and making a positive difference in the community and in people’s lives
Ways to collaborate
Every organisation is different, so every partnership is too. We’ll work with you to create something that fits your goals and makes a real difference for hens, and the people that keep them.
Here are just some of the ways we can work together:
- Charity of the Year: Work with us for a year, or longer, to build a partnership that makes a real difference for hens and your team. Together we can plan fundraising, volunteering, awareness, and skills-sharing activities. It’s all about bringing the partnership to life for both of us.
- On-Pack fundraising or brand licensing: If your products share our values and support high-welfare hens, we’d love to explore working together. On-pack fundraising or brand licensing is a great way to show customers you care, while raising vital funds for our work.
- Advertising: We offer opportunities to advertise in our biannual magazine, Chicken & Egg, which reaches tens of thousands of animal-loving readers. There’s also the chance to feature in our monthly newsletter, dedicated emails, or in our rehomer welcome packs and shop parcels.
- Gifts in Kind: Donations of products or materials, such as feed, bedding, crates, cardboard carriers, or transport, help us stretch our resources further and make sure more hens get their second chance. Items that can be used as prizes for supporter competitions or given as thank you gifts to our dedicated volunteers, help us recognise kindness and long-standing commitment.
- Pro bono support: Got professional skills to share? From design and marketing to IT or logistics, your expertise could help us achieve even more.
- Staff fundraising: Whether it’s a quiz night, office fete, challenge, or a Bake for Hens’ Sake event, we can help your team turn creativity into impact. Fundraising together builds team spirit and helps more hens enjoy a happy retirement.
- Staff volunteering: Come and get hands-on at one of our pop-up centres across the country. These days are a brilliant way for your team to see exactly how their support helps hens get their happy ending. Activities could include greeting adopters, setting up pens, unloading hens, gently catching and boxing them for their journey home, or cleaning and disinfecting crates. It’s practical, rewarding, and guaranteed to be memorable.
- Payroll Giving and matched donations: Make giving simple and meaningful by offering Payroll Giving: an easy way for employees to donate straight from their salary. You can even match their gifts to double the impact and show your commitment to hen welfare.
Working with us isn’t just about donations, it’s about being part of something positive, practical, and full of heart. Together we can give more hens the happy lives they deserve, and experience the enrichment they bring to our own lives.
Partnership stories
Higgidy’s on-pack promotion
Higgidy, the UK pie and quiche company, has been supporting the BHWT since 2013, turning its delicious products into a force for hen welfare.
In 2021, they ran an on-pack promotion featuring our logo on a speciality quiche, raising an impressive £8,000. Their creativity didn’t stop there — in 2024, Higgidy launched a limited-edition quiche to celebrate our One Millionth Hen, generating £7,400 to support our life-saving work.
Through these imaginative campaigns, Higgidy has not only championed animal welfare but also engaged customers with a cause they can feel proud to support.
Omlet’s staff fundraising
The team at Omlet held a fantastic summer fête in support of the BHWT. When the weather didn’t cooperate, they simply brought the fun indoors — and the creativity certainly didn’t stop there.
The event featured a “human fruit machine”, hoopla, a slingshot challenge, glitter body painting, a scavenger hunt and a raffle, all adding to the lively atmosphere. Their enthusiasm and imagination made the day a huge success, raising vital funds while bringing colleagues together in a truly memorable way.
What partnership means for you
We’ll work with you to create a partnership that works for everyone — your team, your organisation, and the hens! Depending on how you choose to get involved, benefits might include: recognition in our communications and social media, PR opportunities around our collaboration, a short report highlighting what’s been achieved.
We’ll just ask a few simple details from you too, things like timing, budget, or areas you’re most interested in, so we can design a package that fits your goals and ours.
Want to find out more?
We warmly welcome new partners from all sectors who share our values and want to make a difference to commercial laying hen welfare.
If you’re interested in becoming a BHWT partner, we’d love to chat. Email Sam Thomas for more information.
