Special Pets Gallery

Chin Chin, although she only had three legs, she lived long and well. She loved her family with the strength of a tiger and they loved her back just as fiercely.

Two of our beloved chickens who died in the past few weeks. Nellie was a dear, affectionate girl who, pluckily, escaped the jaws of a fox four months ago. Nellie recognised her name and always came running when we called her. She still has a special place in our hearts. Molly was one of the young hens we homed when Nellie's sister was killed by that same fox. Sadly, the recent very hot weather made them ill and we couldn't save them. Our donation is in gratitude for the Hen Helpline and their support, answering our cries for help quite speedily.

This is for Raleigh and his beloved hen Derp. Raleigh had the kindest of hearts and rescued two chicks from a farmer's market, one who was lovingly named Derp; she and her sister lived a long and happy life in California. Derp loved food and whenever anyone was refilling the feed bin, she'd jump right in. Sadly, Derp went to hen heaven earlier this year and it hit Raleigh hard. This is to commemorate a special hen, the random act of kindness of a young man and to remind us how little it takes to transform lives.

Curious and friendly right until the end. She loved squeezing up with her sisters at night and would hop up onto your lap at any chance. Our garden is a little emptier now, we were very lucky to look after her.

Dearest Toffee was such a friendly little girl and will be greatly missed.

Princess was a very beautiful, plump little chicken. She was the protector of our trio of ladies – always ready to sound the alarm at imminent dangers such as passing seagulls and our next-door neighbour, who she never liked the look of! Sitting in the middle of the pecking order, she was a firm friend of both our other two chickens, and they still seem quite lost without her. Farewell little Princess – thank you for spending your retirement with us x

Rosie, we think was an older lady, but that never stopped her doing the things the others all did. She loved cuddles and we shared one last cuddle before she passed away. But I know she was happy as she made the most cute purring sound whenever she saw me. We only had her since last December but she made such an impact on me. I will miss her terribly. Purr on Rosie…

Our beautiful Helga; she spent 4 months with us and she loved her free range retirement. Helga thoroughly enjoyed dust bathing, mealworms and she didn’t mind a little cuddle! She loved to help me dig at any given opportunity – what a great help she was in the garden! She died suddenly but peacefully in my arms and we’re lost without her! We’ll miss your antics and miniature brown speckled eggs. Sleep tight my lovely lady!

In memory of Beauty who enjoyed just one weekend of freedom. Beauty sustained a broken wing and, despite the vets’ best efforts to fix the wing, Beauty was put to sleep. She had a short time to enjoy the garden, eat worms, nibble plants and feel the grass under her feet. Beauty was a brave girl who touched our hearts.

Berta, Bella and Flossie were our first ever hens and they proved to be more interesting and amazing than we could ever have imagined. They taught us so much about the brilliance of chickens. Just about their most favourite thing was coming in the house and settling themselves under the stairs on the warm floor to have a little sleep always with some nice gentle celtic music or pan pipes in the afternoon. They were very mischevious too and nothing was too much of a challenge or off limits in their minds. Barbara Bond

Laura donated in memory of her friends’ cat, Felix, who once saved her hens by chasing off a fox which was attacking them. What a hero he is!

Blossom is sadly missed. She was a beautiful little girl with a big character. David North

Bev and Flo venturing through the kitchen together. Little Bev went to chicken heaven in August 2018. Poor Flo will miss her second in command and I will miss my gentle little hen. Cathy

Here is Plucky having a nap under the cherry tree in May 2018, when she was five and a half years old. We got her in the spring four years previously, and of the four hens we got, she was the smallest and barest. About a month later we went on holiday for a week and when we came back, there were still four hens but where was Plucky? She had regrown a new set of beautiful fluffy feathers in that week and we didn’t recognise her! We were hoping she would reach her sixth birthday in September, but she died peacefully in the night, just a few months short. Plucky lived with us for four years, enjoying the sunshine and bugs, eating weeds and dust bathing with her friends, and still laying the odd egg once in a while. She was a gentle, happy hen, and we will miss her. Galadriel

We lost both Daisy and Dafodill in a short space of time; they came together about a year ago and are sadly missed. David and Kathleen

Olive and Sybil were our two beloved little Light Sussex bantams, here on their favourite bench with Hulda, our Bielefelder bantam. They both loved to jump into the branches in the trees behind the bench. Tragically, they each died at a very early age. These beautiful little girls brightened out lives incredibly, and they are still missed and loved. Beau & Liz Riffenburgh

My top girl Glad sadly passed away on 7/2/18; nearly 8 years old! She was my last remaining girl of my terrific trio which included my gorgeous Flo and Lily. Glad was top girl from day 1! Totally in charge! She loved to come into the living room, nick the cats’ food, loved sitting in the flower pot outside the conservatory peering through the window and frequently would try to wedge herself through the cat flap! She was the most beautiful girl in the world and I will miss her so much. A real character who brightened our lives. Sleep tight my beauty. Forever in my heart. X x Cheryl Tribe

Babs and Cleo have been with us since rescue and grace our lives each day we share. Babs & Cleo are very closely bonded and rarely apart. They spend their evenings snoozing on the sofa arm and enjoy some occasional stroking for extra comfort. They are lively and incessantly curious and woven into the tapestry of our lives.

We named our girls Wilko, Lidl and Aldi. When we lost Lidl in November I just don’t think Aldi ever got over it as they were inseparable – they did everything together, never leaving each other’s side. The girls bring me so much joy and I have a lot of love for them.

Sadly we lost Treacle recently and as you can see she was always adventurous and she was probably the friendliest girl we have had so far. We had her nearly two years and she is greatly missed. Kathleen North

El was our little warning trumpet and would make us all aware of every noise! Despite being unable to walk at first she battled on and ran with a distinctive waddle – when you look back you do think about those little differences. She loved her grapes and would certainly steal them from the others! We miss her so much but she had a fabulous two months and, whilst she was with us for too short a time, she didn’t suffer and has touched our hearts forever. Gillian Rowlands

Holly always found the best spot when the treats came out. When we picked her up from Great Totham with Ivy three and a half years ago they had been stacked in slaughter house cages prior to the release they were soaking wet, hungry and petrified but they slowly began to trust us and became much loved members of our family. Kath & Dave North

I just wanted to share a photo of my darling girl Lily who sadly died on 5/5/17. Almost seven years free. A beautiful, loveable little character who would never let me pick her up! I’d always be chasing her round the garden trying to catch her! In another life I swear she’d have been an Olympic sprinter! I will miss her so much and she’ll always be in my heart. RIP my beautiful Lily. Cheryl Tribe

My gorgeous Flo passed away in 2015. She had a wonky, crossed over beak, a wattle missing and never managed to grow her top coat of ginger feathers, having instead a fluffy white and ginger speckled coat! She was at the bottom of the pecking order but that never stopped her being the cutest chick! A real character who was first into the house and onto the sofa whenever the back door opened! I’ll miss her forever but I was so privileged to have had her in my life for five wonderful years. Cheryl Tribe

Nugget turned 7 on April 17th (?) and on the day she laid an egg after a year off laying!! We’ve had Nugget since she was a pullet, and she was very shy at first! It took a lot of handling (usually against her will!) to get her as tame as she is now, and she’ll often come and snuggle up to me for cuddles ? She’s a lovely hen to have (even if she will do ANYTHING for a few mealworms!), and had always laid a perfect egg without fail! Kirsty Ranson

Custard, my special little hen with the massive personality, you had an extraordinary innings for an ex-bat. The remaining girls are far too well-behaved by comparison, there is no one trying to bust through the cat flap and the garden looks unnaturally tidy without those mounds of straw and hemp shavings. May you and Blue rest in peace.

Mary was a lovely noisy, if slightly dotty hen, always at the bottom of the pecking order. She loved the trust fat sticks, and all food, in fact she was in our kitchen more often than she was in the garden! And she was the beautiful colour all over of rich dark Jamaican Ginger cake. Rescued in January 2014, she was my favourite “Bake-off” girl and I used to feed her bits of my peanut butter on toast in the morning! Craig Webster

My darling Poquito, aka Keeto. She was an ex-bat re-homed in March 2016; I’ve never known a sweeter girl. She started off so scared of everything, and ended up as my little shadow. She would wait until everyone had gone to bed at night, waited to kiss me goodnight, then took herself to bed. She would love to play with my phone, she knew how to take photos and videos; I have so many little clips of her pecking at the phone ? She sadly left us last month, but she was a year and a week free, and she made the most of every second. Thank you sweet girl. x Samantha Clarke

Tiki was an adorable hen. She loved to swing on our garden swing and would close her bottom eye lid. She had a funny honky and wobbly voice, and whenever she saw a corn ball (ball that holds corn), she would waddle over with her goofy skinny legs spread out. She was the dominant hen and always digged the best dust bath. She is now passed but I believe she haunts the coop. Charlotte Butterworth

We had to take Nancy to the vets on New Years’ Eve 2016 to be put to sleep. She had a tumour, and as always, we are very sad. She was my favourite of the Bake Off girls and one of my “specials.” I called her Nancy Nancini. She was the first hen that I owned that went broody too, puffing up and clucking like a little brush turkey. She was the smallest of the four but not at the bottom of the pecking order. She went from a small pale girl with a big comb to a healthy and bright inquisitive food loving girl. She had a sixth sense about the mealworm packet! Charlotte Miles

Laurel would follow us around and take interest in everything we did; gardening, grass cutting and even furniture assembly. Laurel is no longer with us, but we will always have fond memories of the little hen that rescued herself and bonded with us. David & Sarah Marek

Babs and Cleo have been with us since rescue and grace our lives each day we share. Babs & Cleo are very closely bonded and rarely apart. They spend their evenings snoozing on the sofa arm and enjoy some occasional stroking for extra comfort. They are lively and incessantly curious and woven into the tapestry of our lives.

Olivia is a larger than life character, she came to us with a dislocated leg. When my vet first saw her, she was worried she wouldn’t make it, I also had an uncomfortable feeling she might be right. Thankfully we were both wrong. She may not move around in a conventional way, but we love her even more for it.

I lost my favourite hen, Mandy, in April 2013. She was the smallest hen, the most intelligent and with the biggest personality and firmly established herself at the top of the pecking order in the coop and in my heart as well. My partner always said: “There are three people in this relationship: you, me and Mandy.” RIP Mandy

This is Rizzo, the leader of The Pink Ladies! Very sadly she died yesterday (thank you to the lovely lady I spoke to at the BHWT yesterday morning who gave me loads of advice and support over the phone). Rizzo was my absolute favourite of the flock (I know you shouldn’t really!) from the minute we picked up our 5 girls. She had the most amazingly large comb! She was so inquisitive from the get go and would come to my back door all the time wanting to come in the house. I will miss her dreadfully and so will the rest of The Pink Ladies.

Isabel was the bravest of our 4 rescue hens, always exploring and leading the others, and the only one to venture into the house! We’ll miss you, little bird.

The sweetest little hen ever, she would peck my leg so I lifted her onto my lap. Dear little soul, I shall miss her so much. Love you always dear Maisey xxxxxxx

Thank you to Amy on the helpline for all your recent help. Donation in memory of our very loved hen - Isis the Egyptian Goddess. I’m sorry we couldn’t save you little one.