Never mind Easter, join Julie and Jonathan’s ‘Egg Club’!

A Hertfordshire couple have found a great way to make the most of the spare eggs from their pet hens, by giving them away to their friends and family in exchange for a donation towards their favourite charity, the British Hen Welfare Trust.

The national animal welfare charity re-homes ex-commercial laying hens, and educates the public about how they can make a difference to hen welfare, and since its launch in 2005 has re-homed more than 505,000 hens from over 32 'pop-up' locations run by teams of volunteers across the UK.

Julie and Johnathan Morris-Smith first set up their Egg Club, aptly named 'Hertfordshire's Hottest Chicks', after reading the charity's monthly e-bulletin, aptly named Fresh Laid News, which called for BHWT supporters to make better use of their spare eggs. Johnathan explains, “When we re-homed our second lot of lovely hens they were in full lay and we were literally giving them away! It seemed only logical to ask our friends and family to make a small donation towards the work of the BHWT.”

In just the first six months of setting up their Egg Club, Julie and Johnathan raised over £160 for the charity, and have high hopes of doubling that figure by the end of this year.

We asked the hen keeping couple what they loved most about re-homing ex-bats, Julie told us, “Oh, definitely seeing them transform from nervous little hens into beautiful, confident and full feathered ladies. I love watching them indulge in the behaviour that comes so naturally. The first time I saw one of my girls laying down in the run, and what can only be described as squirming and flapping around I was so worried, until I realised she was just having a dust bath! Nearly two years on, whenever I see them dustbathing it fills me with such joy.”

If you would like to take Johnathan and Julie's lead to help the British Hen Welfare Trust fulfil its vision of a free range future, why not get involved and set up an Egg Club or place an honesty box outside your home today?

Send in your first donation and a little information about your Club (preferably with a few photos) and the BHWT will send you a fab free car sticker… And no, you can't buy it on the High Street! Please contact Xiomara (pronounced 'Shamara') Xiomara.Pattison@BHWT.co.uk, call 01884 860084 or visit www.bhwt.org.uk to find out more.