Donna Girling

My husband was offered a cockerel in the pub one day, and agreed to have it. I was not happy. The person he got the cockerel from also gave him 2 orpington. We had a small coop and nothing else, no food, bedding, nothing. We currently have 10 chickens, 9 ex batts and one of the original orps and have worked our way up to a run and living enclosure that would easily house 20 or more. They are my babies, I love them and hubby, who started it all, isn't really interested at all.

Paul Stubbs

Patsy Booth

Heather Brown

My love of chickens-- especially bantams started when I was about 8 years old. As a child I used to stay with my Uncle on a farm in Shropshire. His son kept bantams and although he was the same age as me there wasn't anything he didn't know about looking after animals --- I adored him and was absolutely convinced I was going to marry him and be a farmers wife when I grew up! Well that didn't happen but my love of animals stayed with me and when I acquired 2 allotments 4 years ago-- guess what I did. Yip -- got my bantams!!!! Best thing ever -- they have taught me so much and never fail to make me smile.

Jude Butler

My neighbour was selling a chicken coop with or without a beautiful grey bantom I decided due to my fear of birds I would get it a few weeks later I got my beautiful ex batts from my local rescue now I have gotten over my fear of birds so much so I can lift my girls up and love nothing better than being out in there run having a conversation with my 4 girls all different characters and when the weather breaks a new coop and run is being built for me to slip a few more girls in.

Su Norris

My chicken story is when I started caring for my elderly mum I needed a realise for me and hubby some where we could do our thing our hobby. Being tied to the house and caring we need a release started with 7 chickens 4 years ago still have 6 of the original ones plus the daughter of the one we lost, come Saturday we will have 61 a wonderful mum still with us and a happy family.

Connor Clarke

It all started when I went round my friends house, he blurted out that he had chickens with Afros (silkies) and we had to have a look. Sure enough they did, and that's where I caught the chicken madness...

Over time I hassled my mum enough for her to buy me some barbu duccles. They were the best chickens I ever had. Then I rescued some ex batteries and sizzles, they had the biggest personalities. Summer went by and I ended up hatching (both naturally and artificially), rearing chicks inside and outside, selling the eggs and POL chickens. I'm glad I went round my friends house to see the chooks or I wouldn't have my chickens now

Francesca, 46, Trieste

I live in Trieste, I am not so old (nearly 46) but I lost relatives and friends as well, my best friends are my two ragdoll cat girls and the cat colony. I have loved chickens since my early childhood, when I wanted to have a pet hen, but was not allowed, so had fun in attending the house of my mum's aunt, where there were several hens that ran free. They were kept for eggs, but also as pets and members of the family.

But I meant to tell you about Olga. There is a hen here in the neighbourhood, she is an escapee like in "Chicken Run" the movie, flew away from her original home, and travelled hidden in a workers' bus; then she found an ideal home here - she is loved by the kids at school and all people who meet her, she eats with pigeons, crows and cats, roams around in the day and sleeps on tree tops at night. She is really a character, and makes the day of many people!

Jordan, 17

Moffazzol Khan

Brenda Waterson

Always liked helping my Dad with his gals when I was a little girl, he had a 70ft shed he built and kept them in, still have the shed(pic follows)you'll all laugh at it now. When Dad finally got so he couldn't get up an down the field any more I started to look after the gals, found a peace I'd forgotten in life. He is gone now. Still have one of his left, she must be 15 now. True. Now all in a safe outdoor enclosure, mostly rescues, my best friends!

They live in the large shed, some in cages, Dad had a small veg an egg round. He delivered in his van, completely small time. I used to be allowed to help sometimes, guess I was only 8/9 which would have made about 1969/70. I adored his gals. Recall wanting them to be outside though......

When they didn't lay they would be for the pot, horrid memories of them hanging upside down plucked but head on and a little burner, kerosine i think to burn off stubble. Probably because they were old hens.

My gals enjoy retirement peacefully, some are ripe old ages.

Linda Black

Dan Hardwick, 32, The Poultry Pages

I was 14yrs old and was in need of some pocket money to buy things I wanted, I had a paper round but this didn't suit me... so off i went looking for a weekend job, I came across a farm that a school friend worked at on a weekend again for pocket money and asked my friend to get me a job. Then it all started from there really!

I was 14yrs old and was working at a battery hen farming where we collected and packed eggs from chickens and on this farm there was approx 20,000+ hens at anyone time kept in cages. I worked there for a few years and turned 16yrs old and then the farmer asked, 'do you want to run the farm on a weekend?'. Through the experience I had gained I jumped at the chance and was responsible for running the farm on a weekend and looking after all these hens, then came the hen keeping, I lived with my mum and asked if I could keep a few in the back garden in which she agreed to which soon turned into more and more and before I knew it I was buying in day old chicks and rearing to point of lay and selling them all of course sourced from the farm I worked at. Unfortunately this didn't last long as the farmer contracted an illness and sadly passed away and then the farm folded as a result.

Now being 32 yrs old I got back into hens approx 4 yrs ago and again just keep a few in our garden now for pets and eggs and still love it to this day. Sadly family life and worries do get in the way. I now also own, run and administrate one of the largest poultry groups and communities on Facebook called (The Poultry Pages) and help other people with their day to day worries and concerns about hen keeping and provide a community where people can come together to discuss ALL things poultry. Again this was set up on the back of keeping poultry and working with poultry and feel very humbled to be in this position to be able to provide a platform for over 20,000 people worldwide and share my knowledge with others on a daily basis :-)

Sophie Hunter, UK

What got me into chickens?  Well that would be the animal house my high school used to have, it's also where my first 2 ever chickens come from. 2 tiny utterly beautiful black tailed white Japanese banties, originally called Nono & Ellen (I named them Gretchen & Matilda). I was told by my teacher they were going to be put to sleep as they were too old (aged 4) to breed. so I paid him £5 and took them away. Aged 8 they incubated eggs for me & gave me 4 chicks. aged 11 I got another 2 chicks incubated. These chicks became my flock. after being told they were useless aged 4 they lived another 6 1/2 (Gretchen) & 7 years (Matilda). they introduced me into the wonderful world of chickens.

Derek Sowerby

I'm involved in hen keeping as I'm the chairman of Eden Valley poultry club. I've been in this job about 6 years, it's the best hobby I've ever had, I'm really enjoying it. There are loads of people that want to help you. Sometimes you can get a bit set in your ways and complacent but then someone new and enthusiastic comes along, does a lot of research and is more committed... it proves successful!

It's just a hobby for me. I was a shepherd all my life... until foot and mouth. And then I needed a hobby. A friend of mine said I needed hens... I said I didn't! But then with the help of other people I've just got in.

I like something that's flashy or showy like I would in cattle or sheep. I have old English game birds. They're not very commercial... they don't lay many eggs, but I'm drawn to the style rather than the functionality. If you're walking down the aisle and a bird stands out it just makes your head turn. And then you go from there. If something catches your eye...

Judging poultry is all experience. There's a book of standards for size, colour, head colour, leg colour... that sort of thing - it can get quite technical when it comes down to it. If they don't fit within that standard they're not even worth showing in the first place. But you listen to experienced people and learn. And it's a good day out.

Ali Horn

My cousin had a henhouse that he had built at school and advertised in the local paper to sell it. He sold it and we just thought that we wouldn't actually mind getting into hens. So we went to a local auction, started with wellsummers first and he bought some cream legbars and then after that we sort of got the bug and went to different sales and making henhouses and stuff like that. It was after we used to go clubbing... when we stopped we needed something to do!

So we looked at all the different breeds and what they should be like in Poultry Standard and 5 years later we have 28 different breeds, one for every letter in the alphabet. And bantems, geese, turkeys, allsorts. Then we did a little bit of showing and it was just a hobby that got carried away! The people you met through it were interesting because they're different to the sorts of people you'd meet before.

The shows are just a bit of fun. Everyone has got a chance. Whatever background you come from, everyone has got a chance at winning a rosette. If you do start winning and collecting prizes it just gets quite addictive. It's just about doing the best you can. It's just not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

Paul Forsaw, Lancashire

When I was about 12 I worked on Drakes Farm, one of my jobs was collecting eggs from the battery sheds; I had a round selling eggs on my street and about 15 people bought eggs off me. One day in a hedge on the farm I found a hen sitting on about 15 eggs I sold them to Mrs Morris, Cheryl's Mum one of my best customers. A couple of days later she shouted me in the street and sacked me with the words "I don't know where you got those eggs you little sod, but you nearly killed us all".

 Also, an old man used to sell chickens from his allotment to people on our street. I was at my mate Robert Quinns house one day when he turned up with half a dozen plucked wrung Hens. When Mrs Quinn started squealing after he had gone "Robert, Robert it's alive!!" (the poor bird was it was blinking) Robert took it in the back Garden and chopped it's head off with a Machete. It jumped up ran around then ran into the Kitchen with no head... it was horrible. And I've never heard a woman scream as long and as loud as his Mum when it ran into the kitchen with her.

Joan, Tyne and Wear

Someone in the street used to keep them so we had to help. We collected the eggs but it was so long ago I can't remember much. They used to come running to you - they knew it was feeding time. I think they still do!

Ken, Heworth

It's funny - a lot of people kept hens when I was young. I don't know why but it's gone out of fashion a bit now. Nearly everybody had hens - because allotments and that were big things. People had big gardens... a vegetable garden and kept hens. It was amazing how many people kept hens in those days - I suppose it was just for the eggs in those days. It was during the war and pre-war. The eggs were important to local people, but they don't seem to be as important now. My father in law was a great hen man. I just fed them sometimes, there wasn't much to do.

Elsie, Gateshead

My Dad kept hens, ducks and geese - he dug the pond they lived in himself. He had half a dozen at the beginning but they laid eggs and hatched so ended up with a couple of dozen - this was before the war. During the war, my mam looked after them while my dad was away in the navy. We used to give the folks around the area the eggs. People didn't sell things in them days. They just gave them away cos people needed things. We had more than we needed so we gave them away. We never went hungry like - we probably would have starved during the war if it weren't for the eggs.

My dad put them in the range to keep warm when they hatched during the winter.