In Retirement, these Happy Chicken Wear Knitted Sweaters

Since my childhood, I have loved chicken and dreamt of having some at my home. Industrial livestock farming where millions of laying hens are held under painful conditions always saddened me.

When they reach the age of about 16 months and become less useful for egg production, they get sent to the slaughterhouse and get disposed of like garbage. That’s why I joined the German nonprofit organization Rettet das Huhn e.V. (Save the Chicken) which takes the chicken from cooperating farms and brings them to private adoptees who keep them in their gardens.

The organization, created in 2007, is found in 46 places in Germany and has already saved 91,512 hens since. As they often have lost their feathers and feel cold, so-called godparents often sew little sweaters for the chicken and send them to us for free. What makes me happy: You can see that the hens are really grateful. They become trusting, let you pet them, and look satisfied about their better, more ethical life in the greens.

Originally published on March 31, 2021.