WHEN Peter Gill and Kelly Hennessey-Ford first moved to Ross-on-Wye, before any notion of an animal sanctuary had entered their heads, they had the simple dream of rehoming some ex-commercial chickens.

Peter explained: “I wanted to give a few birds a real and natural life away from the confines that they would have endured for the whole of their previous lives.

“It was quite simply one of the best moments of my life when our first four chickens arrived at Pen Y Bryn.

“To witness their near-featherless bodies jump out of their crate onto the green grass and then cluck around in wonderment at their freedom was to me an incredibly emotional moment.

“I felt there and then that even if they only had a day of this freedom or a week of it, that we had done a good thing by them and to some part our lives had a purpose.”

Commercial hens, typically, have a working life of just 18 months after which it is deemed that they are no longer financially viable as their egg production may have dropped from seven eggs a week to just six.

At this age they are then generally cleared out from the farms and slaughtered. Fortunately, there are some wonderful charities that rescue as many of these young chickens as possible to be rehomed as productive pets.

Peter continued: “We have since taken on many more chickens through ‘Fresh Start For Hens’ and ‘The British Hen Welfare Trust’.

“Chickens are full of personality. They sing when they’re happy, talk to you constantly and make it abundantly clear if you are late with their morning or evening feed.

“They are intelligent and need to be mentally stimulated and can be incredibly affectionate.

“Our first four rescue chickens were a revelation to us, and we have since taken on many more, not just ex-commercials but waifs and strays who have been found homeless, small flocks whose owner can no longer care for them and the occasional single bird, the last remainder of someone’s collection.”

When avian flu restrictions are lifted the chickens are very much the heart and soul of the Pen Y Bryn Sanctuary.

By day they wander around freely with the rest of the poultry investigating every nook and cranny, checking on all the other residents, welcoming visitors and finding new hidey holes to lay their eggs.

They are the joyful voice of the sanctuary a constant reminder that by helping one simple soul we can make a difference.

Unfortunately, Pen Y Bryn is not open to the public, but the owners do offer the occasional supervised visit.

The animal sanctuary is home to numerous animals, some 200 in total. There are ponies, pigs, goats, sheep, turkeys, rabbits, geese, guinea pigs, chickens, turtles, budgerigars, owls, ducks, dogs, cats, baby calf Lana and a host of other species.

If you want to read more about our other residents or how you can help the sanctuary then please visit the website penybrynanimals.co.uk and read our blog ‘Tales from Pen Y Bryn’.