Local hatcheries say chick season is booming, with more people looking to raise hens for eggs. But raising chickens takes ...

This allows him to rotate the hens to two new paddocks every 21 days, preventing them from overgrazing an area, giving the grass time to recover. “By the time that 84 days has rolled around ...

And, regardless, it will take time to raise new hens. “We’re going to have to wait to replace those with new hatched chicks, and it takes 20 weeks before they even start laying,” Shane said.

New welfare standards from RSPCA Assured have finally been announced for laying hens after pauses were made to previous plans. Last year, RSPCA Assured paused the release of new standards to its ...