You've seen the TV show, you've bought the t-shirt and are never going near another battery-reared chicken breast again. But what more can you do to ensure a good life for chickens? The next step is adopting your own. Providing a steady egg supply and a lot of feathered fun, chickens make great garden companions and it's entirely up to you if you choose to keep your bird as a pet or ultimately eat it (or both!) But it's important to keep them happy while they're with you. Here's our roundup of chicken coops for your garden.
With prices starting at £118, Taylor's Garden Buildings has a huge selection here of happy homes for garden chickens. Some of these pens are not only suitable for chickens; if you want to get really adventurous, the site suggests you could use them to house ducks, bantams geese and even quail!
As a long-term veggie and seasoned believer in animal welfare, it came as no surprise to me to see the carnage and mayhem in a shed of intensively farmed chickens last night on Hugh fearnley-whittingstall's Chicken Run on Channel 4. And what's the betting that Hugh's mock-up barn was practically the Ritz compared with the far larger real sheds that don't get shown on TV?
But that familiarity didn't stop me from feeling a sense of sadness and resignation at the fact that some people I've talked to afterwards (even one of those taking part in the show) will continue to buy intensively-farmed chicken because it's so much cheaper -- as much as one third of the cost -- of free range. With this in mind, how has the show affected your choices? Fill out our poll, and be honest!
If you saw Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall getting friendly with some hens yesterday and felt warm and fuzzy inside, you might want to invite some of these marvelous birds into your home. Now, depending on how serious you are about chickens, how much space you have and the amount of time you can dedicate, there are all kinds of ways you can do this. Here are a few options:
For those with a bit of space in the garden and are lucky enough to have plenty of time to spend with your birds, Eglu is the way forward. With comprehensive, online support on the Omlet site, this is the best option for first-time chicken owners.
They may have paid him countless millions to irritate us all in TV ads, but that hasn't stopped Jamie Oliver from publically criticising Sainsburys' bosses for 'chickening out' of a televised debate on factory farming.
In Jamie's Fowl Dinners, the ethically-aware chef will take the viewer on a shocking journey through the murky depths of intensive chicken farming in the UK. As part of the investigation, he invited the big four supermarkets, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury's, to speak in a debate on farming methods. But all four supermarkets refused to take part, putting Oliver in a difficult situation vis-a-vis his long-term business partner.
X-Factor winner Leona Lewis is doing a good job of convincing me that reality TV stars do serve a purpose other than our gleeful voyeurism, after I learned that she's spoken up for vegetarians everywhere who'd like to see a bit more variety in the non-leather fashion market.
The long-term veggie singer has announced plans to design her own collection of non-leather shoes and accessories, while calling for more established designers to follow suit and offer more stylish leather alternatives. "I have been a vegetarian since I was 12 and I hate the thought of animals being killed just for our pleasure, so I won't wear leather," she said.
Gordon Ramsay, once branded a 'cold-hearted animal hater' by PETA is to join fellow chefs Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in a new show to air in that will expose cruel farming practices and encourage consumers to make more ethical choices when buying meat, eggs and dairy products.
The show, entitled the Big Food Fight is part of a Channel 4 season to promote healthy eating and let viewers in on the often unpalatable truths about where processed food comes from, including battery chicken farms. Coinciding with many people's new year resolve to live more healthily, the show and others in the season will promote organic, free range meat all through January. [Via Ecorazzi]
WSPA have done some phenomenal work to promote animal welfare over the years, campaigning tirelessly against cruel practices like bullfighting, bear baiting and whaling. They really are a great organisation, and very worthy of your pennies. You can join for just £3 a month, but next year they'll be inviting members of the public to laugh as they donate, with a very special comedy event that will raise tons of money for animals everywhere.
Last year, animal-loving comics including Ricky Gervais, Robin Ince and Phil Jupitus headed the bill at WSPA's Stand up for Animals show at Hammersmith Apollo and over £80,000 was raised. This year's even will take place on Sunday 24th February, and if you'd like to be there a limited number of reduced price tickets at £19.50 are going on sale today only. To purchase yours, log on to the Ticketmaster website as fast as you can this morning. Normal ticket price is £25.
You've seen the TV show, you've bought the t-shirt and are never going near another battery-reared chicken breast again. But what more can you do to ensure a good life for chickens? The next step is adopting your own. Providing a steady egg supply and a lot of feathered fun, chickens make great garden companions and it's entirely up to you if you choose to keep your bird as a pet or ultimately eat it (or both!) But it's important to keep them happy while they're with you. Here's our roundup of chicken coops for your garden.
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As a long-term veggie and seasoned believer in animal welfare, it came as no surprise to me to see the carnage and mayhem in a shed of intensively farmed chickens last night on Hugh fearnley-whittingstall's Chicken Run on Channel 4. And what's the betting that Hugh's mock-up barn was practically the Ritz compared with the far larger real sheds that don't get shown on TV? 
If you saw Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall 
They may have paid him countless millions to irritate us all in TV ads, but that hasn't stopped Jamie Oliver from publically criticising Sainsburys' bosses for 'chickening out' of a televised debate on factory farming.
X-Factor winner 
