Vet students - Newark
Vet Volunteers Flock To Help Out At Charity Hen Rehomings
2 years ago 
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Dozens of vet students have been helping find homes for hens by volunteering for a national hen welfare charity.
The students, from the University of Nottingham, got involved with the British Hen Welfare Trust’s (BHWT) rehoming days in Newark and Derby, and have more volunteering planned for future.
Between them, the 18 students helped rehome almost 400 hens who are now enjoying life free ranging in back gardens, instead of the alternative.
The BHWT and the university have recently launched an online six-week poultry health course with the aim of increasing vet knowledge when it comes to treating pet hens.
However, Lauren Cox, who runs the university’s Shelter Medicine Project, already had an affinity with the charity having rehomed around 40 hens with her grandparents throughout her childhood.
She said she was keen to expand the variety of animals the students worked with, adding: “Although they probably aren’t the first species that pop into your head when you think of shelter animals, they are rescued from slaughter and provided with a chance to live a better life – so I figured why not?!”
Lauren and 11 others attended a BHWT rehoming day in Ashbourne, Derby in July and, alongside the charity’s team of regular volunteers, helped send 291 hens off to new homes.
She said: “During the first few years of vet school, chicken handling practicals take place with the hens we keep at our smallholding. The rehoming day was a brilliant opportunity for us to really practice these skills, and it was amazing to see everyone become so much more confident over the course of the day.”
A further six students then volunteered at the charity’s Newark rehoming on Saturday, 13th August where 196 hens found new homes.
It is hoped this will be part of a long-term initiative to give vet students more hands-on time with hens, something which is lacking in their current studies.
For more information about the charity’s online poultry health course, head to https://www.bhwt.org.uk/improving-pet-hen-health/poultry-health-course/
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