Thursday, June 28, 2012

My Next Knitting Project

Although I have only just begun knitting my shawl I already have my next knitting project picked out!

When I first came across this photo ... on a garden plant website of all things ... I got a good laugh out of it.  I thought someone had done this for a joke!  The website was set up so you couldn't download any photos from it so I went on a Google search for chickens wearing sweaters until I found it.  There were a surprising number of photos of chickens wearing sweaters which seemed rather odd to me.  By clicking on one of them ... the one that is my photo above ... I was led to a site called Little Hen Rescue. LHR is an organization in Norwich, Norfolk, UK which rescues abused hens & hens termed no longer useful.  I am not an animal rights wacko but I have read quite a bit about the inhumane treatment that is the daily life of many farm animals ... chickens included.  It is a very sad & appalling situation.  LHR takes in these hens (& sometimes other fowl when space permits), attempts to nurse them back to health, & then they make them available for adoption. The sweaters are not a joke at all.  They are used as a way to help heal chickens that have been harmed or abused until their feathers have regrown.   LHR sent out a plea to knitters some time ago, providing them with a pattern so they could make & donate these sweaters ... & others like them ... to the organization.  The response was so overwhelming that they now have enough sweaters for quite some time & are asking knitters to please not send any more   : )   

I do love chickens.  They each have their own personality.  I would have a little chicken house with a run in the backyard if it were possible which right now it is not   : (   Maybe someday.   

10 comments:

Vickie said...

Well there is something I had not thought of!! I can actually see you with a few hens in sweaters. ;) http://astitchersstory.blogspot.com/

Kaisievic said...

What a lovely idea, Shirlee. The chicken looks so cute!

Trace4J said...

How sweet.
I love it.
Thanks for sharing.
Have a great day Friend.
Hugs
Trace

www.grannytracescrapsandsquares.com

Melissa said...

How cool is that! What a great organization!!!

Anonymous said...

I've noticed too a number of articles about farm animal abuse cases lately. And the chicken shawl is very clever. (Poor girls get chilly in all that snow.)

marly said...

A chick shawl. How sweet. Thanks for the story and photo!

Chris said...

Great post!!

butterfly said...

I love the story , I use to have chickens when I was small and would have them now but my Jack Russell would think lunch was ready , so not a good idea.

TheCrankyCrow said...

LOVE that photo - and the story - and the underlying mission. What a great cause. And, exactly, why is it NOT possible for you to have chickens now??? With all that sprawling acreage??? Go check out the adorable chicken houses and runs at Williams Sonoma - when I saw those, I wanted to get chickens just so I could have the cool stuff to put them in.....Then I was reminded that they would probably not fare well with the Snow Dog..... :o Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Norwich is where I used to work! But not in a hen rescue place LOL.
We have a great expression here, you can say someone who is eccentric is NFN - Normal for Norfolk. Guess that covers the hens too!