A debt-ridden farm is attempting to rehome 5,000 chickens who will be slaughtered if they don’t find a new home.

Beryl and Roger Hosking, owners of Happy Hens farm in South Yorkshire, have decided to sell their farm land, equipment and stock to repay their debts and save their home.

They started Happy Hens in 1984, but 40 years later, they have to close down the farm. 

The chickens are healthy, vaccinated, lay eggs and are available for £1.50 each or £1 each for anyone buying more than 100.

Farm manager Ashley Ames, 20, told Derbyshire Live: “We are going to sell as many of the hens as we can – we want them all to go to new loving homes.

“We don’t want any of the chickens to have to go to slaughter, but they all have to be gone by September 12, so we’re hoping there are people who will take them.

“It’s better for us – and the chickens – if we manage to find them new homes.

“If there’s anyone thinking about having chickens, we can’t recommend it enough.

“Fresh eggs are on another level to the ones you can buy in supermarkets. And you only need one or two chickens to have enough for a whole family.

“We’ve got a few people coming to pick some hens up soon, but we still have around 4,000 that need homes before September 12.”

The farm also has pygmy goats, cows, alpacas, and emus that will be up for sale from September 16, after the farm has been closed.

Rachel Moore, a bird rescuer from Derby, said: “Someone told me that Happy Hens was closing and my first thought was ‘what are they going to do with all the animals?’

“So I got in touch with them and they said they needed to sell 5,000 chickens or they would have to go to a ‘less fortunate destination’, because you can only keep 50 chickens if you don’t have a license. I was gobsmacked.

“If it was someone having to get rid of 5,000 dogs, there would be uproar, but people associate chickens with food.

“They’re no different to any other pet. I go out to see the hens and they all have their own personalities. They come running and have a fuss when I go up to them.”

• Read: Activist covered in blood after being ‘shot at’ for rescuing 16 farm rabbits in dramatic video

Interested buyers can do so by visiting the shop open between 10am and 5pm Monday to Saturday, messaging the Happy Hens Facebook page or texting 07548 614298.