With National Pet Month fast approaching in the UK, feed manufacturer Dodson and Horrell has revealed that it is not only cats and dogs that are getting all the attention — more people than ever before are turning to hens.
The company notes that it has recorded a 25 percent increase in chicken feed sales across the UK over the last two years, and a surge in demand for chicken feeders and accessories. An estimated 3 million hens are now being kept in people’s back yards. “We used to find that chickens were limited to farms of smallholdings in the gardens of those living in the country," said Chris Gordon, Dodson and Horrell technical director. "But now it’s increasingly common for chickens to reside in backyards in our towns and cities.”