CHILLY chickens hoping for a happy retirement from a battery farm need your help to keep warm.

The 20 hens have arrived at Lee Valley Park Farm in Waltham Abbey from a battery farm on the border with Hertfordshire and have bald patches because of the stressful conditions they have endured.

Staff at the farm are asking Guardian readers to knit the hens coats so they can adapt to their new outdoor home.

Duty manager at the farm, Kate Chaplin, 25, said: “Where they lived before, they were in small areas indoors and they've come to us with bald patches under their wings and on their bodies.

“From the stress of being in small cages, they tend to lose their feathers or not grow them properly and it takes them up to six weeks to grow them back.

“Especially as it's February, they need a bit of insulation.”

The hens arrived at the farm in Hayes Hill yesterday (Saturday), after being rescued through a scheme run by the British Hen Welfare Trust.

At 18 months old, they have passed the time in their lives when they lay the most eggs and would have been slaughtered for low-quality meat if the farm had not taken them in.

“They're doing well,” said Ms Chaplin. “One of them laid an egg on the way back from the farm, which is a good sign.

“It's just nice for them to retire and get a bit of sunshine outdoors.”

Knitted coats should be sent to the farm's address – Lee Valley Park Farm, Hayes Hill, Waltham Abbey, EN9 2EF.

Knitting instructions for hens' jumpers:

Materials:

Double knitting yarn (100g makes approximately 3 jumpers) 2 buttons or 10cm Velcro 1 pair of number 8 (4mm) knitting needles 4mm crochet hook

  Knitted in stocking stitch with garter stitch borders

  Cast on 41 sts, Work 4 rows K Increase for tabs; Cast on 10 sts at beginning of next row, k14, p to last 4 sts, k4.

Cast on 10 sts at beginning of next row, k14, p to last 14sts, k14.

Work buttonholes; (work these 2 rows straight if using Velcro).

(K2, yf k2tog) 3 times, work to end keeping edges in garter st.

Repeat this row for buttonholes on the other tab.

Cast off 10 sts at beginning of next row.

Next row – cast off 10 sts, k4, p2 tog, p to last 6 sts, p2tog, k4.

Dec 1 st at each end on every fol 6th row until 25 sts remain.

  Divide for neck; Work 11 sts, cast off 3, work to end – complete this half first.

1)     k4, p to end 2)     cast off 2, k to end 3)     k4, p to end 4)     k2tog, k to end 5)     k4, p2tog, p to end Work 4 rows straight   10) K to last 5 sts, inc in next st, k4.

  11) K4, p to last st, inc in next st.

  12) Cast on 2 sts, k to end, (11sts)   13) K4, p to end   14) K Break yarn and rejoin to the other side of neck.  Work to match, reversing shaping’s and ending at winghole edge.

Next row – k, cast on 3, k across sts from other side of neck.

Next row , k4 inc in next st, p to last 5 sts, inc in next st, k4.

Inc 1 st at each end of every fol 6th row until there are 41 sts on the needle.

Work 6 rows straight.

Change to gst and knit 4 rows.

Cast off.

Sew on buttons or Velcro as desired.

Work double crochet around neck.