EVELYN Gettings got the hen habit after being roped into looking after a neighbour's flock

when he was on holiday last year.

"My neighbour had them for about 10 years. I didn't even know he had them until he asked

me to look after them and I absolutely loved it," said Mrs Gettings from Shotley Bridge.

"By the end of the fortnight, I was absolutely hooked."

Her experience of caring for her friend's chickens led her to the Battery Hen Welfare Trust website, which also provides

help and advice for novice poultry keepers. She now has five former battery hens in her

garden.

"I had to wait a couple of months and at the end of November, I went to collect them from

a farm," she said.

"We never had pets apart from the odd guinea pig but they are actually not hard to look

after. You feed and water them at least once a day.

"The most laborious thing is cleaning them out; I've got a composter to put all the stuff

in." Like most chicken fans, she loves the distinct characters in her flock.

"They all have their own little personalities and traits," said Mrs Gettings. "They are

absolutely fascinating to watch. Just great fun."

All her hens have names - Bobble, Dora, Stephanie, Emma and Sweetpea. Bobble had few feathers

when she arrived and her sisters kept pecking her, making the situation worse during what

turned out to be one of the coldest winters for decades.

Mrs Gettings looked online for advice to keep Bobble warm and instead of finding recommendations

for a heater, she discovered sewing patterns for chicken jackets.

"I made her an array of coats to wear - she had leopard skin and pink jackets," she said.

"They really did work. It saved her - it stopped her being pecked by the other hens and kept

her warm. She's really come out of herself.

"She now has a full set of feathers. When we first got her she would not come out of the hen house, and did not know how

to peck or scratch around as the other hens did.

"When we put her outside she ran under a bush and stayed there. Now she is just a normal

hen, and loves being out in the garden."