And they’d better choose well. A fearsome foul she is one of 11 former battery hens relocated to the mill after being rescued by The Battery Hen Welfare Trust. Despite being the ring-leader, she is the only one still nameless.
But Dot Wilson, gardener-in-chief at the Apprentice House Garden said her new hen’s troubled life has not turned her into a shy retiring creature.
"She is very bossy," said Dot.
"Hens have a pecking order, with the top hen picking on the ones below. She’s definitely at the top. However this sort of behaviour is not unusual amongst hens.
Dot said: "It’s just their way of being. There would normally be a cockerel leading them, but when there isn’t, the most strong willed becomes the boss.
Fortunately for visitors, the ‘boss hen’ has so far been preying mostly on the slug population.
"When we had hens before we never had a problem," said Dot. "Now we’ve got these ones we’re seeing fewer slugs again."
All 11 hens have settled in well since arriving at Apprentice House just before Christmas.
Dot added: "We got them just before the big snow and we were so worried about them. We felt like knitting them little body-warmers. They had so few feathers."
Dot hopes the competition to name the ‘boss hen’ will bring in more visitors to see the former battery hens and learn about their early lives.
"We want people to understand the conditions battery hens live in," she said.
The competition is open to children aged 12 and under. Anyone wishing to enter should write the name they would choose for the hen on a postcard along with their own name, age and daytime telephone number and send it to: Rebecca Douglas, National Trust, Name that Hen Competition, Quarry Bank Mill, Styal,Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 4LA.
The winner will get to visit Apprentice House Garden to officially name the hen and will receive a hen-themed gift from the National Trust shop.
