Boy, 13, wins young farmer award for egg business

Robert said all he wanted for his eighth birthday was two hens

A 13-year-old boy who has his own egg business has won an award for his contributions to the farming industry.

Robert Craddock, from Bransford, Worcestershire, won the Kaleb Cooper New Entrant of the Year award at The Young British Farming Awards 2025.

His business began when he was given two chickens for his eighth birthday. He now produces eggs and raises livestock for slaughter.

Farmer and media personality Kaleb Cooper who backed the award said it was designed to encourage aspiring farmers, and he was "passionate" about supporting the new generation in the "best industry in the world".

Robert, who now has 15 laying hens, said he started selling eggs after he got his first two hens.

He said: "I've built my way up, saved all the profit and put it back into the business."

He said he asked for the two hens because that was all he wanted for his birthday, adding: "I always had a passion for farming and I always wanted to live on a farm and work on a farm."

Robert, who has created his own brand and business name - Robert's Happy Hens – Farm Fresh Eggs - said he liked being outside and being around animals.

"I used to sell half a dozen a week," he said. "Now I sell around 10 dozen a week. The money that I earn pays for the feed."

The teenager, who has previously met Kaleb Cooper, described the celebrity farmer as "an amazing person and a great inspiration for young farmers".

Robert's mother Lindsey Craddock said that hens were "not the normal eight-year-old birthday present that you would expect".

She said: "My husband and I both grew up on family farms so I think we often talked about the farming way of life."

Mrs Craddock said it was Robert's journey, not theirs, adding: "We don't actually farm ourselves, so he's the one that gets up at six, half six, every morning to go and feed the animals. He's the one that funds it.

"He's the one that's got the drive and passion to keep going and make it bigger and bigger."

She said she knew farming could be a tough career, but said: "I just want Robert to be happy and whatever he does, I will support it."