Police investigation after 22 rescue hens killed

Eleen Cowgill wants to install CCTV around the allotment

A mother-of-three said she was horrified after discovering 22 of her rescue chickens had been slaughtered in an apparently deliberate attack at her allotment.

Eleen Cowgill, from Wythenshawe in Greater Manchester, said there were "no words" to describe the scene when she arrived at Sharston Community Allotment to find more than half of her hens had been killed.

The 32-year-old had been caring for 40 hens for the last year after acquiring them from a charity that rehouses former factory-farmed birds.

Eleen said: "I would love the culprit to see how destroyed my children have been, and how much hurt they have caused us."

Eleen Cowgill said her family had been "destroyed" by what had happened

The bird rehabber said she could not believe her eyes when she first saw the hens' coop following Thursday's attack.

She said: "My head was in a shambles and I couldn't even make sense out of it.

"I thought 'This can't be happening... What am I seeing here?'.

"I was glad the kids weren't with me, normally they are, but they were at school."

Eleen said she immediately worried that she had not locked the pen properly the previous evening, and that a fox had got in.

But when she looked at the chickens she said there were no wounds on them.

"Unfortunately, I have had a fox attack before - really early on in my chicken keeping," said Eleen.

"There were feathers and chicken parts everywhere - we were clearing for days.

"I don't see an animal doing this without leaving a proper trace."

Police are investigating after 22 rescue chickens were killed

Eleen said her four-year-old daughter was "especially devastated" since a lot of the chickens had been hers.

"She has been continuously crying and asking me 'Where's Unicorn? Where's Star?'

"She's still so young, she doesn't understand why someone can be so cruel.

"I would love to show the culprit how much hurt they have caused."

Eleen said other families regularly used to come to the allotment to feed and "cuddle" the chickens.

Since the attack, Eleen said the surviving chickens had been "too traumatised" to come near people.

"They have always been community chickens - that's just been destroyed."

Twenty two of the family's 40 rescue chickens were killed

Eleen said the only lead so far was a partially broken fence at the back of the allotment which could have allowed unauthorised access.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed a case had been opened and investigations were ongoing.

In the meantime, the Cowgill family say they live in fear that the attacker will return.

"It's been hell," said Eleen. "We don't know if we will come back to see that [someone] has finished the job.

"There is nowhere I can move the chickens to.

"My house is rented and we aren't allowed chickens there, so the allotment is the only place where we can have them."

Eleen wants to install CCTV around the allotment and has written to Manchester City Council to seek permission.

The council has been contacted for comment.