大象传媒

Kicking out time at the chicken nightclub

It's the busiest time of the year for the 24,000 chickens which live at Highfield Happy Hens in Etwall.

The open farm, run by Roger and Beryl Hosking, produces around 20,000 eggs each day.

The farm has lots of lambs

And on hand to help collect them all is a group of troubled youths who work at the farm as part of a scheme run with Derby City Council to teach them new skills.

Visitors to the farm are also able to collect their own eggs should they so desire.

Roger and Beryl opened the farm to the public eight years ago and use it to gently promote a Christian message.

Roger said: "Some of our attractions have a Christian leaning - especially around Easter and Christmas - but most of the time it's about coming along and seeing things born and being able to feed the animals.

"I remember going to church as a young boy and finding it incredibly boring. I thought instead the church should be providing places where people can go and have fun. That's the thinking behind this place."

Many of the young people who work on the site have often been expelled by their schools and some struggle to read or write.

Roger explained: "Some of them can't even count so the egg collecting is brilliant for that. We collect near to 20,000 each day here and they're all free range."

The boom in free range farming has helped bring more business but Roger says the farm provides an educational and good value day out for families as well.

He said: "There's an atmosphere of love here whether you're a pupil who's been expelled from school or a family that wants some lovely place to be for the day.

"People have said they feel very safe here and I think that's a good thing in this modern world."