Appeal after thieves steal pet hens from small holding in Cleator Moor

Reggie Graham, age 6, from Cleator Moor has been keeping hens on his family's small holding since he was three, giving out eggs to teachers and neighbours as part of his hobby.

But when Reggie’s dad went up to the pen on Saturday morning, March 9, he noticed all the hens had been stolen and only two old cockerels were left.

The thieves had taken two younger cockerels alongside nine hens, only leaving two older cockerels which Reggie’s mum Deya Graham says won’t have been ‘as desirable’ to the thieves.

Reggie holding one of his hens last year when it was a chick (Image: Supplied)

Reggie has kept the hens since he was three and hatched out two lots of chicks two years in a row. One of the hens was sitting on a clutch of eggs which would have hatched in a few weeks, but thieves took that hen - and the eggs underneath.

Mrs Graham said: “If they'd left him that one hen and the dozen eggs it was sitting on, they would have hatched out and he would have had a small flock anyways, but they took everything.

“He is absolutely gutted. He just keeps saying things like, ‘they might bring them back’ and ‘hopefully the police find out who it is’.

"So I’m trying not to get his hopes up but we are trying not to be too negative.

Reggie's hens which were stolen over the weekend. (Image: Supplied)

The six-year-old loves to collect any extra eggs from the hens and hand them out to neighbours and friends.

Mrs Graham said: “At the moment we have been getting quite a lot, so he gives them away... our next-door neighbour has had them, last week he took three boxes for his teachers and teaching assistants, my mam goes to a local hospice group, and she is often taking his eggs through there for the people who go there.

“So, they were all really upset about it. We buy plain boxes, and he has a stamp which says Reggie’s Hens. He stamps the boxes so that they’re personalised.”

Reggie has hatched out multiple sets of chicks since he was three (Image: Supplied)

When asked what she would say to the thieves, Mrs Graham said: “I would just say they aren’t just chickens, they are his pets; he has had most of them from when they were hatched as chicks.

"We are just really hoping they have a conscience and return them.”

Copeland Police urged the public to come forward regarding the incident on social media over the weekend.

Anyone with a similar experience or any information should contact Cumbria Police on 101 quoting log number CP-20240309-0102.