A woman on a mission to rescue animals from certain death and slaughter is so passionate about her new-found calling she’s changed her name legally to “Mama-Hen”.
Barbara Mladek spent 31 years in finance where at the height of her career she was responsible for looking after many high net worth clients.
However, Barbara was struck down by a debilitating illness which left her forced to sleep on her lunch breaks. The fatigue was so bad she even found herself struggling to stay awake long enough to make the drive home each day.
Barbara, 53, had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, an illness that manifests in extreme fatigue, widespread muscle and joint pain, brain fog and various other conditions.
In 2013 she took the difficult decision to leave her high-flying career behind, and looking back she has no regrets.
Five years later Mama-Hen has rescued over 10,000 hens and roosters as well as countless pigs, cats, rabbits, degus, chinchillas, goats, lambs, ducks, geese, turkeys and dogs.
After setting up her charity Northern Ireland Battery Hen Rescue in 2011 Mama-Hen, aided by a team of volunteers, cares for around 300 animals including 13 dogs that were rescued from the streets of Romania and 65 turkeys liberated at Christmas last year.
She said: “I’ve had Fibromyalgia for over 20 years. I was finding it harder and harder driving to Belfast every day and my fatigue would mean that I struggled daily.
“My lunch hour would consist of closing the blinds in my office, turning the light off and sleeping. “The last six months at work were awful I started to really struggle with staying awake on the drive home. I eventually had to leave.”
Before leaving the bank Mama-Hen had already began her journey to become a saviour of sorts for the thousands of animals she’s now rescued. In 2009 she acquired her first hens and instantly fell in love with the animals.
“I always wanted a few hens in the yard, but had never got round to it. I wanted just four to roam around, I started with the four and within a month I had 24” she explained.
“I’ve always had a lot of animals around me. Once I got my first ex commercial hens I fell completely in love with them.
“I suppose the idea for opening the NI Battery Hen Rescue in 2011 came from a friend at the time who was passionate about animal welfare. I was galvanised into action when I realised there were no charities rescuing chickens and when one of my first ex-battery hens died in my arms.
“I’ve always had a passion for animals and thought I would open a cat rescue, but these little ladies – my hens – just stole my heart.”
Mama-Hen became so well-known locally for her rescue centre that she changed her name legally by Deed Poll. The Northern Ireland Battery Hen Rescue aims to rescue as many battery hens as possible from culling and to give them quality lives with new owners; allowing them a dignified “retirement” with access to outside areas, fresh water, feed, warm coops and veterinary treatment.
But despite everything she does Mama-Hen doesn’t feel it’s enough and finds herself having to leave many animals behind when she joins her team on a rescue.
“Around 500,000 hens a week are sent to slaughter and that figure does not include the males that are macerated or gassed at just a day old” she said, adding: “The hardest part of what we do is when we are on a rescue and in a shed with maybe 20,000 hens. We fill our crates and leave. That moment I close the door behind me is heartbreaking, I know there are thousands of beautiful deserving souls I have to leave behind to go to slaughter.”
Picture by Debbie Deboo Photography
Despite her illness Mama-Hen believes her animals are what keeps her strong and fighting: “This illness is a life sentence. The Fibro can really get you down but the hens are the great stress busters.
“Because of my health I mostly rely on volunteers now, but I still try to do some of the dirty work around here when I’m having a good day.
“I mainly deal with the welfare side of things in the charity. I look after the disabled and the sick bay. I also do the finances for the charity and organise rescues.”
At the rescue centre situated in County Down between Hillsborough and Moira Mama-Hen and the team give their animals the chance at a full life with plenty of love and attention.
She added: “When we re-home the girls we know that they have the chance to live a natural life as pets and not just as egg laying machines. One of the best parts is the joy they bring to people and the education the public receive on the welfare issues surrounding intensive farming.
“Our biggest goal is really to educate people on the benefits of hen keeping, not just for the eggs but also the physical and emotional benefits hen ownership brings.”
And although the work can be emotionally, mentally and physically challenging Mama-Hen revealed she has no regrets about leaving her financial career behind.
“There is far less stress now than when I was in the bank even though we keep all sick and injured birds here. I get my heart broken on a daily basis.
“Although I left a big salary to be living on a minimal pension, I would never go back to the way of life I had. Sometimes I feel isolated and think I would like a relationship, but my lifestyle doesn’t suit having one so I’ve had to accept that I will probably be on my own for the rest of my life.”
For more information go to www.nuthousehenrescue.co.uk or connect with Mama-Hen and the team at www.facebook.com/NutHouseHenRescue.