Rare chickens now have a place to call home as new enclosures were unveiled to the delight of onlookers.

The £6,000 extra-large hen-houses built by volunteers, have been designed especially for the 30 Hamburg and Crested Cream Legbar chickens at Deen City Farm.

Wimbledon Times:

Staff and volunteers at the farm in Colliers Wood were joined by the mayor of Merton, above, to open four of the new rare breed chicken enclosures on Saturday, July 18 and two more will be opened at a later date.

The extra-large enclosures mean they can now live in a ‘free-range’ environment with plenty of space to roam, thanks to volunteers who helped build the enclosures and funding from the Grange Farm Trust and Charlotte Heber-Percy Charitable Trust.

Wimbledon Times:

The project rebuilt and revamped old enclosures, where the rare chickens were previously housed, which had begun to rot and had problems with rats.

Simon Lynn, operations manager at the farm, said: "We're incredibly proud of our new enclosures and grateful to all the volunteers and sponsors who have helped to build them.

"As well providing a fantastic home for our chickens, the new facility will allow us to continue our work with local schools, teaching young children about where their food comes from and the importance of good animal welfare."

Wimbledon Times:

They will be used as part of the farm’s volunteer and education programmes, allowing local people of all ages and abilities to gain hands on experience of working with farm animals.

Deen City Farm are now fundraising for the second part of the redevelopment, which will include a small bird aviary and duck pond. If you wish to sponsor the project can contact them at info@deencityfarm.co.uk or call 020 8543 5300.