The Big Brother hens are to be auctioned off by Newsquest's farming magazine, Smallholder.

The national magazine is organising an exclusive auction for the hens featured in the television series and the winner will also get a guided tour of the Big Brother house.

Readers of the magazine have been invited to submit bids by post to editor Liz Wright, and the result of the auction will be revealed in its September issue.

A reserve price has been placed on the star hens and owner Bob Nunns has said he will donate any excess to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

Editor Liz, who runs her own smallholding in Cambridgeshire, has started the auction with a bid of £100.

She said: "It is hoped that the hens can enjoy their retirement together.

"They are rare breeds and it is an important part of this auction that the Rare Breeds Survival Trust will benefit from any money offered above the reserve price.

"The birds will need a bit of TLC. Life as a celebrity hen is not all that easy. It seems that TV designers have little appreciation of the niceties of pouline life.

"The housing was designed to look nice but simply didn't fit the hens. The nest boxes were too small and the roosts were simply not right."