First time flapping wings, pecking in dirt, and dust-bathing
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Animal Place Sanctuary
April 2016

rescued hens

Susie and 1,309 of her friends are free for the first time. Enjoy this video of their welcome to our adoption center in Vacaville, CA. These hens lived 92 weeks inside cages. This is the first time they have flapped their wings, pecked in dirt, and dust-bathed. They are all mutilated (de-beaked), thin, and covered in chicken lice. Now they are free. A special Thank You to Tony Kanal for making the trip up to northern California to introduce these hens to a wondrous new world.

Watch the video here.

Why do we wear weird suits? So we can look cool. Also, to reduce likelihood of disease transmission. These hens are generally healthy but until we can look at each hen, test their fecals for parasites, and give them needed treatment, we do everything we can (when we can) to be safe.

rescued hens
First time flapping their wings

rescued hens
Cautious at first...

What do we do with the eggs? Stare and wonder why people still buy them and eat them. Also, we feed them back to the birds to replenish calcium and protein lost from laying five times more eggs than any healthy hen should.

rescued hens
Walking around, flapping wings, checking it out (note the sparse feathers)

rescued hens
Dustbathing almost immediately

Why are there no roosters? Because they are killed at hatching in the egg industry. The rooster you may have seen in the video is from another rescue. Even if you buy eggs from the nicest farms, you'll quickly discover that male chicks still had to die for you to get that egg. Death and the egg industry go hand in hand.

What happens to the hens? They find the coolest homes ever. And, even better, they change the way many adopters think about chickens and eggs. 60% of our adopters now feed eggs back to the birds, meaning more of our adopters are seeing chickens as beloved companions, not egg machines. 80% of our adopters have stopped or reduced the amount of animal products they purchase and consume. Good job, chicken ladies! You can apply to adopt at www.henrescuers.org (we are working on an Oregon/Washington adoption event but mostly focus on California).

Why do we let out the hens at once? After 7 hours in transport crates and with 1,310 hens to uncrate, it's impossible and unfair to go any slower. All hens receive health checks and immediate care after all crates are removed from the barns. 


Read more at Egg Production