Battery Hen Thread!

[chickened]

Mine jumps on my shoulder and says feed me feed me... at least I think thats what he says.

 

[RAREROO]

There were A LOT of retired Battery Leghorn hens at out local livestock sale this past weekend. They looked so pathetic, most of them were dirty and had those HUGE combes that flop over and hang down lower than their heads.

 

[fishnet1971]

can you go get me some and ship them here???????

 

[chickened]

I have access to some also they are 25.00 each delivered.

 

[fishnet1971]

delivered here to Ohio? I will take 4 please.....

 

[chickened]

Frozen or pre-cooked?

I hope you were kidding.

 

[akaxo]

the first three hens i got were ex-battery hens. they were in a bit of a sad state when we got them, only a week out of cages. the guy i got them from here sells them at cost all the time, charges enough to cover his transport/feed costs etc. he works for a finance company that financed the set up of some commercial farms, saw the end result and was appalled. using those contacts he organised getting the hens they don't have a use for after a year and a half or so to re-home. saves them from being turned into dog food. good on him.

it was a great experience seeing them grow their feathers back, express their chickeny instincts and the like, something i'd love to do more of. the only downside was that they can be in such bad physical shape they don't live long. we lost two within six months, through no fault of our own according to vets advice. they're just not bred to live long i guess. it was pretty heart breaking though and meant we ended up getting hens from other sources (now have 13...) as you get attached to the lovely wee critters. was good knowing that they two that died had a great last few months after such a life. they got to scratch around for bugs, eat worms when i was trying to dig up garden beds, feel the sun on their backs and such things that all living creatures should be able to do. imo. still doesn't stop you being all sad when they pass on though. the third one is still going strong a year and a half later, she's the queen of our backyard

here she is a month or so after getting her, all wet after getting accidentally watered while having a dust bath under a bush:

and a more recent pic:

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i adopted a hen from the group that Silverphoenix works for, animalplace.org, in Vacaville. Very nice people and lovely facility - i want to live there.

This hen came from a free-range egg operation, so she wasn't in bad condition, other than her clan would have gone to auction had this group not taken them in. My understanding is that it is easier for this rescue group to obtain chickens from small scale farmers. i think the larger operations count on the income from selling their chickens at auction or for slaughter at 2 years. i'm not an expert, just repeating what i have heard. This hen is an Australorp, very sweet, and is turning out to be a great friend for our EE Penny.

i think if folks want to adopt "spent laying hens" or "battery hens", they should contact animalplace if in California. Otherwise, small scale farmers probably take their hens to local poultry auctions when they reach 2 years of age. i would suggest being careful when going to auctions, though, and follow quarantine procedures when bringing any animals home.

 

[fishnet1971]

you two are a God send. Keep up the kind work. If you ever hear of a way i can get some either sent or could hear of a place here on the east coast, please do not hesitate to contact me anytime. i really really would like to help out.





yea, dude i was serious

 

[fishnet1971]

http://animalplace.org/index.html