OK, so there was a posting at the local feed mill.....duck, chickens and turkeys for sale. Sooo, of course I called the lady. It took several weeks for me to get together with her. DH and I went by her place yesterday to get a little turkey hen. OMG, Ya'll.....if you could have seen the HORRID conditions we saw....I was litterally sick to my stomach!! This little turkey hen was in a dog kennel....with about 15 Silver Seabrites...and probably 15 Wyandots. The pen was roughly6 x 8...had a ragged tarp over top, that was caved in, and the birds were ducking in and out of it. The "water dish" was BLACK and GREEN water!! moldy corn on the ground...we grab the hen,put her in another cage to bring her home, and she tells me....want to soo the rest of the gang? I Immediately thought...NO WAY are there more animals....yes, sadly, there were SEVERAL cages of chickens. These cages were about 2x2 wire cages...green water IF there was ANY! She threw cracked corn on the floor of these cages for them to eat. She has a beautifull white silky roo, in a 2x2 cage...moldy corn for a floor.There was another small cage..( 2x2)with a hen and 6 or 7 babies...not sure what breeds, cross breeds im sure...but banty. Just terrible conditions!! If I was a rich person, I would have bought them all. As it were, she wanted 15.00 for the turkey hen...all I could afford for now. I would have to say she had....40 or more pens, with cramped chickens in them. Dirty, rotten eggs laying all over the cage floors...JUST AWFULL!!! She is an older woman...and she works...and I know she has little time to properly care for them, so....I volunteered my time to help her get them into better cages...and help clean them up. My new turkey hen is in quarantine...there is NO TELLING what disease she might have. When I gave her REAL turkey feed, she dove into it, like she was starved. What a terrible day yesterday was....I will never get those images out of my head! Im so sorry....I just HAD to vent...I hope I can help her get those poor birds in better condition..and ready for winter. She has rabbits, same condition...Peacock and hens.....tuekeys...all very sad.
