About three weeks ago I had acquired two RIRs. Unfortunately they had been kept in the basement of this familys house for about a year. The conditions were terrible. When I got there the pen about 4x4x8 was on the concrete basement floor and was housing 5 RIRs. The basement smelled of ammonia, low artificial light from a heat lamp and one ceiling light when it was on. The guy would open the basement bulkhead during the day when he was home and not raining. Reluctantly I decided to take two of them as I felt bad for their living conditions. After getting the two home I started to look over them a little better. Their comb, waddle, ear lobes, etc... were pale yellow as well were weak and one of them looks as if she has a cataract in one eye, which is a symptom of artificial lighting. I started vitamins in their water as well as some cider vinegar (in the event of worms). After three weeks they seem to have more energy, getting around better, gaining weight and even their feathers look good. Hopefully in a week from now I will try to introduce them to the rest of the girls a 100% of the time. At the moment they only roam around the yard and sleep together. Looking better now!
they are looking much better.. it's so hard to hear of animals getting treated poorly. Hopefully he'll find someone else to take the other ones so then they'll all be in better living conditions.
