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Spring

Spring was found on the ground of a intensive meat chicken farm. She was found in a shed full of about 60,000 chickens of 6 weeks old who were nearly ready to be slaughtered.

Spring was huddled on the ground unable to move. She was half the size of all the other chickens and was foraging through the floor that was covered in chicken poo, the poo was inches thick throughout the entire shed. Spring was too small to reach the feeders and the water, so she was dying of dehydration. We decided to take her with us. In a sea of thousands of chickens who were about to experience the horror of being caught, having their bones broken by rough workers, being thrown on to a truck and then slaughtered, it’s difficult to not take them all – but we can’t, so we have to just take the birds who need it the most.

As soon as we got Spring to the car it was evident that she was so incredibly thirsty, She wouldn’t stop drinking water from my friend’s hand. She drank and drank and drank. The poor little hen had not been able to get to water for quite some time.

Meat chickens are called “broiler” chickens and they have been selectively bred to grow as large as possible in the shortest amount of time possible. Humans have an insatiable appetite for chicken meat, we never stop eating it, yet no one stops to think that they are actually eating a baby bird who was still chirping and had blue eyes when they died. No one thinks about the fact that these chickens have been living in their own poo for nearly two months and now they are eating that body that was completely covered in poo. Revolting. Over 600 million broiler chickens are slaughtered for human consumption every year in Australia. Every year.

We got Spring home. We also rescued two other broiler chickens that night named Constance and Marshmallow. Spring sat on a towel in front of the heater, unable to move because of her little body that was so malnourished that it no longer worked. She sat there with her friends and drank and ate. She was still covered in poo and she was so little. It became apparent that she was in great pain and that she would never walk again. After nearly a week of care from my wonderful friend and advice from a leading bird vet, Spring was gently put to sleep. At least her body was spared being ripped apart, disrespected and eaten by humans. At least there is that.

I named her “Spring” in line with other two little broiler chickens I once loved named “Autumn” and
“Summer”. I hope they are all together somewhere experiencing something greater than they ever had on earth and enjoying being free of their horrific bodies.

Please don’t use my images without permission. All images are Copyright Tamara Kenneally

Constance

She was found in a broiler chicken intensive farm like this, writhing around on her back, unable to get up. She was about 6 weeks old and nearly ready to be slaughtered for meat. Her legs could no longer support her huge body and she could no longer stand up on them. She had lived in this disgusting shed with 60,000 other chicks for 5-7 weeks. She lived on a ground piled with chicken poo. She was just a baby who wanted a mother’s love and never got it. She had blue eyes and chirped.

We took her out of that shed, but if we hadn’t, she would have been slaughtered and eaten. These are the baby chickens you eat.

My friend named her Constance.

Constance was picked up and taken from that revolting broiler chicken shed with the knowledge that she probably wouldn’t live and with the knowledge that the chances of her ever being able to carry her body on those legs was minimal.

Chickens bred for meat have been selectively bred to grow as large as possible in the smallest amount of time possible. They are slaughtered at only 5-7 weeks old. When they are slaughtered they are covered in the chicken poo that they have been living on, their skin is burnt from ammonia and their body is covered with wounds and infection. Not only are you eating an individual baby when you eat chicken, you are also eating all of the revolting poo, infection and ammonia that these chickens are covered in.

When Constance was brought home from that broiler chicken shed, she had a lot of trouble just sitting up. Her body was so huge that she could not balance at all. Her legs were splayed out having collapsed on her some time ago due to her size. She had infected wounds all over her, infected from the faeces and ammonia she was living in.

Once she was home she drank and drank and drank. She also ate and ate like she hadn’t eaten for quite some time, which she probably hadn’t because she was unable to move or reach the water feeders or the food feeders in the farm.

Constance was bred to be killed and eaten. She was bred to suffer a short, painful, scared life to be eaten.

Constance had to be propped up with towels to be able to sit up and eat or drink. Her body was just too big. It was too big for her legs to carry it anymore. She was only 6 weeks old and was about to be slaughtered and eaten by consumers.

Constance lived another day after rescue, eating and drinking to her hearts content. She was gently put to sleep the next day by a caring vet who knew she’d never be able to stand no matter how hard we tried.

Constance had the care of my beautiful friend on her last day on earth and she also left the earth as someone who mattered. Her body will not be eaten by someone who doesn’t care about her.

Over 600 million broiler chicks are slaughtered for human consumption in Australia each year. At least Constance’s body was spared that much.

Jane Eyre (Speckles)

Meet Jane Eyre. Her past is fraught with suffering, not unlike Charlotte Bronte’s heroine. A backyard hen who was advertised on gumtree because she required vet care. Her owners were unwilling to spend the money to save her life. She had egg yolk peritonitis. My amazing friend saw her advertised on gumtree and grabbed her. She took her to the vet, had her drained, got her put on antibiotics, pain relief and had a hormone implant put in her neck to stop her laying eggs and to stop her from dying.

Chickens are not nothing. If they are in your care, they deserved to be cared for just like any other pet.

Bathsheba

Meet Bathsheba. Rescued from a battery cage egg farm on Saturday morning, she is so excited about life. She has very little fear about her and approaches everything with a fierce independence and sees everything as a challenge. She is named after the character from Thomas Hardys’s novel, “Far From The Madding Crowd”. I’m very happy to have her at Lefty’s Place.

Judge Judy

At the farm where Sweets was found starving in a shed that had just been depopulated (where all the hens are sent to slaughter at 18 months old) we found this girl. She was hiding under the cages in a shed that was completely empty except for dead bodies and cages.

The 80,000 hens in that shed had been ripped out of their cages sometime during this week and put on a truck that would have taken them to their deaths. This girl survived. She was probably dropped during depopulation and was hiding here under the cages. She had been living off eggs on the floor because she had yolk on her beak.

She was determined not to be caught and dodged and weaved us, but finally I grabbed her in a dive my disappointed P.E. teacher in year 7 would have been proud of.

Her name is Judge Judy and she is a new resident at Lefty’s Place.

All around the world, hens die of dehydration and starvation whilst hiding under cages in farms. Workers/farmers know they are there, it’s just not worth their time.