The newest members of the Quirke Joyce household joined us on
Sunday and Emily the lonely chicken is lonely no more. She does, however appear
to be having anger issues! I didn't realise that chickens were quite so
territorial. I've had to do some research fast to try and make the
transition as easy as possible for the rescue girls. They are in a pretty
sorry state and honestly, even though we mostly have our own eggs I wouldn't
ever buy eggs from a store again. To see any animal malnourished and
bleeding truly makes my heart sore.
Agnes
Margot
Agnes, missing feathers and damaged skin
On Sunday LittleHill Animal Rescue picked
up and re-homed 160 caged chickens which otherwise would have been
destroyed. It was their first July rescue mission. Independence day and it was hugely
successful. Two dedicated staff drove for miles around the country
carrying the chickens to the safety of new lives in a beat up old horse box.
There was a queue of people waiting at the first drop off in the car park
of Lidl in Carlow town and at drop off points all over Leinster. We took
our girls home and with much excitement the kids helped settle them into their
run. They were as saddened as I was to see these two skinny birds with
missing feathers and raw skin. It quickly became clear to us all that the
poor chickens didn't know what to do with all this open space and food on
offer. They cowered and trembled, screeched and squalked and when adopted
big sister Emily came along to see what all the commotion was about, things
went from bad to worse, as she quickly fought to establish the pecking order.
Having never witnessed this before it's a pretty brutal attack.
I've felt like intervening several times but nature knows what’s what.
Emily paced and pecked. She
stalked in and out of the coop. She
refused to let the others in and eventually when they got passed her, she
refused to go in herself. Late on Sunday
night she was still protesting outside and eventually had to be lifted in. Who knows what happened during the night but
she has since refused to go into the coop, instead seeking refuge in an
old dog house. I’m hoping that in time
she’ll build a bridge and maybe even move back in but for now I guess she needs
to do things her own way and has naturally quarantined herself. I didn't realise the importance of the quarantine process, not just to prevent the spread of disease but also to minimise attacks on weaker chickens. So for the next couple of weeks she can stay in her self imposed exile. It's the best thing all round and I'm hopeful I haven't made a rookie mistake.
Agnes and Margot meanwhile were christened with mite powder and
disinfectant. They are starting to
explore their surroundings. They’ve been
watching the rain with interest from the shelter of their open coop. They’ve started to eat and drink the food that’s
scattered around for them instead of just from the feeder and they have both laid delicious eggs. All positive settling in signs. My six year old son has been busy making obstacle courses for them and checks on them throughout the day. I'm delighted to see him take such an interest. I think it's so important for my children to know where their food comes from and to have it ethically sourced.
In 2012 the EU ruled that it was no longer permissible to keep laying hens in battery cages. Since then the majority of the over 2.2 million laying hens here in Ireland have been kept in "enriched cages". These cages have a small perch, a scratching area, a nest and claw sharpening devices and can house anywhere up to 60 plus birds.
Photo of enriched cage courtesy of Compasssion In World Farming
Hens are caged when they are around 18 weeks old, just before they start to lay. About a year they start lay fewer eggs and on most farms hens will be taken to a slaughterhouse where their meat is then used to make pet food, among other things.
This is where animal rights activists such as LittleHill Animal Rescue step in, negotiating with farmers, collecting hens, finding them new homes and organising drop offs, all for a minimum fee which goes straight back into their sanctuary. They and others like them work tirelessly and often thanklessly to better the conditions of poorly treated animals,
There will be further rescue missions throughout the month of July and anyone interested in adopting hens can find out more from their Facebook page.
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