Animal Re-homing

When hens and roosters are dumped and breed in public places, they encounter all manner of suffering. (See the rooster page).

This beautiful family was very lucky to set up home where caring retirement village residents provided them with food and water and contacted us for help.

Please keep in mind that Octavia is likely to have equal numbers of hens and cockerels in her clutch. You will therefore need to have a plan in place to stop further breeding and to ensure that all nine chickens live out the length of their natural lifespan.

If you have a roomy enclosure for them to live in until the chicks are independent and big enough to escape hawks and pukeko, please apply for their adoption. Please keep in mind that, regardless of size, most dogs will attack and kill chickens of all ages - and that common garden snail/slug bait is lethal to them.

NOTE: If you witness anyone dumping chickens in public places, please note the time & date and write down their car number plate & description. If possible, also take a photograph of the offender(s) and forward all details to the Auckland SPCA so that a prosecution follows. Please inform others that abandoning an animal is cruel and is illegal under the Animal Welfare Act. Offenders can be fined up to $50,000.00, face a 12 month prison term - or both.

Sometimes Animal Re-homing and other agencies rescue a tiny minority of these abused hens before their slaughter date so that their remaining few years may be lived in comfort and pleasure.

Watching them learn to walk, to roost, to spread their wings, to dust bathe, to eat grass, to experience sunshine, etc is both disturbing and fulfilling.

For me, the greatest joy of all - is to see the spark of life and curiosity return to their deadened eyes. When we collect them from the “farms”, they remind me of prisoners-of-war with their ravaged and mutilated bodies, tormented minds and eyes that have stopped wanting to see. The transition to vibrant health is rewarding beyond words. The two pictured hens are recovered ex-battery girls.

If you would like to offer a home (or a foster home) to ex-battery hens, please read the ex-battery hen care guide before sending me your contact details and photographs of the sheltered area in which the hens would live until they are well enough to come and go from the enclosure. A comprehensive interview will follow. Thank you.

What is the fate of all commercially produced, egg-laying hens - including factory farmed, barn raised & free range hen systems?

The brothers of all hens are killed at the hatcheries on the day they shake off their shells - because males of this breed are superfluous to the egg and meat industries. These male chicks are gassed or minced up, while still alive, in massive grinding machines. These killing methods are standard within the global egg industry.

To see an undercover video of a typical hatchery click here
Warning: This footage will be disturbing to decent people.

The chicks will most likely have their sensitive beaks mutilated. The ends of the beak are sliced off manually or with a laser to prevent them harming one another, due to stress, in their future unnatural environments.

At the tender age of 18 months to 2 years, when their featherless bodies are exhausted, their eyes lifeless and their minds crazed, the young hens are slaughtered. Many of their bodies are so debilitated that they are simply discarded as waste. These photographs show ex-battery hens we have rescued and/or re-homed. We call them "battered hens".

What is the Solution?

To stop billions of male chicks being shredded alive and billions of hens being tormented and slain – please stop eating eggs altogether. This abusive exploitation of animals simply for their eggs is unjustified. Egg replacement products are available for baking, etc. See the Why Go Vegan pages of this website.

NOTE: If you witness anyone dumping chickens in public places, please note the time & date and write down their car number plate & description. If possible, also take a photograph of the offender(s) and forward all details to the Auckland SPCA so that a prosecution follows. Please inform others that abandoning an animal is cruel and is illegal under the Animal Welfare Act. Offenders can be fined up to $50,000.00, face a 12 month prison term - or both.