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Dora, Britney and Lizzie settling into their new forever home

It has been a busy couple of weeks as we work hard on finding homes for 1500 ex-battery hens due to be slaughtered in August. Last weekend we rehomed 11 more hens into wonderful, forever homes. One lovely lady took a very emaciated ex-battery hen to be friends with her pet hen Abbie. The rescued girl was named Dorothy (or Dot) and I was overjoyed to receive a text message the day after rehoming informing me that Dorothy was full of wonder at her new environment and was amazed by her bowl of water (she has only ever had a nipple feeder in the past).

Due to the fact that the farmer we are working with is using the hens for profit, he will not let us take the rest of the hens until just before they are due to be slaughtered in August. This means we need to create a waiting list of as many people as possible who are willing to offer loving, forever homes to these poor hens who have been through so much. We also need to arrange transport, veterinary care and temporary housing for 1500 hens. As you can imagine there is a lot to do and a lot of money to spend. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated. You really are angels for the hens. We still have a lot of fundraising to do, especially since we have upped our goals to rescue every hen.

Today we have launched a new website dedicated to the hens called Hen Rescue. This site will be the official site of the ex-battery hen rescues and will be a place where potential hen adopters, press and farmers alike can find out more.

If any of you wonderful people are spreading the word to find new homes for hens perhaps you could direct them to http://www.henrescue.org for more information.

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Me and one of the rescued hens

On Friday me and my friend Sharron rescued 6 battery hens from our local battery farm. These hens were going to be slaughtered in late July/early August and have spent around 2 years in battery cages. This farm is changing to free range and the farmer is getting rid of 1500 birds from his “small” 11,000 bird farm. He has agreed to let us find homes for as many of the hens as we can and these 6 are the start of that.

Ultimately I am abolitionist, but it will be interesting to see whether by working with this particular farmer we can help to improve the lives of the hens and save some of those who are scheduled to be slaughtered.

Britney (named for her bald head) enjoys her first ever sunshine

It was overwhelming going to see the hens. So many rows of suffering within this archaic system of farming in which no animal is treated with compassion or as an individual. And this was one of the better farms.

We were only going to take 5 to start, but we ended up taking 6 as we didn’t want 1 girl left behind in the cage. They were brought out by their feet and I noticed one hen drooled water out of her mouth.

That was where their suffering ended. We placed them in large packing boxes, 3 in each box. The boxes were padded with soft towels. They settled down in the darkness of the box and off we went to their temporary home (until we find them loving, forever homes).

We had to wait for the handy man to help put up the chicken coop, as the day before I had tried, but quickly realised I needed power tools. Whilst we waited we placed the girls on the balcony in a patch of warm sun and gently opened the boxes.

You should have seen their reaction to the sun! I can only imagine how it must have felt to see the brightness and feel that warmth for the first time. They stretched up their long necks and basked. Looking around, they didn’t seem to believe where they were.

Sharron cuddles Britney the hen

It took quite some time for them to realise that their wings were no longer confined, but when they did they seemed to relish stretching them out and fanning their feathers.

Later on we watched as the girls began to express some natural behavior like scratching the bottom of the box and even taking a dust bath in the food they had spilt on the floor. After 2 years standing on a wire floor in a cage, this was all new to them. We saw that they had all been debeaked (as all battery hens and most free range hens are). Some still had most of their beak, whilst others had a long lower beak and short upper beak. Some had obviously been cut too short. A hen’s beak is full of nerves, so it is very painful when they have their beaks cut.

We named one of the hens Lizzy as she kept flicking out her tongue like a lizard catching bits of dust that showed up in the sun.

There were many moments of the day when me and Sharron looked at each other beaming as we saw how much the hens were enjoying themselves. Even these cardboard boxes were huge compared to where they had come from.

After the handy man had come to put up the coop it was time to introduce the girls to their new home. We gently carried them to the coop and placed them on the ground. At first they stood there on the grass, unsure what to do next. After a while they began to slowly put one foot in front of the other and walk. They kept looking at their feet as if they were thinking, “I didn’t know these things could move like this”

It didn’t take long before they started to explore and peck and scratch at the ground.

The hens explore their new coop

I had to lift each hen up into their roosting area at night, as they didn’t trust the ramp. They loved the cosy straw up there and when I peeped in a few minutes later they were all snuggled in after their busy day.

Here are some lovely pics of the girls first day out of the cage.

Lovely Britney with a bald head	We transported them in a big, comfy box
Sharron & Dora – named after Dora the Explorer, as despite being blind in one eye she loves exploring	Poor Dora is blind in one eye and has lost feather on her chest and bottom
hen about to go into coop

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Imagine being a battery hen. You have been trapped in a cage for over 2 years, unable to stretch your wings or to take a dust bath. Unable to feel the sun on your back, the breeze in your feathers, or to see the blue sky above. Imagine standing on wire and feeling it cutting into your feet, unable to escape the pain. You desperately want to hide away to lay your eggs, but there is no where to go. You have to defecate and urinate where you sleep and the urine burns into your skin.  This is the life of a battery hen and what reward do they get at the end of 2 years of egg laying, forced molts and endless pain and boredom? Slaughter.

Your bones are so brittle from lack of exercise and proper nutrition that when they finally remove you from your cage and stuff you into a crate to be taken to slaughter their rough hands break your legs. By the time you arrive at the slaughter house you are petrified and pain is searing through your sick body.

This is the reality for millions of battery hens. We know we can’t rescue every battery hen and ultimately this cruel practice must be stopped, but in the meantime let’s do what we can to rescue as many battery hens as possible. Rather than being sent to slaughter we are able to offer them temporary housing here whilst they heal, before being placed in their loving forever homes. A local battery house is getting ready to clear out their hens and that means the hens will be sent to slaughter at the end of July.

Our first ex-battery hens from that shed are arriving this coming week and we are erecting a temporary chicken coop, along with plenty of warm bedding, to keep the girls comfortable. To be able to take in more hens and give them a chance at a forever home we need more funds for a permanent chicken coop, as well as vets bills, food and bedding. This is the chicken coop we are hoping to get. It is the Bonofido chicken coop cabin:

This chicken coop will keep predators out at night and will allow the chickens the space to express their natural behavior, as they get used to being out of the cage. After a few days in the coop they will be able to free range, as they will know where home is.

This housing will enable us to monitor the hens and give them the veterinary treatment they may need, before moving to their forever homes. Once they are placed we will take more hens and this cycle will continue. Every donation no matter how small is helpful. Here is a break down of costs:

• Chicken coop for temporarily housing hens and monitoring their health before they are moved to loving forever home -$365
• Freight of chicken coop -$35
• Cost of hen – $2.50 per hen
• Chicken wire for large outside area – $50
• Straw bedding – $14/bale
• Vegetarian chicken feed – $35/25 kilo bag
• Other costs – Veterinary treatment

Some people may say that by rescuing only a few hens at a time we are making no difference to the millions that are suffering, but I say that each bird is an individual life that is worth saving.

If you are able to spare a dollar or two just click the donate button at the top of our sidebar to donate securely. We are so grateful for any help you can give and I am sure the hens are too. It is strange to think the hens we are taking are in their cages right this moment, but soon they will be free to express their natural behavior. Be sure to check back to the site for updates on the rescued hens

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Me, David and the rest of our local animal rights group (plus some doggy helpers) took part in the local RSPCA million paws walk. It was a great day with a huge turn out and there were a lot of beautiful dogs to pat.

We were there to raise awareness about puppy farms and to give out some leaflets about saying no to animals in pet shops and banning puppy farms. As you can see we all wore our ban puppy farms t shirts, which we made in one particularly fun meeting. Even Samson the dog had a ban puppy farms t shirt of his own.

The dog walkers were very receptive to the idea of banning animals in pet shops and many people took leaflets and said they would do more research later on and even join our group.

Of course the RSPCA raised a lot of money, but as usual there was some hypocrisy in their efforts as they were encouraging people to adopt rescued animals, yet they were sponsored by a local pet shop that sells animals to anyone who wants them. Many of these are impulse buys and the animals will end up at the RSPCA later on. It seemed like a strange decision to choose them as sponsors.

They also had a sausage sizzle, so whilst their motto is for all creatures great and small, it seems that does not extend to pigs and other farmed animals. Next year our group is hoping to run a vegan hot dog and burger stand at the million paws walk to give people a choice to be kind to animals.

I believe that kindness and compassion to animals should extend to those we refer to as ‘pests’. So many animals are labeled ‘pests’ these days; from insects and rodents that invade our homes to non-native rabbits, foxes and Indian miners. Dingos, goats and camels and even native icons such as kangaroos are killed in their masses as they are ‘pests’ to farmers.

If we must control the numbers of these animals then there are humane methods, such as sterilization, but perhaps that is not as cheap as shooting kangaroos from trucks and stamping on their joeys’ heads? Sometimes money should not be the priority.

We will look at the bigger issue concerning pests in a future post, but today I want to introduce you to some humane ways to keep unwanted critters out of your house. After all just because you have compassion for the animals, doesn’t mean you want to give your home over to them!

I like to think of a trail of ants or other insect as a little reminder that I need to keep the house cleaner. I have bought a very fine dusting brush and I dust them up and put them outside. But what if the problem is more serious that that? No worries – you won’t have to turn to poison. Whatever you do, don’t let the situation get out of control, as that may leave with you with no choice but to get professional help.

Cockroaches –

These are the critters that are most likely to have a party at my house, unless I take steps to prevent them.

• Prevention is better than cure. Keep a clean house and make sure food is sealed away. Do any big cleaning jobs you have been putting off.
• Be sure to fix any leaking taps and wipe up the sink after use. Cockroaches are always on the look out for water.
• Keep doors and windows well sealed with caulk so that access isn’t as easy for the crawly critters.
• Sprinkle bay leaves, cucumber, catnip and garlic around your home, in places that you have spotted cockroaches before. Cockroaches hate these things!
• Drop some citronella, teatree, peppermint and lemongrass essential oils on some cotton wool balls and leave in the back of cupboards and drawers.
• Use an electronic pest control method to repel pests. These are very effective at getting bugs and rodents to leave your house! However not suitable for me, as I have pet rats. They are fine if you have cats or dogs. Click here to buy an electronic pest repeller from Amazon for $21.95
• Gentrol – If you have to resort to chemicals, try Gentrol. You can use it to stop the reproductive cycle in cockroaches, without killing them. Click here to buy Gentrol from Amazon
• Make a humane trap to allow you to remove any cockroaches left in your house. Tape some newspaper to the outside of a glass jar, smearing Vaseline along the inside of the lip of the jar, and placing food (fruits, bread, vegetables) inside. You will find that the roaches who climb into the jar are unable to climb back out through the Vaseline, and you can release them outside.

Ants –

• Be sure to keep your kitchen clean and your food sealed away.
• Watch where the ants are entering your home and seal the point off with caulk
• Place peppermint essential oil on cotton balls where you have seen the ants
• Ants also hate, cinnamon sticks, coffee, chilli peppers and paprika, so you could use these to keep them away
• Buy a delicate dusting brush to gently sweep the ants into a dust pan and empty them outside before sealing the house.
• An electronic repeller like Pest Offense will work to keep ants at bay without killing them. This is not suitable if you have small pets like rats, mice or guinea pigs. Click here to buy Pest Offense from Amazon for $21.95

Rodents –

Oh how I love rats and mice…but not in my kitchen cupboards!

• To catch the rogue rodents use a humane trap and a tasty treat. These are readily available at any hardware store, but you can also buy one here.
  Please check the trap very often as the rodents could starve to death. Release them in a wooded area or meadow at least 100 feet from the building.
• Rat proof your building. Seal holes wider than 0.25 inches. Keep food in sturdy, sealed containers. Keep any outside wood tightly stacked away from the house. Keep your garden weed free and bushes at least a small distance from the house. Seal cracks in doors, floors and walls.
• Rodents just hate peppermint oil. Soak cotton balls in peppermint and leave where you have seen/heard rodents and at points of entry.
• Another useful rodent deterrent is a mixture of lots of cayenne pepper, salad dressing, horse radish and garlic. Leave this to sit for a few days and then put it into a spray bottle and spray around the infested area. This is great if the rodents are under the hood of your car, as it won’t hurt the car, or the rodents.
• An electronic pest repeller like Pest Offense works well with rats and mice. Buy one by clicking here.

So now you have an idea of how to humanely deal with those critters that won’t leave on their own! Please never resort to cruel poisons or glue traps. One product that works well in each pest category is an Electronic Pest Repeller. I would recommend you buy one or two of these for around your house, as I have read excellent things. Please do not buy one if you live with pet rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs etc.

Click here to find out more about the electronic humane pest repeller.

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