Danielle Hanosh, Co-Founder of
Blackberry Creek Farm Animal Sanctuary
December 2018
Birds who are deemed disabled, sick, or otherwise weak, are placed around the edges of the shipping boxes while being sent from hatcheries to feed stores to act as a sort of “packing material.”
We are grateful we have been entrusted with the responsibility and privilege of caring for special friends like Judy, and encourage others to adopt a special needs animal and educate others about those the world has forgotten.
Mrs. Puff
Dashing through the door of the feedstore and out of the downpour, I
rushed over to the counter to make my order of feed for our sanctuary
residents before they closed for the evening. As I checked out, I heard
muffled voices huddled over a cardboard box nearby.
“What are we going to do with her?” one staff member asked.
“I don’t know; I can’t take her home,” another replied. “My boyfriend would
kill me.”
“Well we can’t leave her here. She can’t eat and keeps running into things.”
“Excuse me?” I ventured from the other side of the register. “Do you have an
animal who needs help? My husband and I run a farm sanctuary.”
“No way,” the first employee replied. “I’m so glad you happened to come in!
We got a shipment of new chicks today and this one doesn’t have any eyes.
The others are picking on her. I’ve tried to show her where the food is by
setting her in it and touching her beak to it, but she doesn’t seem to get
it. She probably won’t make it, but none of us can take her home. You’re
welcome to take her if you want to give it a shot!”
“Absolutely,” the word was out of my mouth before she finished talking, and
I hugged the box close to my body as I slipped out into the rain.
“Uh oh,” my husband joked in the car. “Who’s in the box?”
In the palm of my hand, I lifted out a tiny, bright yellow, very fluffy,
adorable baby chick.
Mrs. Puff, we decided.
“How is she going to eat?” he asked. I wondered the same thing as we drove
home to the sound of tiny cheeps, thus beginning our experience caring for
special needs birds.
Flash forward a few years later.
Mrs. Puff is now a thriving, albeit still blind, adult hen. After learning more about the backyard egg industry we realized some startling and disturbing truths. Birds who are deemed disabled, sick, or otherwise weak, are placed around the edges of the shipping boxes while being sent from hatcheries to feed stores to act as a sort of “packing material.” Horrified? We sure were. If said birds happen to survive the harrowing journey through the postal service they are most often “disposed of” by feed stores. Indeed some national chain feed stores have a policy where they are directed to get rid of the sickly birds rather than relinquish them to individuals or sanctuaries who will care for them.
Luckily for Mrs. Puff and our other special friends, one of our locally
owned stores contacts us anytime they think there is a bird who needs care
that we can provide. It is often a major time commitment, and a great deal
of work, but each individual is just as deserving as a special needs human
child would be of receiving proper care and love when brought into this
world.
When Puff arrived as that fluffy little baby, we ended up feeding her with a
syringe round the clock for over a month and weighing her on a tiny scale to
be sure she was gaining enough weight. Finally after much encouragement, she
figured out how to eat and drink on her own and has now even been to school
assemblies where she shows off her incredible hearing by finding a bowl of
food we tap on from across the stage. Since then we have taken in two other
chicks born without eyes, an adult duck with a permanent neck disability,
two severely crossbeaked baby chicks, a wry neck chicken, and two hens with
permanently crippled legs (one which was eventually amputated).
This adult duck has a permanent neck disability.
The most difficult part of living with special needs animals is not the
time and energy required to care for them, but the fact that many of them
have shorter lifespans due to congenital issues. We do the very best we can
for them while they’re with us and they are incredibly impactful ambassadors
to all who visit the sanctuary. Betty Butters, one of our blind hens, passed
recently from an inoperable cyst pressing on her brain that caused her to
become confused, off balance, and unable to stand or eat on her own. We fed
her by hand for two months while we had vets run tests to attempt to
diagnose her, and we still miss her terribly though we know her life touched
many others.
Judy, one of our most popular residents is the result of a backyard breeder
using “selective breeding” to attempt to hatch babies with rare traits such
as certain colors. Inbreeding, improper incubation, and a host of other
factors can cause major problems in development. Along with males who are
unwanted (due to their loud voices and lack of egg production) and
eventually given away or sold for meat, many breeders do not want to care
for sick or disabled female birds who require any amount of extra time or
effort.
Judy with a severe crossbeak upon her arrival at the sanctuary.
Judy will be lovingly spoonfed for the rest of her life because surgery
is not an option.
Judy has such a severe crossbeak that she will never be able to eat on her own. We have taken her to two avian specialists, and after a hospital stay where CT scans were done, we now understand that her bone structure is such that surgery isn’t an option. Her personality is goofy and loving, and because she has been and will continue to be syringe fed for the rest of her life, she is very comfortable with people and is a prime example of what silly and loving companions chickens can be. We are grateful we have been entrusted with the responsibility and privilege of caring for special friends like Judy, and encourage others to adopt a special needs animal and educate others about those the world has forgotten.
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