Rescue chickens

[Dead_Parrot]

Hi guys...
I think I know the answer to this, but I'd be interested in knowing the reasoning.

A friend of mine has adopted some chickens from a closed down battery farm. They are pretty much basket-cases: They don't know how to forage, preen, peck each other to buggery or any of the other things chickens do, and they sure as hell couldn't face live in the wild (some chickens do, in NZ, but not these ones).

So they are well housed, have as much space as they can manage (they cram in to one corner of their roost all day - As I said, basket-cases) are well fed and have good medical attention, as far as you can do with chickens. They're a long way from the shithole they were born in.

They are also still laying eggs.

Question is, is it wrong to eat the eggs?

[LeftyMom]

1. As a practical matter, it's probably a better idea to feed them back to them.

Laying hens are bred, of course, for frequent laying at the expense of their own health. Eggs are a valuable commodity, laying hens are cheap and ultimately replaceable. This takes a toll on their bodies, leading to demineralization of their bones which is potentially crippling, and to "flip-over syndrome," which as I understand it is basically a sudden fatal heart attack. Sanctuaries that take in laying hens generally boil the eggs and then feed them back to the hens so that they can reabsorb much of what they lose from frequent laying. This sometimes sounds a bit gross to people, but it's typical for non-human animals to eat unneeded products of their reproduction process such as afterbirth, unfertilized eggs and even in some cases young that aren't going to survive.

[Dead_Parrot]

3. She feeding some back and giving some away

I'm guessing that as they get what ever shit is in their system out, they'll cut down on the laying a bit and the "problem" will go away - It's just an ethical thought experiment. :)

[flvegan]

2. Is it wrong?

That's a personal choice. Personally, I wouldn't because I won't put egg products in my body (not just an ethical thing, but a health thing). You can feed them back to them as LeftyMom said above. If they're getting good, high quality feed, I'd probably scramble them up for my dogs.

As for the cramming in one corner, I found that disturbing with the ones we rescued. We also had a couple wind up getting hurt (at the bottom of a pile of a LOT of birds).

That said, thanks to your friend for taking them in. I'm pretty shocked that the battery farm let folks have them, but praise to them for doing so.

[Dead_Parrot]

4. Thanks...

I couldn't think of any reason why she should, but I was a bit stuck for reasons why she shouldn't, other than being bad practise.

As for getting them, I belive the factory was shut down. A bunch was saved by a chicken-rescuing outfit: details are scarce on what happened to the others, for which I am grateful. :(

Idle thought if you come across this before - do you think introducing a healthy free-reange chicken help, behavior-wise? Someone who knows how preen, forage and do other normal chickeny stuff? Seems a bit sad to have (relative) freedom and not know what to do with it.

[flvegan]

5. Actually, a few dozen of the hundreds we liberated

went to one particular sanctuary, and they did pick up on chicken "habits" while there. Don't know if it was some kind of instinct or from watching the other birds. Might be worth a shot.

Sadly, they don't live nearly as long as a chicken that hasn't been so horribly genetically maimed and had their bodies abused for so long.

[Dead_Parrot]

6. Thanks, I'll pass it on

I think these are fairly young birds, so maybe they'll have a chance to recover to some sort of normality. We'll see, I guess.

[flvegan]

7. They aren't suffering anymore.

They got really lucky.