We were contacted by the sister of a lady who had to move from her rental property and desperately needed to rehome  "50-100" chickens.  The lady had taken on the rental property in suburban Canberra many years ago, and it came with a few hens from a previous tenant.  Over the years she took in roosters who had nowhere to go but as she also allowed the birds to breed and hatch their eggs, what started off as a small flock grew to over 80 birds.

Catching that many chickens was a huge effort for the lady and the surrender spanned a week, with several trips to deliver the chickens as she could manage them.

A lot goes into taking on new rescues that often people don't get to see.  From the establishment of safe areas (in this case, we used our stables) to house the birds in for their quarantine period to the paperwork of recording each bird.  Then there's the quarantine process.  New birds are treated for worms and parasites and checked thoroughly during their quarantine period.  This was a huge feat given the number of birds and how timid many of them are.  The flock have now moved into our poultry yards where they are gradually getting used to their surroundings. Amongst the hens, there are 13 roosters, who fortunately get along very well and have blended in with our existing flock seamlessly. 

If you are looking to adopt hens, roosters or both as loving lifetime companions - please check out our adoption page as we always have roosters and often other birds seeking new homes.