RESIDENTS
"SPENT" HENS
Hen Harbor was originally conceived as a place for "spent" hens discarded by the egg industry to retire and receive lifelong care.
While the majority of Hen Harbor's residents are older hens rescued from industrial agricultural operations, we also provide refuge to "spent" backyard hens -- chickens who have stopped laying (usually around 2-3 years old) and are no longer wanted by their previous caretakers.
Most laying hens are killed when their egg production drops, both by the egg industry and backyard chicken-keepers. Those who are allowed to live usually die from neglect (primarily untreated reproductive disease), because few people are willing to spend money on their veterinary care.
SLAUGHTERHOUSE REFUGEES
Birds bred for slaughter by the poultry industry are killed at around 6 weeks old. Still babies, they peep for the mothers never knew as they are shackled and killed. Occasionally a brave bird will propel himself out of the hands of his killers and out the slaughterhouse door. Other birds simply fall off the transport truck en route to their death and are picked up by good Samaritans.
Most slaughterhouse refugees arrive in horrible condition, despite being barely more than a month old. They are filthy from lying in ammonia-laden barn floors and many have broken limbs from rough handling. Almost all will suffer mobility impairment over time, because of the incredible pressure their obesity places on their joints and heart.
ROOSTERS
Unwanted roosters are an unfortunate artifact of the backyard chicken trend. Most people who purchase chicks in order to procure laying hens have no idea that 10-20 percent will mature into roosters.
Because few towns permit roosters, most of these birds usually are either killed outright or abandoned in forests, parks, or the side of the road. Like any domesticated animal, these roosters rarely last more than a few nights before being torn to shreds by predators or dying of starvation and/or dehydration.
DUCKS AND GEESE
Virtually all of Hen Harbor's ducks and geese are victims of the "Easter pet" phenomenon -- where people buy cute ducklings, chicks or goslings in the spring (usually for Easter) and dump them at local ponds or parks a few months or weeks later when they begin to outgrow the bathtub.
Most people who leave this ducks at local parks think they are “setting them free.” In reality, domesticated waterfowl cannot fly, and they are so slow and clumsy that they are easy targets for predators. The vast majority of domesticated ducks in parks freeze or starve to death every winter.