Rescue and Rehab for Dumped Roosters

"I like to see the roosters running free," castigated one passerby as I set up my ladder underneath a fluffy grey rooster perching high up in a tree alongside the hiking trail.

He didn’t notice the pile of feathers and blood a few yards to the left -- remains of the rooster's dead brother, who'd been killed by a predator the night before.

"How do you know it doesn't belong to someone? Did you ask all the farms around here if it belongs to them?" he continued. The concern in his voice was evident, but it was misdirected.  

Like many people, this person harbored the mistaken notion that pet chickens can survive -- even thrive -- without human assistance when they are released in parks or rural areas. 

Lion Face's Plight

This is likely is why dozens of hikers walked past the little grey rooster perched in the tree that day, and why scores more walked right past the limping, skin-and-bones rooster in the busy parking lot of a San Jose "farm park" a few weeks later. Just one of countless abandoned roosters in that parking lot, Lion Face was covered in parasites and starving. His eyes lit up when he saw us pause to take a second look at him.

He hobbled across the asphalt as fast as his injured leg allowed and gobbled down everything offered to him, pausing only for sips of water. Judging by the bones jutting out underneath his skin, he'd been on his own for at least several weeks. The scabs and fresh wounds marring his face indicated those weeks had not been kind to him.

After warming him up, treating him for parasites, and administering subcutaneous fluids to his dehydrated body, we took Lionface straight to the bird hospital, where X-rays showed an old injury that would likely never heal. This limp made him weaker so he could not compete with the other roosters abandoned in the parking lot, all trying to eke out an existence from crumbs tossed by park visitors.

Sanctuaries Stepping Up! 

Because there are so many roosters abandoned every week in this parking lot and others, the number of roosters-in-need far exceeds the homes available. With limited resources, we can only take in those who are visibly injured or on the brink of starving to death. The others last an average of a few weeks before they are picked off by nightly predator visits.

Donations (of money and volunteer time!) allow us to take in the most critical birds, provide them with life-saving veterinary care, and house them while they await adoption into safe homes. Finding these safe homes is possibly the most difficult part of any animal rescue -- particularly so for roosters, who are widely misunderstood and maligned by even backyard-chicken keepers. 

That's why we were so grateful to have been able to find loving, safe homes for 21 roosters in the last quarter of 2017, thanks to our donors and partnerships with five amazing animal sanctuaries (including our friends over at Pacific Waterfowl Rescue). Now instead of certain death, each of these formerly unwanted, discarded birds has found a safe, permanent home with caretakers who truly love them and understand their needs.  

Back at Hen Harbor

Meanwhile, Lionface has joined Rumples -- another rooster found hobbling along the same parking lot earlier in 2017, crippled by osteomyelitis -- as a permanent resident of Hen Harbor. Both roosters diligently watch over the hens in the "special needs" area of the property, where elderly hens and a small flock of rescued "meat" hens with limited mobility live. 

Although their initial prognosis upon intake was grim, both  Lionface and Rumples have transformed into majestic flock guardians who peacefully patrol their territory with no sign of the injuries that once crippled them. In return for safe haven, these beautiful boys provide comfort and protection to a cadre of rescued hens who appreciate their gentle companionship.

Prayers for Elmer

We hope that soon Rumples and Lionface can soon be joined by Elmer, the most recent rescued rooster in rehabilitation.

Because most backyard chicken caretakers have no idea how complicated proper bird care is, they don't recognize illness until it is too late. So it's no surprise that when Elmer's former caretaker had to surrender him to the animal shelter, she didn't realize he was very sick. Since animal shelters have an extremely hard time adopting out even healthy roosters, Elmer's risk of euthanasia was extremely high. It was a lucky twist of fate that put him in our path. 

For now, Elmer is recovering from his severe anemia (a result of extreme lice infestation), frostbite to his feet, and a chronic, systemic bacterial infection. He was so sick on the day of his arrival that he couldn't even crow, and he collapsed on the kitchen floor in exhaustion.

With supportive care and appropriate antibiotics, he's been walking (albeit gingerly) on his still-sore feet and eating like a champ! Although he's still only about half his normal weight, his steady progress gives good cause to believe that a full recovery is in his future.

The other day, after three weeks in rehabilitiation, Elmer finally let loose his first real crow ... and it was music to our ears!

Here's to many more crows to come! 

Links:

• Here's a little video summary of Lionface's rescue!