Adoption fee is $20 per hen, unless otherwise specified. You must be able to pick them up from Dairy Flat, Auckland.
Applying to adopt:
Fill out an application form - LINKED HERE
Send me some pictures of your coop and free ranging area through Facebook.
Once you're finished I'll get back to you with any questions I have about your application, and let you know if it was successful :)
To adopt, you must agree to the following:
Birds must have access to a large free-range area.
Birds adopted must not be used for breeding.
These birds are not for the pot, they are pets.
How the rescue operates:
My process kicks off when I find some chickens in a park, or when someone from the community contacts me about chickens needing help. I get as many details as possible before catch day so that I can be prepared - how many chickens are on the site, how long they've been there, whether they are hens, roosters or chicks etc. I have a variety of catching gear so this helps me determine what to bring and how many cages I'll need.
Next comes catch day, which is usually pretty hectic! I'll go to the site and get as many chooks as I can - up to 15 (this is the limit of my current setup). Once I'm back from the site all of the chickens get their intake vetting in my clinic. This includes weighing, a thorough physical examination and administration of the first round of wormers and ectoparasite treatment.
Next they go into my quarantine run, which will be their home for a minimum of two weeks. This is so I can complete a worming regime and make sure that they don't have any nasties that could transfer to my free-ranging chickens or their new flocks. Each chicken will have at least 3 physical examinations, and they need to be totally clear from any concerning behavioral or physical symptoms (unless specified) before I put them up for adoption.
Why do I remove poultry from parks?
It is illegal to dump domestic poultry on public property in New Zealand. Unfortunately it's still such a regular occurrence that it's not unusual to see chickens in public spaces. Below are the main threats they face:
• Starvation - Unlike their junglefowl ancestors, domestic chickens need humans to provide them with food in order to survive. Chickens hatched in colonies on public land are a bit hardier, but still suffer from malnutrition.
• Illnesses – Almost every chicken I’ve removed from public land has had some kind of health issue, most of which have severe welfare implications. Chickens in parks don't have anyone to give them medication or take them to the vet when they are unwell.
• Culling – Auckland Council considers chickens a pest and will kill a colony of poultry if they become a biohazard. This often happens in parks where the public feed chickens, as this allows them to survive and reproduce.
• Dogs – I’ve had a dog kill three chickens before it could be recalled while off-leash at a park. The owners were shocked because the dog was a friendly household pet that had never hunted before. But dogs are predators! Hunting is just instinct to them, it’s not their fault.
• People – Unfortunately not everyone has the best intentions.
In summary, poultry on public land have very poor welfare and usually die an unpleasant death at a young age. But if things are as bad as I say, shouldn’t the SPCA be doing something about it? SPCA simply does not have enough resources to help every animal in need. I asked for their help the first time I removed chickens from public land, but they could not assist. However, they did give me the go ahead to remove them by myself.