This story comes from our friends Burge Bird Rescue. Burge Bird Rescue, located in south Kansas City, Missouri, helps over 300 birds every year from several states. They are affiliated with Burge Bird Services, a veterinary practice that cares for birds exclusively. Learn more about them here!

Nobody regulates how chickens have to be kept. Some feed stores and hatcheries will sell hens to anyone who shows up with money, whether that buyer knows how to care for them or not. Tiny coops are sold with no recommendations as to how many birds can occupy them, or how to provide adequate shelter, nutrition, and living conditions.

PHOTO: BURGE BIRD RESCUE

When we saw that these four hens were kept in a 3-by-5-foot cage, with six inches of droppings as their floor, we were able to convince the owner to surrender them.

One of the hens with the best feather condition was bullying the others, picking off a lot of their feathers, leaving bare patches of skin that would have made it difficult to stay warm in the approaching winter.

PHOTO: BURGE BIRD RESCUE

During their intake exams, we found that three of the four had bumblefoot, sores on the bottoms of their feet indicating infection. Living on their deep layer of accumulated feces, that was almost as hard as concrete, had lead to wounds on their tender feet, allowing bacteria to get inside. One bird required surgery and bandaging for weeks before her symptoms resolved.

They are now living in a huge pen on five acres, with room to move away from each other when they want to be left alone, and a big shed with heat and air conditioning for year-round comfort.

PHOTO: BURGE BIRD RESCUE

This story came from Burge Bird Rescue. Burge Bird Rescue, located in south Kansas City, Missouri, helps over 300 birds every year from several states. They are affiliated with Burge Bird Services, a veterinary practice that cares for birds exclusively. Learn more about them here!