Abandoned chickens left to run around car park at animal sanctuary

Staff at Brockswood Animal Sanctuary in Sedgley were alerted by a passer-by that the hens had been left outside the rescue centre in Catholic Lane at 8:30am, before it opened.

One of the hens was so unwell that she needed help to drink, and is still receiving veterinary care to try and rebuild her strength, while all of the hens were dehydrated and covered in parasites.

Brockswood’s director, Neil Swann, said: “We have a large number of chickens at the sanctuary, as sadly these animals have become throwaway “objects” to many people - in fact, almost all of our chickens were literally dumped outside our gates or physically thrown over the fence.” “It’s really disappointing. If people talked to us, maybe we could help them and give them advice.

“Because if they’re dumped, they might not make it. We have a lot of foxes in the area and sometimes we just find the feathers that are left behind from chickens dumped at four in the morning.The six chickens are all ISA Brown hens, a cross-breed of chicken designed to produce a high egg output and can lay up to 500 eggs in their lifetime. Mr Swann believes the hens are now unable to lay anymore eggs, which is why they were abandoned at the Dudley rescue centre last Saturday.

The director said: “Five of them are doing quite well now. They’ve explored, they’re eating well, and they’re playing with the toys in their large quarantine area.

“The other chicken was a lot worse, but she has improved. She’s brighter and a bit stronger. Thankfully, it’s nothing we can’t turn around, so it’s looking more promising.”

He said well-wishers have donated £150 to cover the veterinary care for the chickens who are being nursed back to health.

Mr Swann would like to extend wholehearted thanks to everyone who has supported the new chickens, who have all been given Halloween-inspired names.

The hens have been named after witches from TV shows and books, with Mary, the most fragile of the group, named after a character from the TV show Salem.

There’s also Winnie, Sanderson, Blaire, Ursula, and Willow.

With the new coven, the rescue now has around 30 chickens and are at full-capacity, as chickens and rabbits are commonly dumped at the centre, and sometimes even flung over the fence.

Brockswood said: “We are asked to take in chickens on an almost daily basis. Chickens are fast becoming one of the country’s most neglected animals.

“Roosters are in even more trouble, as they not considered useful due to their inability to lay eggs, loud crowing, and sometimes difficult temperaments.”

Brockswood is now at full capacity, and would not have had the room to house the birds if the chickens had been roosters, not hens, as only one rooster can be in a pen.

A scarcity of enclosures even unexpectedly bloomed a connection between Percy the cockerel and Patricia the pigeon, who initially shared a coop due to a lack of enclosures but are now inseparable, even preening each other.

But the enclosures are are now very old and need to be rebuilt, so Brockswood has created a Chicken Appeal to raise money for completely new aviaries and an educational space in which people can interact with the birds.

Britain is suffering from the worst bird flu epidemic the country has ever seen and the enclosures will be built with this in mind, so no major changes will need to be made when another influenza hits.

To support the Chicken Appeal, people can donate to Brockswood’s PayPal or JustGiving, details of which can be found at brockswood.org.uk/covid19-support People can also donate items and adopt animals through the website.