Wren Would Like More Cuddles Please (It's been a big weekend)

Featuring Roger, Beyonce, Cinnamon... and a government department that doesn't give a flying fudge

It’s Sunday which means it’s time for the Scoop from the Coop!

Hello Friends,

What a weekend it has been. David has been in Melbourne visiting family and I have never cared for so many animals with such an intense and complicated medication routine on my own before.

My average bedtime was 1am. On Friday night the electricity tripped and I spent from 1am until 3am trying to find the problem. It still isn’t fixed, but I have quite the elaborate system of extension cords coming from the outside power points to keep the washing machine and fridge going. I have done four loads of poopy animal blankets today, trying to catch up. The glamour!

Despite the chaos, Friday night brought some very exciting new arrivals and I want to start there because meeting them made every sleepless moment worth it.

I was so grateful to Isy and Bec for transporting the newbies to meet our long-distance transport volunteer, Jacinta, who brought the whole crew all the way from the Central Coast to the Mid North Coast. Jacinta has done many long trips for us. She is a vital part of the team. Tye and Claire then met Jacinta and brought the gang the rest of the way to me. What a great team effort!

If you feel you could help with transport from Sydney or the Central Coast to Coffs Harbour or Grafton, please do let me know. We reimburse fuel and are already planning the next lot of animals that need to come here. Jacinta can’t do the trip every week so we really need more help. I can sort out a motel if it enables you to help, so please email and let me know if you can.

Valerie (left), Gemma (bottom right), Toby looking at the sky (top right)

Gemma, Valerie… and a very happy Toby

Some of you will have read about Gemma and Valerie in Wednesday’s newsletter. They were abandoned in a box by a main road in Sydney. Both girls have reproductive disease.

When I first saw Gemma’s photo from the vet, I was scared she might not make it. So when she arrived at the hen haven I could not believe how much better she looked already. The suprelorin implant is working its magic. Bec did such an amazing job fostering them and administering their meds, and it really shows.

I introduced the girls to Toby, who was dumped by a motorway, and Maura, who was found dumped with sore legs. The four are getting along very well and Toby is beyond thrilled to have girlfriends at last.

He is such a sweet boy, but sadly his time by the motorway has left lasting damage.

He still cannot perch and the fishing line that was wrapped around his leg has left thick scar tissue. His comb is purple in places from the ticks that were removed after his rescue. To see him happy with the girls is just a dream.

Gemma is full of energy. She loves to scratch in the dirt and is always the first up to the camera when I’m taking a photo of them. She and Valerie mostly stick together, as they are such firm friends.

Seven New Girls Join the Flock

Peter sharing an egg with one of the beautiful new girls. Feel free to send me suggestions of names for this beauty.

We welcomed seven girls who were surrendered by a woman named Huda who had rescued them from a neglect situation. The girls had been living with Huda’s parents, and as they were moving, the hens had to be rehomed. Huda was so upset as she loved the girls.

A mother and daughter dust bath for Cinnamon and her fluffster of a Mum, Beyonce

Two of the beauties were already named by Huda: Beyonce and her daughter Cinnamon. Beyonce is just like her namesake, a real show stopper! When she was lifted out of the carrier it was almost as if she expanded as her feathers fluffed out even further. She looks like a female version of our handsome, disabled rooster, Harry. Cinnamon is a beauty too, and they clearly adore each other.

They are, however, a little bossy with other hens! So I have kept them together but away from the others. They are now living with Albert, who has been desperate for girlfriends for ages. We will need to build a bigger enclosure for the trio, but for now they are having a grand old time dust bathing together and not having the stress of having to bring other hens into line! Thankfully they have not bullied Albert at all and he is very sweet to them.

Five of the girls have bumble foot and scaley leg mites

I am yet to name the other girls (time to get the baby name book out again) . They are living down the field, with Peter. He is the rooster I told you about last week who was dumped and then attacked by a dog. He is almost fully recovered from his tail amputation and is in seventh heaven with all these beautiful ladies.

These five hens do have some health issues. One girl has quite severe swelling around her abdomen and will need an implant. All five have bumble foot to varying degrees and they also have scaly leg mites.

Their rescuer had been treating them for the mites but there is still a long way to go. Bumble foot is a painful foot infection often caused by pressure sores or being kept in an unsuitable environment, and if left untreated it can spread to the bone, so I must get started on treatment straight away.

And Then Came Roger…

His name was originally Ginger Rogers, because the kind people who found him in Castle Hill thought he was a girl. When he began to crow they shortened it to Ginger. Since we already have a very big personality pig named Ginger, I asked if we could call him Roger instead.

The people who found him were really upset that they couldn’t keep him. Not only are they in suburbia but one also has a severe respiratory allergy to birds.

They had tried contacting fifteen organisations including the council, the RSPCA and many sanctuaries looking for help, but no one could take him. I had told them we were full and we truly are, but when they got back to me saying literally everyone had said no, I wanted to help.

They were not breeders discarding roosters or a pre school running a hatching project. They were kind people who found a dumped rooster and did the right thing. So Roger arrived.

What a sweetie he is. I have since trimmed the feathers that fall over his eyes. Okay so he may not look quite as trendy as in the pic above, but at least he can see.

I haven’t yet found a daytime spot for him and I think we will have to build him an area. As I said, we really are full of roosters.

For the time being he is enjoying a lot of time in the house with me. He is used to a bit of pampering from his rescuers, so he’s quite happy to be around people. I also discovered he is a lover of grapes, which seems to be a common theme among our new arrivals.

Little Wren, and the Cuddles We Both Needed

I finally had a chance to cuddle Wren and it was the happiest part of the weekend

I felt bad this weekend because, with David away, I had so little time and Wren, our ex-meat industry rooster, got way fewer cuddles than usual. This is a big problem for Wren as he is a cuddle bug.

I will be writing a full piece about him soon because you simply must be given the opportunity to appreciate him. He is the snuggliest, sweetest heart in the world.

Finally, the cuddle time we had both been waiting for

Wren looks like a fully grown chicken but he is still cheeping like a chick. To think he would have been slaughtered already if he hadn’t fallen off that truck is just sickening. And to think of all the others who were just as desperate for love, cuddles and comfort and never got it is monstrous.

I am so grateful this boy is in our lives.

Thankfully David has arrived home, so Wren is back in prime cuddle position where he belongs.

Plum and Marigold Urgently Need a Foster Carer

Plum and Marigold at the vets. Poor Marigold is very sick.

Speaking of babies, I am preparing to welcome two more little hens next weekend, but I urgently need a foster carer to look after them for the next week until they can come to me.

Plum and Marigold are the sisters of Sage, who was found roaming in Enmore 2.5 weeks ago with severe fowl pox and a respiratory infection.

A few days ago, I received a call from a woman who had been given my number. At first, I didn’t realise who she was, but it quickly became clear that she was actually Sage’s previous guardian.

She had bought Sage, Plum and Marigold just a few weeks ago and got in touch the other day because she had heard Sage had ended up with me. From what I understand, Plum and Marigold had been unwell for some time before that, and unfortunately had not received veterinary care early on.

Chickens are incredibly good at hiding illness, so by the time symptoms become obvious, they can already be very sick. Early vet treatment can make such a difference to their chances of recovery, which is why it’s always so important to act as soon as something seems off.

I gave her a list of all the meds Sage was on, and asked her to take them to a vet. She decided to surrender the girls so they could receive the care they deserve. She agreed to transport them to Centennial Park Vets where they were surrendered. Dr. Peter once again stepped up to help, even though we didn’t yet have a foster carer lined up.

Poor Marigold was in a really bad way.

They have both been started on multiple medications, and I’m really hoping Marigold can pull through and eventually they can both be reunited with their sister, Sage.

The problem is, we still don’t have a foster carer lined up, and I’m not sure how much longer the vet can keep them there.

If you are around Sydney or the Central Coast and feel you could foster these bubs until next weekend, please let me know. They would need to be kept inside as they are very vulnerable to predators, and their meds would need to be administered. If you don’t know how to do this, I can teach you.

Your set up could be as simple as a bathroom or a laundry with a blanket in a carrier for nighttime.

Please get in touch if you can help.

The Motorway Rooster Situation (Serenity Now!)

I contacted both the council and Transport for NSW about the rooster dumping crisis at a mid north coast motorway rest stop. This is the stop where Peter and 10 others were abandoned. I asked for signage warning that dumping animals is illegal and for CCTV to be installed. I asked that at the very minimum, contractors please leave our water bowls rather than throwing them away.

The council said it wasn’t their problem and advised us to contact the RSPCA. Transport for NSW said exactly the same. Since when was the RSPCA responsible for signage at motorway rest stops? I asked whether, if we installed our own signs, they would agree not to take them down. They ignored that entirely.

Rooster dumping is a nationwide epidemic and no single organisation can tackle the problem alone. But simple signs have been proven to make a real difference. Yet every department just passes the buck. It feels like these people truly do not give a flying fudge about animals.

The three last roosters dumped at that spot are still missing, and I have no doubt more will be abandoned there unless action is taken.

Even though I was expecting those replies, they still made me feel so sad.

But Isy and I will keep pushing. I should mention Isy is going through the same process attempting to get signs down near Wollongong at a known rooster dumping hot spot. She is running into the exact same road blocks.

A Big Thank You!

None of what we do would be possible without our hen heroes. Your donations and support make the biggest difference in the world, which is why it means so much when you donate or become a paid subscriber. Thank you!

I am so grateful to everyone who donated over the last couple of newsletters or who made the kind decision to become a paid subscriber. It was wonderful to receive that support. I’m sorry I am taking ages to sort out the donation receipts. I promise I will get to it soon. Poor Izzy can’t send them out, if I haven’t made the time to tell her who to send them to. Sorry Izzy! If the animals could just give me a moment!

And don’t forget, if you can foster Plum and Marigold for a few days or volunteer as a transport driver, please reply or email me at admin@henrescue.org. I’m desperate to expand our lovely little volunteer team as it is just too much strain on the same people all the time.

Thanks for spending this time with me and the animals.

Love Catherine x

P.S. If you haven’t made a donation recently and would like to, here is the link: https://henrescue.org/donate.

Or you can become a paid subscriber on Substack, which would make me absolutely thrilled to bits. And if you already have, thank you, thank you, thank you!