Tracey, a living being with no value but a very lucky one
(vous pouvez lire l'histoire de Tracey en Français ici )
(de Nederlandse versie van het verhaal van Tracey is hier te lezen)
St Gemme la Plaine (France) Saturday, July 7 2012
"Yesterday afternoon this hen was pecking in the ground for bugs near a major road in the Vendée in France. She was limping and looked dehydrated. Today she is in our hen house. Tracey is a so called battery hen. "Une poule de reforme" as they call them here in France. Fallen from a truck on it's way to the North.
Fortunately it was not hard to catch her, as she wasn't very fast. When I picked her up she screamed loudly. It was only when I sat in the car with her on my lap and my hands holding her body, that she calmed down. I guess her previous contact with human beings has been rather traumatising.
Since joining us she has been eating constantly. To find out the cause of Tracey's leg problems, we went to the vet this morning. He told us her story...
When she was just one day old, her beak was clipped to prevent her from harming other hens in the battery farm. This is a very painful procedure and it also stops her from eating and drinking normally. At 18 weeks, she was placed in a cage. In this cage, 15 to 60 chickens have to live together in a tiny space which makes it difficult for them to extend their wings and move around without disturbing the others.
They live on grids which causes foot injuries. These hens often develop behavioral abnormalities: prolonged stereotyped movements, aggressiveness (or cannibalism) towards the others. You can see that a lot of her feathers are damaged/broken. And their bones are very fragile because of a lack of light and lack of exercise. So this is the cause of her broken leg. The vet could confirm that the leg had been broken already for a while. You can feel a ball, the size of a marble, in her leg, which means the bone has mended itself.
Here in France this hen has no value. That's why she was on it's way to the North to end up as meat meal.
But this afternoon Tracey was out in the sun. She can't scratch the ground and it is obvious that she has difficulty pecking up the food from her bowl. But at least she is still alive. "
Bournezeau (Vendée), Saturday July 26 2012
"Tracey has started laying again. Today I found the first egg that she has laid in total freedom. She is doing very well. Her feathers are regrowing and she is putting on weight. She also has a new friend: Stevie, our cockerel who we keep seperate from the others as he has cataract on one of his eyes.
Oooh, this Tracey was so lucky!"
Back to poultry
(vous pouvez lire l'histoire de Tracey en Français ici )
(de Nederlandse versie van het verhaal van Tracey is hier te lezen)
St Gemme la Plaine (France) Saturday, July 7 2012
"Yesterday afternoon this hen was pecking in the ground for bugs near a major road in the Vendée in France. She was limping and looked dehydrated. Today she is in our hen house. Tracey is a so called battery hen. "Une poule de reforme" as they call them here in France. Fallen from a truck on it's way to the North.
Fortunately it was not hard to catch her, as she wasn't very fast. When I picked her up she screamed loudly. It was only when I sat in the car with her on my lap and my hands holding her body, that she calmed down. I guess her previous contact with human beings has been rather traumatising.
Since joining us she has been eating constantly. To find out the cause of Tracey's leg problems, we went to the vet this morning. He told us her story...
When she was just one day old, her beak was clipped to prevent her from harming other hens in the battery farm. This is a very painful procedure and it also stops her from eating and drinking normally. At 18 weeks, she was placed in a cage. In this cage, 15 to 60 chickens have to live together in a tiny space which makes it difficult for them to extend their wings and move around without disturbing the others.
They live on grids which causes foot injuries. These hens often develop behavioral abnormalities: prolonged stereotyped movements, aggressiveness (or cannibalism) towards the others. You can see that a lot of her feathers are damaged/broken. And their bones are very fragile because of a lack of light and lack of exercise. So this is the cause of her broken leg. The vet could confirm that the leg had been broken already for a while. You can feel a ball, the size of a marble, in her leg, which means the bone has mended itself.
Here in France this hen has no value. That's why she was on it's way to the North to end up as meat meal.
But this afternoon Tracey was out in the sun. She can't scratch the ground and it is obvious that she has difficulty pecking up the food from her bowl. But at least she is still alive. "
Bournezeau (Vendée), Saturday July 26 2012
"Tracey has started laying again. Today I found the first egg that she has laid in total freedom. She is doing very well. Her feathers are regrowing and she is putting on weight. She also has a new friend: Stevie, our cockerel who we keep seperate from the others as he has cataract on one of his eyes.
Oooh, this Tracey was so lucky!"
Back to poultry
Tracey, 2 years later
