Baby Birds
Sunday afternoon Eric and I made a trip to our local farm store to pick up some routine supplies for the Sanctuary. It can be difficult for us this time of year, because they have the baby birds in; for people to purchase as gifts, to start or add to their backyard flock, put in Easter baskets for the kids, or to have hens for laying eggs. Often, people get these young birds not knowing their needs and the young birds often don’t make it, or they are abandoned, sold on craigslist or Facebook, or the luckiest ones sometimes find their way to a Sanctuary.
What many people who purchase these baby birds don’t know, is the birds are shipped in the mail at one day old. Their tiny, frail bodies need to have 90-95 degree temperature for the first week of life to even have a chance at survival. They are often born from moms that are malnourished themselves from over production, so they don’t have the best hope at life even in best case scenarios.
I gathered my supplies on Sunday and then took a quick peak at the big metal tubs to see how the chicks seemed to be fairing. Although, they rarely look like they are thriving, today was especially bad. The first tub I looked into had a dead chick laying there and my heart sank. I found an employee to let them know and proceeded to ask if there was any way I could take a few to try to save them? I let them know we ran a Sanctuary and we only have the capacity to help a few, unfortunately, but at least we could try to do that.
The manager had gone to the post office to pick up their order of chicks that morning. Upon arrival he found that someone had ordered a large batch of baby birds which arrived the day prior that were never picked up. The post office employees didn’t know what to do and asked if he would take the extra boxes of birds. These baby birds had been in the post office in boxes for at least 2 days and now were freezing and dying. Some of the post office workers felt bad for some of the ducks in the shipment and took them out and put them in a tub of water, which ended up killing the ducklings, because they are unable to swim at such a young age. The manager said he would take them.
Now, back at the feed store later in the day, the little ducklings, chicks, and poults, were falling dead faster than the employee could bring out boxes to pick them up. Customers looked on and asked questions, some purchasing birds that were picked out around the dead ones. There was a fair amount of blame being tossed around, from the people who ordered the chicks and never picked them up, to the postal workers, to the store employees…but in reality, baby chicks, ducklings, and poults (turkeys), are taken from their moms, put in a box, and transported through the mail at a day old, because PEOPLE BUY THEM. Unfortunately, a lot of the unnecessary harm done in this World, is due to what we as consumers purchase and how much.
We brought four little chicks home with us, wishing we could have brought them all, but being realistic about our capacity physically, financially, and mentally. We rode home with the heat at 90 degrees and set them on the floorboard where they could stay the warmest. We purchased the necessary items we needed for them and brought them home as quickly as possible. They have a clean, quiet, comfortable place in my yoga room, and only appropriately, have soft mediation music playing around the clock. : ) We have a thermometer to insure the proper temperature at all times, and they have their plush momma pig, watching over them. They were so weak, one could hardly stand on her own, trying to walk and then falling after a step or two. When they stood they would sway and teeter, trying to balance under their tiny weak feet. We are saddened to say that we lost one within an hour or so of being home and another about 1am that night. I check on them at least every three hours around the clock to make sure they are eating, drinking, and active to some extent. Their little butts get very poopy and I have to keep them very clean to rid of any diseases they may have from re-contaminating their space and to keep their vents open so that they can continue to poop and don't get blocked up. The two little girls seem to be doing better by the day and are trying their best at life. We are unsure of their sex at this time. They are all displayed and labeled for sale at the feed store as hens who will lay eggs, but in reality being sent off at a day old, they are unable to guarantee they are female, according to the manager at the store. So, we will see as they continue to grow.
Unfortunately, this is not a rare event. Baby birds, like these, are having a similar experience all over the nation. It happens more frequently than not for these little beings. Even if they were picked up from the post office in time, the reality of so much stress at such a young age, away from their mother, their little bodies and immune systems just can’t keep up.
We feel so grateful to be able to care for even just a couple that we can hopefully nurse to a full, thriving life, but are heartbroken at the enormous amount of baby birds that suffer and die every year needlessly in this way.
~ Namaste