Birth date: 2 April 2018

Arrival date: 11 May 2018

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Betty and Bea are two survivors of a truck crash that occurred on Easter Monday, 2018.
 

These little chickens hatched, emerging from their egg shells on April 2nd, 2018. Almost immediately they were loaded onto a truck along with around 108,000 others. These babes were headed for a huge shed where they would spend the next 5-6 weeks before being trucked once again, this time to their slaughter.

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On route to their new shed, the truck carrying them left the road, crashing in a paddock. Thousands of chicks lay strewn and dead whilst thousands more who survived the crash peeped frantically, seeking the comfort of a mother they would never know.

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Around 80,000 chicks were collected at the crash scene and reloaded for delivery to the sheds they had originally been bound for - those chicks would have been sent off for for slaughter 6-7 weeks later.

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Members of the public who went past the crash site after it had been reported to be cleared were shocked and horrified to find hundreds of still live chicks had been left at the site, pushed into piles of rubble and in some instances buried alive. They spent several hours recovering all the surviving chicks, who then went into expert care for several weeks.

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Having recovered somewhat from the trauma of that first day of their lives, at eight weeks old the babes were strong enough to leave care and so were lovingly welcomed 22 little babies to Little Oak. These little guys received the best of care, however having been bred to grow so incredibly big so very quickly, their lifespan may not be as long as other chickens. Every day these little birds are able to forage, dust bathe, run and flap their wings is a day we are grateful for.

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We thank the amazing individuals who rescued these sweet babies.  All chickens raised for their meat suffer terribly - you can be kind to them by leaving them off your plate.

 

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