Thousands of chickens rehomed after being discovered at Toowoomba property

thousands of chickens rehomed after being discovered at toowoomba property

Naomi Watts says the community response to the hens’ plight has been overwhelming. (ABC Southern Qld: David Chen)

Thousands of chickens have been rescued from an egg farm in Queensland’s south-east and authorities are investigating claims that they were abandoned.

The owners of a property in a rural community south of Toowoomba put a call out on social media earlier this month seeking new homes for more than 3,000 chooks.

“The tenants have now moved on, leaving behind hens,” the owners said.

Toowoomba resident Naomi Watts was among those who helped rehome the laying hens.

Ms Watts said it was a confronting scene.

“It was pretty bad,” she said.

“There were a lot of dead chooks everywhere.

“The smell was just unbelievable.”

I’m still reeling — it’s like something out of a bad movie.”

Overwhelming response

It is not known how many hens died, but the thousands that survived were rehomed to locations around Toowoomba over six days.

Ms Watts said the community response was overwhelming.

“Everyone loves a free chook, but most people I’ve talked to are really delighted to be able to help,” she said.

“If they hadn’t been able to be rehomed, the owners had no way of feeding them all, so they quite possibly would have ended up dying.”

An owner of the property declined to comment when contacted by the ABC.

The property was leased at the time.

Complaint made

RSPCA Queensland told the ABC it had referred a complaint about the egg farm to the Department of Agriculture and Fishing (DAF).

A DAF spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that an “animal welfare report” relating to a poultry establishment had been received, but declined to comment further because the matter was under investigation.

RSPCA Queensland said it regularly received complaints about abandoned animals.

“It’s best to report these animals rather than taking them into your own care,” spokeswomen Emma Lagoon said.

“There can be issues around ownership, biosecurity risks, trespass and potential theft of animals, along with appropriate care and costs associated with this.”

She said for people considering rehoming chickens, it was important to carry out several checks including parasite control and vaccinations.

“Considerations do need to be made in regards to who they are rehoming animals to, and contacting local livestock rescue groups to ensure animals are going to good homes that know how to care for hens,” Ms Lagoon said.

Ms Watts said the family’s four chickens, which her daughters named “Fat Chook”, “Sparkle Chook”, “Freckled Chook” and “Rhode Chook”, were now settling into life as backyard chooks.

“It’s been really nice watching them experience grass and sunlight, and they get in the sun and dust bathe,” she said.

“It’s really nice watching them settle into life as backyard chook.”

News Related

OTHER NEWS

Disrupt Burrup protesters searched and phones seized

Disrupt Burrup Hub group say police have issued move-on notices prohibiting access to the WA site. A group of climate activists and filmmakers say their phones have been seized during ... Read more »

The generation driving a ‘megatrend’ of poor mental health in Australia

As individuals, we have unique experiences that affect our mental health and wellbeing, but what about the collective experiences that influence each generation? The mental health of Australians has been ... Read more »

Geraldton meatworks set to reopen after five years in bid to meet chilled meat demand from Asia, Middle East

Syed Ghazaly wants to see the Geraldton abattoir reopen early next year to process 1,000 sheep a day. (ABC Mid West Wheatbelt: Chris Lewis) The new owners of a mothballed ... Read more »

Blues seek ‘growth’ as pre-season begins; new Hawk aims to be AFL’s serial pest

Carlton coach Michael Voss says he and his players understand there are heightened expectations on them, but insists the Blues are ready to develop individually and in their game plan. ... Read more »

Bulldogs continue signing frenzy with swap deal

The Bulldogs’ off-season signing frenzy is set to continue with the club reportedly set to land Cronnor Tracey in a swap deal. The Sydney Morning Herald reports Tracey is expected ... Read more »

Customers to weigh in as Optus disruption comes under microscope

Consumers and impacted businesses are being urged to have their say on the Optus outage, with the federal government laying out the terms of reference for its review into the ... Read more »

Released detainee unable to be contacted by authorities

It has been revealed a released immigration detainee is unable to be contacted by authorities. Border Force has referred the matter to the Federal Police as authorities are attempting to ... Read more »
Top List in the World