Amber

This is Amber. She came to live with us in May 2013.  She was found on the floor of a cage egg farm who were sending their chickens to slaughter because they had reached the “spent” age of 18 months.

Not long after her arrival, I was cleaning to coops and I looked up and saw Amber sitting there between two perches, carefully picking up hay and assembling her nest. She quietly chirped to herself in delight whilst she made her nest just right. She picked up her desired pieces of hay and threw them over her shoulder and she studied her nest intently. For a short moment, I smiled watching her. I soaked in her joy and then I just broke down in tears. I cried for the billions and billions of hens who never ever perform this beautiful, instinctual nest making routine. The billions of hens who have to lay their eggs on wire, surrounded by 5 other hens in a small cage. There is nothing right about that. It needs to change. We need to change it by choosing our food with kindness

I named her “Amber” because of her beautiful amber feathers. Amber loves the sun, she is always sun baking.  To this day, she still takes such great pride in her nest building.  She is a dainty, quiet little hen who takes great joy in the everyday things in life.