Babushka

“All yours,
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!”

She hid up the back of the cage, but even as we quickly walked by and flashed our lights on the cages, I saw her. I saw the tall, terrified girl up the back who looked like a sad old lady with one dead eye. The decisions on who to take out of thousands upon thousands of hens is always hard, but this one I knew straight away. I couldn’t leave her there.

She fought with all her might against being taken out of the cage. Not knowing where she was being taken to, with limited vision must’ve been terrifying. Life is terrifying for a battery hen. There’s no relief from the fear. They are always scared.

This cage in the photo above was Babushka’s home before she was rescued. This was it. She would have lived here for probably just under a year and a half (hens are slaughtered at 18 months old in the commercial egg industry). You can see her right at the back there, you can pick her out by her magnificent comb.

Hens go crazy living in these cages and they often turn on each other because of their frustration. Babushka’s eye was scratched by another hen and it left her with no sight in one eye. She would have been in quite a lot of pain with that eye for some time, but there is no medical care in a factory farm. These lives are worth nothing but an egg to these farmers.

Babushka’s first ever visit to the vet relieved shocking neglect. She was emaciated, weak, terrified and very unwell.

Battery hens are always emaciated but Babushka was skinny on a very serious scale. I don’t think she braved eating in that cage very often because of fear.  Babushka was rescued one night in November 2015. She was scared to eat for a long time, it took her about 6 months after rescue to feel safe eating with her flock.

Babushka is probably one of the most traumatised hens I have even cared for. It took her weeks and weeks to feel safe enough to leave the coop and walk out in to the daylight. It took her months and months to be confident enough to enjoy being a chicken. She now enjoys foraging and eating just like any other chicken, but there is something different about Babushka. Because of her eye, she seems unaware of things that the other chickens are acutely aware of. Sometimes she doesn’t know where she is. I often think she has some sort of neurological issue stemming from the problem with her eye that affects her thinking.

Babushka has learnt about licking gumboots from Bobby Bob Bob and it is one of her greatest joys in life these days. Whatever makes her happy I certainly approve of.

These days Babushky is incredibly happy. She finds happiness in pants mostly, licking them, and she loves to run randomly around the place in circles whilst talking. She’s a bit of a nut, but she’s our nut and we love her.

Please don’t use my images without permission. All images are Copyright Tamara Kenneally