Every Pet Project: The Chicken Rescue

“She had some and said they make great pets. She said they’re like dogs - they like to be petted, they’re smart, they’re affectionate. I started out with five,” Tiffany says. “We now have about 130.” 

Those 130 chickens - and one turkey - are residents of The Chicken Rescue, a unique rescue shelter opened by Tiffany and her husband Todd in 2017, not long after the couple fell in love with those first five. 

“What inspired us to open was the fact that no one pays any attention to chickens,” Tiffany says. “Animal control doesn’t pick them up. Farm animal sanctuaries mainly deal with mammals. They fall through the cracks of the system.” 

 

The Chicken Rescue, which the couple started in Alvin, Texas, but recently relocated to nearby Round Top, is among the many animal charity organizations to receive a $2,500 donation from Virbac as part of its ongoing Every Pet Project (EPP). 

Similar to traditional animal shelters, The Chicken Rescue specializes in rescuing, rehabbing and rehoming hens and roosters. “We have the exact same needs as a dog or cat rescue,” Tiffany says. “As soon as I got the money deposited, I was able to pay off about $700 worth of medical bills for the chickens. Chickens can’t be taken to regular veterinarians. They have to be seen by specialists and the nearest one who is licensed to treat chickens is 80 miles away.” 

The funds also went to bedding, the purchase of shade cloths to keep their kennels cooler in the hot summer sun and updates and repairs to the rescue’s kennel and chicken run, Tiffany says.
 
Many of the roosters and hens Tiffany rescues are strays who wander away from their farms. Others are given up by their owners, who can no longer care for them (due to the number of chickens currently at the shelter, Tiffany is not currently accepting owner-surrenders unless the chickens are injured or sick). Sometimes, she says, they escape from slaughterhouses.  

The majority of the roosters are rescued from cock fights. 

“You’d be surprised how prevalent they are in Texas,” she says of the fights. “The police will come in and break up the fights and the roosters get taken away. A lot of the law enforcement agencies know about me and they know I’ll take them.” 

Tiffany says she’s particular about to whom she’ll adopt her rescues. 

“I either have to know them or they have to provide me with pictures of their home setup,” she says. “Obviously I won’t adopt a chicken to someone who wants the eggs or wants to eat the chicken. They have to be willing to take them to a veterinarian for regular checkups, too.” 

Tiffany says once people see how similar they are to dogs and cats, the idea of adopting one isn’t so strange. 

“It’s just like my friend to me: They’re great pets,” she says. “They’re fun and funny to watch, they bond with their owners and each other, they’re teachable, they’re lovable. In so many ways, they’re just like dogs and cats. They really are.” 

 

Fun chicken facts: 

 

• Chickens bond with a flock for life - once they bond, they should not be separated
• Chickens cannot see well at night
• Chickens typically put themselves to bed around sundown, many times in the same spot each night.
• Hens can transition into roosters
• Roosters and hens have significant others
• Like domesticated animals, chickens love to snuggle and to be petted 
• Each year, a chicken loses its coat and grows it back
• Because chickens are not common pets nor are they mammals, fewer veterinarians are trained to treat them. Chickens require a special veterinarian with an avian/poultry license. 

 

 

Every pet, everywhere, deserves a life of care. To nominate your favorite animal charity - an organization that works hard to make sure pets are cared for and get the protection they need for a happy, healthy life - please visit our Every Pet Project page. For more information about The Chicken Rescue, please visit their website.