Hen Harbor

18/09/2024

Silkie roosters are both the most popular & the most frequently abandoned breed of pet chicken. They are also the least likely to survive, having been selectively bred for docility at the expense of survival instincts (fear). And because they have fluff instead of feathers, they're completely flightless & poorly insulated against bad weather.

Making matters worse, silkies can't be sexed upon hatching, so there is a 50% chance that any silkie chick purchased will be an (illegal) rooster with nowhere to go.

(Normally, hatcheries identify & kill most of the boys before they are shipped to the feed stores, leaving only a 20% chance of getting a rooster.)

05/08/2024

The chickens got on the local news this weekend! Feel free to leave a nice, pro-rooster comment under the story on the news website!

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) — The recent bust of a cockfighting ring in Santa Cruz county has raised concerns about animal cruelty in the community. I had the opportunity to speak with Ariana Huemer who runs hen harbor for cockfighting refugees. She tells me she's deeply concerned for the welfare...

12/05/2024

If you love animals, please don’t abandon them in the park or side of the road because they’re too much trouble.
When you see feral chicken colonies in Florida & Hawaii, they are mostly gamefowl descendants— not your typical backyard breed of chicken. Ninety five percent of domesticated breeds, like this little guy here, have zero chance of survival on their own. 😥

12/04/2024

Another day, another abandoned rooster …

01/03/2024

Please meet Tim. The other day someone told me they saw him running around an empty lot by their storage facility, but that he was behind a fence so “he must be okay.”
Well, he wasn’t okay; he was frantically pacing back and forth along the chain link fence surrounding a vast empty lot. He probably was trying to get out so he could chase after whatever car left him there as it drove away.
Catching him was easy; he was so docile and tame. But he is just one of countless thousands of pet roosters already this year who have been driven out to the middle of nowhere and dumped — with no food, shelter, water, or ability to survive the onslaught of nighttime predators.
I wouldn’t be surprised if his former people actually loved him but felt they had no choice because of anti-rooster laws almost everywhere. Most likely he (like 95 percent of unwanted roosters) was mislabeled and sold as a baby female chick at the feed store.
If you love animals, you can stem the flow of unwanted, abandoned roosters by (1) choosing to adopt adult chickens-in-need (visit ) and (2) vociferously opposing rooster bans/restrictions in your community.

** If you’d like to support our work, we have a Venmo () and a PayPal (PayPal.me/henharbor). **
❤️🐓

29/02/2024

With the push to outlaw pet roosters in counties throughout California and beyond, the number of abandoned pet roosters left to die on the side of the road has increased dramatically. No, they can’t survive on their own because they are domesticated and all but defenseless against the myriad of predators waiting to kill them. As long as people push rooster bans, these innocent birds will continue to suffer and die.

14/02/2024

Happy ValHentines Day from Biggie Smalls, one of the 1000s of pet roosters left at animal shelters each year because of rampant anti-rooster laws.

Biggie’s tiny crow is barely audible and he weighs less than a pound, but his former people still were coerced into evicting him from their household. Although most unwanted roosters never find a safe home, was caring enough to find him a safe, forever home ❤️🐔

28/01/2024

Urgent
These two beautiful young roosters have been abandoned without food, water or shelter in a parking lot in San Jose, California. Can anyone open their hearts and their homes to them? If you are anywhere in the state, we will try to transport them to you ❤️🐓💔

27/01/2024

** TIME SENSITIVE ALERT -- deadline Monday Jan. 29 **
Things are about to get even harder for roosters in Santa Barbara!

In just a few days, the Board of Supervisors in Santa Barbara County (Calif.) is expected to pass a set of anti-rooster laws that will be terrible for our feathery friends! Even though roosters are already banned almost everywhere in the county, the proposed restrictions seek *further* restrictions, severely limiting the number of roosters allowed in rural areas, (overriding the allowances under existing zoning laws).

Although this measure claims to be targeting cockfighting operations, the fact is that it will hurt *all* roosters – including pet roosters who have absolutely nothing to do with cockfighting and just want a chance at life.

If these restrictions pass, anyone who wants to help out the endless stream of unwanted roosters in shelters or abandoned on the side of the road (by, for example, creating a bachelor flock) ultimately won’t be able to keep more than a handful of roosters, no matter how remote or spacious the property is. This is unfair to people who moved to agricultural zones to have animals, and it's unfair to the scores of roosters who will have nowhere else to go.

Even if you don't live in Santa Barbara County (but especially if you do!) please email these five members of the SB County Board of Supervisors and *ask them to oppose the proposed roosters restrictions* – at the very least, until they can be reworked to allow for pet roosters and rooster-rescue organizations. Let them know that further restricting roosters in SB County affects rooster welfare everywhere, because it forces people with (accidental) illegal pet roosters to look outside the county for (already limited) placement options. Let them know that these misguided regulations will hurt more animals than they will hurt!

The vote on this is Tuesday, January 30, so please get letters in this weekend (or by Monday 1/29 at the latest)!

Das Williams, First District Supervisor: [email protected]

Laura Capps, Second District Supervisor: [email protected]

*Joan Hartmann, Third District Supervisor: [email protected]

**Bob Nelson, Fourth District Supervisor: [email protected]

Steve Lavagino, Fifth District Supervisor
[email protected]

*Hartmann authored the unfortunate restrictions
** Nelson opposes the restrictions and should be thanked

Read more: https://www.santamariasun.com/news/rooster-rules-15419279
Info on bachelor flocks: https://adoptabirdnetwork.com/topics/bachelor-flocks

22/01/2024

Biggie Smalls is a feisty fella who grew up in an animal shelter! His wife Bertha is a “meat” chicken (aka Cornish Cross) rescued from a live market, where people pick out individuals and have them killed on the spot 💔

Together they are a happy couple with (hopefully) many long years of marital bliss ahead of them.

18/01/2024

Thanks to the backyard egg trend, rooster abandonment is at an all-time high. Because they are banned almost everywhere, the fate of an “ooops”rooster is grim. People will kill them, abandon them, or drop them off at animal control. In all cases, the ending is usually grim.

People who adopt adult hens don’t have to worry about one of their purchased chicks growing into roosters, and fewer animals die. “Adopt don’t shop” applies to all pets, including chickens

Chickenadoption.com