More sad news today. ⁣

We were shocked and saddened to find loveable little Larry deceased this morning. If you’ve been following Larry’s story, you know that she came to us as a 2-day-old broiler chick on December 12th, 2022. Larry turned 133 days old today and had just started laying eggs in the past week. ⁣

While we don’t know Larry’s full story, we were told that Larry’s life was spared because she was mistakenly sexed at hatching as a male. Somebody didn’t want to see her meet the fate that most male chicks do at hatching and took her home. Hence the name Larry. When they realized they didn’t have the right environment for Larry they reached out to us to give her a home. ⁣

Larry was a hen that was full of character! She loved most foods she was offered, but would gladly voice her displeasure over her least favourite veggies. She loved her people and wasn’t shy to make requests. Our favourite thing was hearing Larry respond vocally when her name was called. Didn’t matter if she could see you or not; you could be 20 feet away, and around the corner, Larry would always acknowledge her name. She may have even had better recall than some of the dogs we’ve had. Larry really took a liking to Jamie and followed her around wherever she went. Taking a nap at her feet, or trying to perch on her head. It was really heartwarming watching Larry blossom from a tiny chick into a hen, curiously and slowly figuring out life at a pace she felt comfortable with. ⁣

We’re sorry this was what your life was destined to be, Larry. We always knew you’d leave us too soon, taking a piece of our hearts with you, but we had hoped you’d be able to experience more life than a few short months. Your life mattered. We love you, we miss you, and your duck friends do too. ⁣

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We are hesitant to release this post with an educational component because Larry was an individual, she and her short life deserve to be celebrated without making an example out of her. At the same time, we can’t ignore the plight of the billions of Larry’s that are bred into existence every year for profit. ⁣

Not only are we sad, but we’re also mad, because broiler chickens, like Larry, have been selectively bred to grow at an alarming rate. They’ve been bred to be hungry all the time. Larry would run her enclosure walls excited to see us and at the prospect of food. Food was Larry’s obsession. We did everything we could to give Larry the best chance at an extended life. We slow-fed Larry highly controlled portions consisting of a low-fat, low-protein diet with lots of veggies and leafy greens. While doing our best to keep Larry moving around for some low-impact exercise. But in the end, our best efforts weren’t enough to combat the effects of how humans had engineered Larry. Something inside Larry, likely her heart or an artery, couldn’t withstand the strain it was put under, resulting in a fatal internal hemorrhage. We as humans, the species that thinks they are superior to all others, the species supposedly blessed with a broad range of emotions like empathy, continue to breed and engineer animals to suit our purposes, like some horrible sci-fi horror movie.⁣

Larry was just 133 days old. The overwhelming majority of broiler chickens are processed between 35 and 49 days of age and at weights more than that of an adult egg-laying hen. That is if their bodies don’t give out before then, which is common in up to 4% of broiler chickens. They also have to contend with broken bones as their skeletal structure struggles to support their weight. ⁣

That’s not humane. That’s not without suffering. That needs to stop. Please consider choosing compassion over convenience and comfort.