Gerri, this beautiful chicken pictured below, is an inspiration.
She is a symbol of hope and a reminder to never give up, whatever your circumstances...
Life didn't start well for Gerri and she spent the first 6 months of her life crammed in a shed with thousands of other chickens. She had her beak trimmed, her wings trimmed (routine practice in the U.K Egg Industry) and was treated like stock.
She lost feathers, due to being stressed and her crown was floppy due to poor health.
In the U.K Egg Industry, artificial light is used to trick the hens into thinking it's daytime so they produce more eggs (than they naturally should); and this was the case with Gerri.
When she came to us and her bottom was sore and red raw.
The picture above is the day myself and my partner rescued her and 8 other chickens via the British Hen Welfare Trust. The first day she saw sunlight and the first time she felt grass underneath her feet.
Gerri went on to be part of a loving family and also a sensation on Twitter; where she won the hearts of many and exposed the truth behind the commercial Egg Industry / helped to change attitudes towards her species. One of her videos has more than 26,000 views!
She passed in 2020, yet to this day she is remembered fondly, even by people that never met her personally.
The day we rescued her, was the day she would have been going to the slaughterhouse.
Gerri was one of the lucky ones, but 1.2 million chickens are killed in the U.K every week!
Gerri was funny and had a huge personality. She'd peck on the door to come in and make herself comfy in the dog bed.
Her favourite food was mash potato and garden peas and she liked to lay with the cats and chase cherry tomatoes around like a ball. She was kind, clever and beautiful. She loved unconditionally and trusted humans, despite what some had done to her.
We underestimate chickens and treat them terribly. Life could have ended very differently for Gerri and she is no different to the chickens that end up on people's plates.
If you're reading this and still eat chickens or shop bought eggs, I hope that you will think of Gerri and realise the horrors that are hidden from us. Chickens are wonderful animals and they really don't deserve to be eaten or exploited.
