Lucky, the Hen Rescued by Sunrise Sanctuary, is Recovering

The hen named “Lucky” who fell from a truck and was rescued by the Sunrise Sanctuary, a farmed animals sanctuary in Marysville, Ohio, US, is recovering well from her health problems caused by her life in an egg farm. On 5^th August 2023, veterinarians from the sanctuary removed from her body maggots that were crawling all over her. She was anaemic, her skin was very sore and she was missing part of her skin and many feathers. 

The following day the sanctuary wrote this on Instagram: “We’re still caring for little Lucky. Her wound and bottom are still really bad, but she’s showing improvements. Her comb is less pale, and she’s less lethargic. She had about 5 minutes of outside time, and she loves it. She never had grass or saw sunlight before falling from a transport truck. She’s also eating really well. She’s a sweetheart, too. It breaks out hearts this is the reality of egg-laying chickens in factory farms and large-scale egg farms. There are so many different vegan egg products on the market now that we can try to eliminate the suffering of these poor individuals.”

The poor hygienic conditions of factory egg farms where hens are condemned to lay eggs until they are killed often cause maggot infestations, as the overcrowded sheds are ideal breeding conditions for them. The fact that Lucky fell from the truck likely leading to a slaughterhouse was really lucky for her as not only did she survive, but she could receive veterinary care, something that the immense majority of hens who share her life would not have. 

Staff at the sanctuary reported on the 7^th of August that she had a long way to go as she still had a hole in her body and was fighting infection, but her comb was reddish now instead of white and purple. 

Fortunately, Lucky recovered. On 3^rd September, the sanctuary posted this with a video of Lucky: “Lucky is doing so well and gets stronger each week. This footage was taken last week when she made her way to Sunrise! She gets new feathers every day and is learning to love all the joys she was robbed of. We love you Lucky.”