Alexis Fleming of the Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice recently set up a rescue mission to save the lives of 152 cockerels.
Alexis was contacted by a worker at the Lancashire egg farm and told, due to being mis-sexed, they were to be killed within 48 hours.
Alexis got to social media to assemble a group of willing volunteers and help give the boys a second chance in life.
The boys are now safe at the hospice at Dundrennan, near Kirkcudbright.
Alexis told DGWGO “It’s probably one of the biggest Cockerels rescues ever which was completely by accident. Male chickens never usually get out alive. These boys are usually killed when they’re a day old. So for this many to make it is s miraculous actually and it just so happened that I could just about find a way to make it all happen but with like maybe two days notice.”
“They’re eating about 30 kilos of food a day at the moment and that’ll probably go up to about 40/50. So you’re looking at maybe 30 quid a day something like that every day for potentially about 10 years.”
“I’ve Got To Find A Way To Make It Work”
“So yeah, it’s about £1,000 a month or something. I’m like, I don’t know how I’m going to find it but I just have to you know I’ve gotta make it work now. I’ve committed to it.
These boys never get a chance and I’ve just got to find a way to make it work.”
“There’s always like there tends to be a bully boy, or the bully boys, who get put in with their uncles and get cuffed around the lug. But there’s a couple of really sooky boys. ”
“They just want to cuddle in because you kind of forget that they’re orphans. They’ve never had a mum. They’ve never had a family. I think a lot of people think of fighting when they think of cockerels but like they’re generally a lot less feisty than the lassies.”
Community Support
“People have been great so far.”
“I’ve had so much help from the community. Like people came and helped build the ark and they’ve come and sat with them just to get them like really used to people and used to cuddles and stuff. People have been sending stuff on the wishlist. Like that’s going to be an ongoing thing. It’s like just constant food.”
“I’ve gotta build a cockerel village and maybe a wee bit of soundproofing for my neighbour.”
“So yeah it’s just like any way that people want to support whether it’s sharing or donating or buying a bag of food. Keeping them going for a day. Anything. The community’s always helped us like and they’re helping again.”
“It’s Just amazing.”
Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice and Karrass Sanctuary Facebook Page
Maggie Fleming Animal Sanctuary and Karass Sanctuary Website
About The Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice and The Karass Sanctuary
The Hospice and Sanctuary is somewhere for companion and farmed animals to live and die in safety, comfort and peace, with respect and dignity. There is another way in life, and in death.
Alexis also has a book – No Life Too Small – Love and loss at the world’s first animal hospice
