Kapparos Chickens

Animal Abuse, Chickens

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement,is coming soon, and with it comes the annual culture war over a ceremony called Kapparot, in which a chicken is slaughtered just before the holy day.

Each year on the eve of Yom Kippur, chickens—roosters for men and hens for women—serve as stand-ins for devotees to atone for their sins. As each performs the ceremony and swings a bird above their head three times, the worshipers recite a prayer asking God to allow them to atone by slaughtering the chicken.

Once the prayer is complete, the chicken is killed. It is thought that performing the rite could protect people from any misfortune or danger in the coming year, the chicken already having taken on the burden.

The chickens used for atonement are raised in extremely crowded conditions, brought under inhumane conditions to those who follow the custom, and are often left to wait long hours without food and water, until their slaughter.”

Not all even survive long enough to take part in the ritual. “Some of them dehydrate and die in agony while waiting and some of those who survive till the end continue to expire and twitch in agony until finally succumbing to their death,” the appeal said.

Each year, as many as 50,000 chickens are killed during the Kapparot rituals in Brooklyn.

Here at Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, we have taken in chickens that have been rescued from this ritual in Brooklyn. We are planning on taking in two more this year.

These chickens are Cornish Cross chickens which are bred to be slaughter at just a few weeks old. They gain weight very rapidly. So as they continue to grow, they end up weighing too much for their legs to hold and end up with joint problems. Because they are jumbo in size, they can also suffer from organ failure. We need to monitor the diet closely and make sure they get enough exercise to keep them healthy.

This is a photo of one of our past rescues, Oz

About Willie and Lemonade

Chickens, Ducks, Their Stories

Willie and Lemonade

Have you ever seen anything so adorable as these two?
They have such a heartwarming story.

We were contacted by the owner of Lemonade, the chick. She was just one week old. Lemonade was hatched and right away they knew something was wrong. She had a couple of problems. She has cross-beak, which is when the bottom and top beak do not line up. They can have difficulty eating and drink with this condition. But besides that, she also seemed to be blind in her left eye. It would not open. The concerned owner was heartbroken and felt that the chick needed more care than she was able to give. She took wonderful care of Lemonade and became extremely attached. But she made the painful decision to giver her to us.

The same day, were were contacted by the owner of Willie, the duckling who was also just one week old. Willie was born without his left eye and seemed to be blind in his right eye. He was located in Rhode Island. The owner again, wanted the best care possible for Willie and was very attached to him. They asked if we would be able to help. We immediately said yes and thought that it was fate.

Willie and Lemonade would make perfect companions for each other!

Sponsor Duckling Willie

Sponsor a Chick

Update

Willie

A few days after getting Willie, his left side where his eye should be started getting crusty. I brought Willie and Lemonade to the veterinarian to make sure they were not in pain and to find out their prognosis.

They were both treated with antibiotics for possible infection. Their conditions did not improve. I found an eye specialists in NY that treated cats and dogs. Once I told her their story, she was more than happy to see them. We made the drive to NY.

After examining Willie, the doctor found that where Willie’s eye is missing, there is actually a very small hole and his tear ducts are draining from that hole and that is causing the crusting. This is really not a concern as long as we wipe it clean daily.
The right eye is a little bit more concerning. Willie was born with some tissue missing in that eye and also some of his iris is missing (the colored part of the eye) and he has several small cataracts on the eye as well. We need to monitor this eye. He reacts to light in the eye but we are not sure how much vision is there. He acts totally blind.

Lemonade:

We have better news for Lemonade. She has total vision in her right eye. It seems the muscle that controls her eyelids in the left eye are not working so her vision is very limited.

Her cross beak is worsening as she grows so we may have to start trimming her beak so she can eat and drink properly.