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1,200 chickens are being flown from California to NY so they can retire

Sarah Hofmann Contributor
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A large group of egg-laying hens are getting a retirement plan better than the average cubicle worker. An anonymous donor is paying $50,000 to fly the chickens from northern California to upstate New York so that they can live out the rest of their avian lives peacefully on a farm.

Usually when laying hens are done producing eggs, they are killed, but these chickens will be able to roam free around farms, reports the Sacramento Bee. The 1,200 will be going to nine different sanctuaries in New York, but another 1,800 will be transferred to sanctuaries in California where they will be open for adoption from the public.

Gathering up the chickens took 30 people and two days. Jenny Brown of the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in New York said, “They will be able to spread their wings and feel the sunshine for the first time in their lives. It is a joy and honor and privilege for us to give these chickens a second chance.”

The relocation is being called “Operation Chicken Airlift.”

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Sarah Hofmann