On trash day, you never know what you might spot on the curb. Sometimes it’s an old chair, a box of books or a lamp someone no longer wants. But recently, along a roadside in Australia, a Good Samaritan came across something far more heartbreaking.
Sitting quietly on the curb were two brown hens, confined to a small cage. A handwritten sign taped to the front read just one word: “Free.”
The passerby immediately knew something wasn’t right.
Thankfully, the animal lover was already familiar with Edgar’s Mission, a farm animal sanctuary they’d supported before. Without hesitation, they reached out for help.
“They often do the rounds looking for items that might be useful at the sanctuary,” Pam Ahern, founder of Edgar’s Mission, told The Dodo. “But never in their wildest dreams did they — or we — expect to come across live animals.”
When rescuers arrived, they learned the reason the hens had been abandoned was shockingly simple. Their former caretaker had grown frustrated that the birds’ food attracted rodents. Rather than look for a solution, the owner chose to discard the hens entirely — leaving them on the curb to fend for themselves.
At the sanctuary, staff named the hens Alex Layhey and Greta Lay, and sadly, their story was far from unique.
Backyard chickens are often treated as disposable once they become inconvenient, despite being social, intelligent animals with surprisingly complex needs.
“As anyone who’s spent time with these feathered wonders will attest, they may be small in size, but that is about the only thing about them that is,” Edgar’s Mission shared in a Facebook post. “Their personalities are bigger than Texas, while their needs are more complex than many may think.”
Fortunately, Alex Layhey and Greta Lay didn’t have to wait long for a happy ending. One of Edgar’s Mission’s partner caregivers quickly stepped forward, offering the hens a permanent home.
“With their lives disposable no more, it is easy to understand why these truly sweet, curious and loving hens have quickly found a place in one of our team member’s hearts — and their chicken coop,” the sanctuary wrote. “A place where they will never face eviction again.”
Now safe, settled and surrounded by care, the two hens can finally live out their lives in peace.
“Knowing these girls as we do, surely it cannot be that hard to recognize that kindness toward animals is a choice we should all make,” Edgar’s Mission wrote. “And anything less is simply rubbish indeed.”
To help animals like Alex Layhey and Greta Lay, you can donate to Edgar’s Mission or follow their rescue stories on Facebook. 🐔💛
