Thousands of hens rescued from a deadly fate at an egg farm are flying the coop.
Vacaville-based non-profit Animal Place is sending 1,150 white leghorn hens on a chartered plane at the Hayward Executive Airport tonight to new homes at animal sanctuaries on the East Coast, according to the organization's education director, Marji Beach.
The plane was scheduled to depart at 6:45 p.m., she said.
"This is the first time adult birds have ever been flown across the country," Animal Place Executive Director Kim Sturla said.
When a donor offered to cover the cost of the cross-country flight, Animal Place "jumped at the opportunity," she said.
The birds were part of a group of 3,000 hens the organization rescued from a California egg farm last month that would otherwise have been gassed, Beach said.
She said that as hens age and are able to lay fewer eggs, many commercial egg farms gas the birds and dump their carcasses in landfills, which is cheaper than sending them to slaughterhouses.
During their time at the commercial farm, which Beach declined to name, the now-rescued hens were kept in 12-by-16-inch cages that left no room for them to stretch their wings, according to Animal Place.
The birds will be welcomed in New York on Thursday morning by representatives from nine animal sanctuaries that will either permanently adopt them or find them new homes, Beach said.
Meanwhile, Animal Place is still looking for homes for the remaining 1,800 hens rescued last month.
Those interested in adopting the birds or donating to their care may visit www.animalplace.org.
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