Hen Harbor

24/09/2025

At first I thought the bright white blob under the bushes was an abandoned duck. But then I saw it was yet another abandoned rooster, too terrified to move a muscle.

He must have been abandoned only minutes earlier, judging by the sheer terror in his little heart. ❤️ Moments later, someone pointed out his orange brother nearby, pacing in circles around some parked cars in the dark—confused, lost, and clearly distressed. So I caught him too.

Rooster abandonment scenes like this are becoming increasingly common in California as certain DC-based groups push new anti-rooster laws at the county & state level. These proposed laws punish roosters instead of protecting them.

🚨 Immediate Threat: Fresno County will hear a proposed rooster restriction on October 7.

📩 Please email the Fresno Board of Supervisors at [email protected] before October 7 urging them to VOTE NO on the proposed rooster restrictions.

(If you live in Fresno County—or have family & friends who do—your voices matter most. Please encourage them to also speak out against the proposed anti-rooster laws.)

🐓If you have room in your heart for this gentle little rooster (and/or his orange brother), consider adopting! He and his orange brother would be super cute additions to either a mixed flock or an all-rooster bachelor flock! [email protected]

21/09/2025

The answer is (c). This little rooster was attacked by a predator who pulled out his tail feathers. Missing tail feathers are usually the hallmark sign of a domestic dog attack — which is this case probably means either one of the many stray dogs in the area or a dog that someone deliberately sicced on him.

If you live in California and can offer this scared little fella a home before someone or something finishes the job, please let me know so I can go back and catch him!

19/09/2025

I’m not even mad these people dropped off their illegal baby “oops” roosters at the gate without asking because *literally WHAT ELSE are they supposed to do?*

When roosters are made illegal almost everywhere & no one tells backyard chicken keepers that 20 percent of the “female” chicks they bought are going to grow into roosters, how else could this possibly end?

At least they didn’t murder them outright or drop them off in the woods or leave them with an animal control agency that is known to kill almost every rooster that comes through its doors.

The real shame falls upon the animal-welfare orgs that exploit California’s regulatory excess by forcing through anti-rooster laws, while ignoring the damage they inflict upon ordinary families & their pets.

14/09/2025

If it was this easy for me to catch your abandoned rooster with just a little bowl of food, imagine how easy it would have been for any dog, raccoon, raptor, coyote, bobcat, or ill-intentioned human to catch him? He wouldn’t have lasted a single night out here in the park.

If you love your pets, don’t do this to them. Fight against the horrible anti-rooster laws that are infesting every corner of California and beyond.

03/09/2025

Please take a moment to sign this petition to save the life of this poor dear pet rooster and take a stance against the ridiculous anti-rooster laws taking over California

For nearly 100 years, roosters have been part of Live Oak’s history and soundscape. One complaint now threatens to erase that tradition and take away Owl, my son’s beloved pet; please help us protect both our community’s heritage and our family.

31/08/2025

Most people don’t realize that because chickens are *extremely* territorial, once you dump them off somewhere, they aren’t going to move beyond more than a few hundred feet’s radius from wherever you left them.

No matter how hungry or thirsty they get, they are hardwired to stay put unless something chases them off and they get disoriented/lost.

Not surprisingly, when I set out this water bowl these two newly-dumped brothers drank like they hadn’t seen water in days. They likely hadn’t.

I didn’t catch these two because there are limits to what one person with limited resources can do. But if anyone in California can offer these beautiful lavender boys a home, please let me know.

Please also let us know if you are in the SF Bay Area and can help bringing water to these poor birds during this awful heat. [email protected]

31/08/2025

When I first saw this guinea fowl running around the city park, he was part of a pair and I figured they might do all right because guinea fowl are known to be excellent fliers, very fast runners, and extremely alert. Also because — like peafowl and unlike chickens — they haven’t been selectively bred for domesticity so should still theoretically retain some survival skills.

Of course I was wrong and within a few days of being dumped only one guinea fowl remained.

The poor guy spent his days in the parking lot staring at his reflection in bumpers, looking for his departed friend

A few nights ago he was spotted sitting on the ground near the edge of an orchard. Everything I know about guinea fowl says that a guinea fowl who isn’t sleeping 20 feet up in the trees at night is either injured or sick.

As far as I can tell, neither is true of this metal head guinea, yet catching him was still a challenge. It is good to see his spirit is still full of fight.

18/09/2024

Silkie roosters are both the most popular & the most frequently abandoned breed of pet chicken. They are also the least likely to survive, having been selectively bred for docility at the expense of survival instincts (fear). And because they have fluff instead of feathers, they're completely flightless & poorly insulated against bad weather.

Making matters worse, silkies can't be sexed upon hatching, so there is a 50% chance that any silkie chick purchased will be an (illegal) rooster with nowhere to go.

(Normally, hatcheries identify & kill most of the boys before they are shipped to the feed stores, leaving only a 20% chance of getting a rooster.)

05/08/2024

The chickens got on the local news this weekend! Feel free to leave a nice, pro-rooster comment under the story on the news website!

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) — The recent bust of a cockfighting ring in Santa Cruz county has raised concerns about animal cruelty in the community. I had the opportunity to speak with Ariana Huemer who runs hen harbor for cockfighting refugees. She tells me she's deeply concerned for the welfare...

12/05/2024

If you love animals, please don’t abandon them in the park or side of the road because they’re too much trouble.
When you see feral chicken colonies in Florida & Hawaii, they are mostly gamefowl descendants— not your typical backyard breed of chicken. Ninety five percent of domesticated breeds, like this little guy here, have zero chance of survival on their own. 😥

12/04/2024

Another day, another abandoned rooster …

01/03/2024

Please meet Tim. The other day someone told me they saw him running around an empty lot by their storage facility, but that he was behind a fence so “he must be okay.”
Well, he wasn’t okay; he was frantically pacing back and forth along the chain link fence surrounding a vast empty lot. He probably was trying to get out so he could chase after whatever car left him there as it drove away.
Catching him was easy; he was so docile and tame. But he is just one of countless thousands of pet roosters already this year who have been driven out to the middle of nowhere and dumped — with no food, shelter, water, or ability to survive the onslaught of nighttime predators.
I wouldn’t be surprised if his former people actually loved him but felt they had no choice because of anti-rooster laws almost everywhere. Most likely he (like 95 percent of unwanted roosters) was mislabeled and sold as a baby female chick at the feed store.
If you love animals, you can stem the flow of unwanted, abandoned roosters by (1) choosing to adopt adult chickens-in-need (visit ) and (2) vociferously opposing rooster bans/restrictions in your community.

** If you’d like to support our work, we have a Venmo () and a PayPal (PayPal.me/henharbor). **
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