Neeltje, Hendrickje & Geertje's sisters

24/02/2025

We have received a reproductive healthcare grant from Microsanctuary Resource Center again, and we are so grateful! 🙏
Claasje has already received her first Suprelorin implant of the year. The implants prevent her from laying eggs, meaning she stays healthy, and allowing her to put all her energy in looking fabulous at 10.5+ years of age!

If you want to help chickens like Claasje, please consider donating: https://microsanctuary.org/support-mrc/

26/11/2024

So proud of this amazing lady. Claasje is approximately 10.5 years old today! 🎉

She reluctantly posed for her half hatchday photo.

Claasje uses suprelorin implants to ensure reproductive health, kindly sponsored by Microsanctuary Resource Center! 💉

26/07/2024

HAPPY 9 YEAR HENNIVERSARY CLAASJE!! 🥳

An incredible Henniversary - 9 years was unheard of when we first started rescuing chickens!

9 years ago we picked up Sjoerdje and Claasje from a rescue organisation in Belgium. The whole way home, Claasje was chatting away, and she has not stopped chatting since.

A bittersweet day, as Sjoerdje passed away shortly after their 8th Henniversary, and our Evertje passed away a few months after that. We had never wished for Claasje, who was crazy about her sisters, to be an only chicken, but she is doing so well, she is such a good and well-behaved girl. Even though the reason why is so sad, it is a true blessing to be so close to Claasje as we are now. She is a fantastic little old girl.

P.s. the reason for being so healthy and happy and shiny and round at old age: Suprelorin implants to prevent egg laying. Claasje is approximately 10 years and 2 months old now.

22/07/2024

Sweet little Claasje went to the vet today for a new Suprelorin implant. Claasje is 10 years old, thanks to the implants which prevent her from laying eggs. This way her body is not bothered by daily egg production, and she can focus on being happy, healthy and gorgeously feathered!
Claasjes implant is sponsored by the fabulous Microsanctuary Resource Center 🫶🏻

26/05/2024

Claasjes 10th hatchday!!
As far as we know, Claasje was 14 months old when she was rescued from the egg industry on July 26 2015. That makes her 10 years old! We are extremely proud of this precious lady, even more so on this special day. We celebrated with a treat. She liked the corn the best! 🐔🫐🌽🎉

Edited to add: we have repeated suprelorin implants to thank for her age!

20/03/2024

Please help if you can 🙏

De afgelopen drie weken hebben we al 5 implantaten moeten laten zetten en de 6e is inmiddels onderweg. En we doen dit niet zomaar, het is voor deze kippen medische zorg die van levensbelang is. Al deze kippen hebben in het verleden problemen gehad met eieren leggen en hen weer eieren laten leggen zou hun dood worden. Deze levensreddende zorg is echter duur, we komen in de laatste maand zo op ca 1000 euro uit aan dierenarts kosten. Dit kan onze bankrekening eerlijk gezegd helemaal niet aan, maar het is wel hard nodig.

Wil je ook meehelpen met deze levensreddende zorg voor de kipjes in de opvang? Een bijdrage zou heel erg welkom zijn en kan op verschillende manieren. Hier meer info: https://exlegkipjes.nl/wat-kan-jij-doen/steun-de-kippen-in-de-opvang/donatie/

In the past three weeks we have had to have 5 implants administered and the 6th is on its way. We don't do this just for fun, for these hens it is medical help that literally saves their lives. All of these hens have had egg laying issues in the past and having them make eggs again would lead to their death. This life saving medical care is however expensive: in the past month the vet bill will have reached about a 1000 euros. Honestly our bank account can't cope, but it is very necessary.

If you want to help with supporting the hens with their medical needs, check the link above. All help is greatly appreciated.

09/01/2024

Sorry for not updating for so long (again).
We have basically been in shock since Evertjes sudden passing.

Since then, things changed a lot for the remainder of our little family. Claasje, and elderly hen of approximately 9.5 years old, is now an only child. Chickens are flock animals, and as we lack the emotional and financial means to rescue more hens, we decided that we would be Claasjes flock now.

We had never expected that Claasje (who was previously glued to Sjoerdje 24/7, and smitten with Evertje) would cope SO well as a single house hen. We are extremely proud and relieved. She spends a large amount of time on her throne on the couch watching Netflix, and we can absolutely tell she has really started to appreciate our company.

So much love for our sweet little Claasje.

(Photo: November 16, 2023)

02/11/2023

And suddenly Bas' best friend is gone. We are in total shock.

Until a week or two ago our Evertje was fine. Then last week she took ill. She then seemed to perk up in the weekend, but got worse agaub two days ago. In the last 9 days we have had 4 visits with 3 vets, but we never really found a cause for all her symptoms. We gave Evertje tons of medicine, but her breathing got very laboured today, and she passed away in the vets hands.

Evertje sure was the most special little hen. When we went to the shelter to meet her in January 2018, it absolutely was love at first sight - even though Evertje couldn't see back then as her comb covered her 1 good eye. Suprelorin shrunk her comb and fixed that issue. After initial illness, our little hero quickly took charge of the troublesome integration of Jacobje with Sjoerdje and Claasje. She fixed our broken family in an instant.
She was her dad's loyal companion, his shadow, always keeping her eye on what he was doing; sitting in the doorway watching him cook, standing on his foot when he was making tea. So pleased with herself when she was being carried around in his arms. She was a funny little weirdo, always up for shenanigans and jumping on things. She loved sitting on the table outside, with us, claiming her own glass of water, sometimes tossing over beer cans. Or sitting on the back rest of the lounge set, comforting Bas when he was down - or stealing his sandwich. And if she didn't like something, you'd be sure to hear her honking complaints.
Oh and did you know she was a model? She featured in the cookbook Man Eat Plant, with her dad.

Evertje leaves behind her loving sister Claasje. We have no idea what we are to do without our special one-eyed wonder. We're lost without her.

29/07/2023

Today we had to let our Sjoerdje go...

Oh Sjoerdje. What will we do without you?
We had to let you go because your body had given up and you no longer had the strength to fight. Nothing we could do would help you long enough to make it worth your struggle.

8 years and 3 days ago it was love at first sight. We would have never guessed we would get to enjoy your radiant presence you for so many years. What a privilege. And how you loved your 8 year Henniversary party and your blueberries.

We already miss your talking. Your "ooooh?" when asking a question, and your "ooohoooh!" to inform us of your negative opinion on something. And your decided "bock!" of course.
We already miss your sweet face.
We already miss your soft feathers.
We already miss your amazing personality. You were the bravest girl. We will always admire how calm and resigned yet persistent you could be, when things were tough. We want to write a million stories about you, and about what you were like and about the cheeky things you did, together with your dear "twin" Claasje, but we're not quite as brave as you were. We're shattered.

We hope you understood you were loved and that everything we did, we did to try and make you feel better.

Sleep tight. We love you. We love you so much.

26/07/2023

Happy 8 year Henniversary for Sjoerdje and Claasje! 8️⃣🫐🥳

8 years since they were rescued! Damn, that is something special!

It's also a bittersweet day though, because Sjoerdje really isn't doing well lately. She has been having more and more trouble walking, has bad poops, and is losing weight. Two different vets checked her and said it was old age. Her xrays showed nothing weird. She is getting all sorts of supplements, vitamins, medicines etc to support her with her symptoms.
This morning we actually thought it was time to start saying goodbye. However this afternoon when it was party time, her weak and wobbly legs were the first to reach their treat! And then she proceeded to eat almost all the blueberries all by herself, until she had trouble shifting her crop... 🥲
Seems like she is not quite done celebrating life just yet. So we got her even more meds after discussing with our regular vet and we'll see how she goes in the upcoming days.

22/03/2023

Spring is in the air - even when you are a 9 year old senior hen, your hormones can still go crazy!
So two vet visits this week! Claasje and Sjoerdje both needed a new Suprelorin implant to prevent laying - egg laying is very hard for them and the implants keep them safe.
We have been doing this procedure for years and years now, and we were so sure we picked the perfect time for Claasjes refresh, but alas - the very next day she was very unwell and miserable because she had to make an egg (which she got to gobble up after, because those who create the nutrients get to eat them).
Sjoerdje also clearly needed a new implant even though her old one was barely 7 weeks old... we never met a hen who needed a refresh so ridiculously often as she does, but it is what it is. Even though Sjoerdje is no spring chicken anymore, she did stick to her routine of jumping on her dad's shoulder as soon as the vet allowed her to.