In April of 2018, Heartland received a call from a neighbor about 11 chickens who had been abandoned in the Town of Verona, not far from our sanctuary. Neighbors had witnessed two people throwing the birds out of the car, and then speeding away. Unfortunately, no one was able to get any identifying information about the owners. Several of Heartland's staff members spent the night traipsing around the woods with flashlights, finding the abandoned girls. The hens were nestled in the grass on the roadside, at nightfall. They would have stayed there for the night and most likely been killed by predators. Instead, all 11 chickens were scooped up and brought back to the safety of our sanctuary. The birds were in terrible shape. They were infected with severe scaly leg mites, their feet were mangled and their toenails badly overgrown. Our initial plan was to get them the vet care they desperately needed and adopt them out to loving homes - but of course, we fell in love with them. A perfect gaggle of "older" ladies who now had a second chance at life and happiness - we even gave them their own hashtag, the #Verona11. Since their arrival in 2018, all but two of the original 11 hens have passed away from old age or illness, but Alice and Sassafras are still going strong in their golden years. We cherish them so much.