Thousands of baby birds, mostly chickens, which mistakenly arrived in Delaware earlier this month may soon be up for adoption.
On May 2, the state’s Department of Agriculture was notified of a large shipment of baby chickens and other birds arriving at a post office distribution center in Wilmington. The birds were supposed to be sent to destinations around the country, and there’s no official word so far on why they ended up in Delaware.
It was a major challenge for the Department of Agriculture and First State Animal Rescue, says the Department of Agriculture’s Jimmy Kroon.
“The shipment turned out to be larger than originally thought, and then when it showed up, it was in fact probably an entire truck full," he said.
First State Animal Rescue has been nursing the surviving chicks back to health. Because of the sheer number of birds, there hasn’t been time for a complete count, but Kroon estimates that of the 10,000 or so birds rescued, 4,000 to 5,000 are still alive. He hopes those birds will find new homes in the First State.
“We're hoping to mobilize a large-scale adoption of these birds because they're going to be growing older by the week and eating more food," Kroon said. "And we really want to find good homes for them.”
Kroon added once the birds recover, they will be healthy and disease-free.
“Before shipment, they were tested disease free, particularly free from avian influenza and a couple other avian diseases that are of concern," he said.
He says he expects information about adopting one of the birds to come from First State Animal Rescue in the coming days.
