Rosie's story
Rosie was liberated from a live market in Queens, NY during Kaporos in September of 2020. Kaporos is a religious ritual that takes place annually during Yom Kippur in which practitioners use chickens “as Kaporos” to abolish their sins. They do so by swinging birds by their wings around their heads, saying a prayer, and then slaughtering the bird as a means to abolish their sins by proxy. Animal Rights Activists attend the live markets and liberate as many birds as possible each year. Rosie was liberated and we offered her and her 9 other siblings a safe landing at Uncle Neil’s Home. When Rosie arrived, she was in rough shape. She is a Cornish Cross chicken, and her breed is used in the industry as a “broiler” or “meat” chicken. Broilers are genetically bred to grow twice their size in a short period of time, therefore, chickens who are rescued live very short lifespans because their damaged bodies cannot sustain a healthy life. When Rosie arrived at the sanctuary, she received immediate medical care and we nursed her back to health after a very rough start to her life.
Rosie’s best friend is Willie the rooster who was also liberated from Kaporos. The two of them spend their days together taking dust baths and foraging for clovers side by side. They are never without each other and share such a special bond. Willie has been fighting health issues since his liberation, and Rosie doesn’t leave his side and keeps him company on days that he isn’t feeling well. She is such a special, loving soul and we’re so happy to have her here at UNH.
