Rescue & Adoptions

In Loving Memory

Eva

On April 17, 2000, during one of the largest farm animal rescue cases in U.S. history, Farm Sanctuary opened its doors to hundreds of hens liberated from horrific conditions at the Amberson Egg Farm in Everett, Washington. Weak, emaciated and covered with flies, the hens were found inside several dark, manure-filled barns on the Amberson property, where they were struggling to survive amidst the corpses of nearly 50,000 dead birds. They had been left in their cages to starve to death, because Farmer Keith Amberson wanted to close down his farm and that was the cheapest way for him to dispose of his flock. Thankfully, at least some lives were saved. In all, 1,500 hens were rescued; 276 were brought to live at our California Shelter. Among the happy birds brought to live at Farm Sanctuary was a remarkable hen named, Eva.

Eva was blessed with a very long life for a factory layer hen. Judging by her appearance and her age, she was already what the industry would call a "spent" hen, or a hen no longer in production, at the time of her rescue. Reaching nine years of age before she passed away in early 2006, she was one of the oldest hens Farm Sanctuary has ever seen. Her incredible longevity and remarkable good health seems especially impressive in light of what she was forced to endure at the Amberson Egg Farm. Somehow, despite the horrors she experienced, she was able to persevere, and indeed, to thrive.

Before she passed away, Eva lived with her friends Petunia and Maria, a handsome rooster named Russet, and several other rescued hens in a private hutch near our hospital building. Although Eva lost her eyesight in her old age, she got along quite well, never letting her disability get her down. Sweet and trusting by nature, she became even more gentle and unquestioning in her last few years, because she had to rely on her friends (human and non-human alike) to help her.

Eva loved her life at Farm Sanctuary, and her sanctuary family loved her. She trusted us all to look out for her, because she knew we always would. We are so grateful for the many long years we had with Eva. Knowing that she could have died trapped in a battery cage years before made the sight of her stepping out of her hutch into the sunshine every morning a precious sight for us. Of course, we know it was even sweeter for her.