Different causes prick at different hearts and for Amy Dotter of Vernal, and supporters that joined her along the way, hearing about the starving hens needing rehomed in West Valley City was a cause they couldn’t ignore. Amy did some research and while she wanted to help she didn’t feel comfortable getting hens directly from the egg farm. She did, however, find a rescuer out of Eagle Mountain named Tier Broberg who had been purchasing hundreds of the hens at a time and taking them back to her farm to care for them until people could adopt them. When Amy saw that Broberg had a veterinarian declare the chickens disease free she decided to get involved. First she posted on social media to see how many of her friends would be interested in the chickens if she were to go pick them up. “I got a HUGE response,” shares Amy. “So me and my chicken saving friend Brianna Hadlock drove out one Saturday with as many dog crates as we could fit in the back of my small pickup. We spent the afternoon chasing chickens around a horse pen with a fishing net and managed to fit 40. My friends, and Brianna and I, were so happy with these poor little featherless sweethearts that everyone started telling their friends.” Word spread and other Uintah Basin friends were asking when Amy was going to get some more. Turns out A LOT of folks in the Uintah Basin felt just like she did and wanted to help these starving hens. A second trip was planned and they came home with over 300 hens and within 2 days they were all rehomed. Amy has been overwhelmed and touched by the response, especially from the kids that have talked their parents into getting hens. One boy in particular melted her heart when he asked how he could make sure the hens never feel unloved or unwanted again. Amy was also especially grateful to those who helped her including Tier Broberg, Kade Tyler, Brianna Hadlock, and Jack Dotter. Amy says her father Jack was unsure at first but by the 2nd trip was on board and offered to drive them and use his fancy stock trailer. Talk has continued of a possible third trip but in the meantime, the members of the ‘Uintah Basin Chicken Rescue’ are supporting each other on Facebook as they work to restore their hens back to health.
