Abandoned Chickens Rescued Outside Cedar Rapids Hardware Store

*NOTE: The chickens shown in the above stock photo are not the ones discussed in this story.

KCRG reports that a box of abandoned chickens (not the ones pictured in this article's stock photo) were rescued from the Theisen's store at 3111 16th Ave. SW in Cedar Rapids last weekend.

It was Sunday when rescuers found the chickens left in the heat, crowded in a box with little room to move. Bystanders and onlookers reportedly got in touch with our friends at Critter Crusaders who contacted the Iowa Farm Sanctuary in Oxford, who ultimately came to the rescue and took the chickens.

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Shawn Camp is the executive director and co-founder of the Iowa Farm Sanctuary. Camp says that while it seems rather inhumane, it is not illegal to abandon chickens in this manner.

They don’t deserve to be dumped in a box so if we could make better laws for all farm animals that would be great but certainly for the birds because they have no protection under federal law

It was estimated the chickens were about 3-weeks old and purchased as chicks around Easter time.

There had been a sign attached to their box when they were found saying they were free. Now the chickens actually are "free", and have lots of space to move around and cluck it up at their new home at the Iowa Farm Sanctuary, thanks to some helpful and caring folks who sprung into action to save them.