Abandoned chicks find home in Riverhead
Twenty-five chicks discovered abandoned one freezing December morning now have a new home at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County’s Dorothy P. Flint 4H Camp in Riverhead.
Video Courtesy of Matthew Gonzalez
On Dec. 27., Hempstead Petland Discounts employee Quincy Mohammed had stepped outside the back of the store around noon to empty a cleaning bucket when he saw an old white Fed-Ex box that had been placed by the back door.
“My first thought was that it was garbage, but when when I took a good look, I saw it moving and I heard noise,” Mr. Mohammed said. “When I checked, it was a whole bunch of baby chicks.”
“That day it was probably 20 degrees. They were shivering all cuddled up together,” he said. “It was just a sad thing.”
With the help of his co-worker, Matthew Gonzalez, they moved the chicks inside, placing them inside the store’s bird room to warm them up. They moved them to a bigger box with fresh bedding and water.
Mr. Gonzalez then took to the phones, calling several animal foundations looking for help. He then called his district manager, who was able to bring the chicks to Central Veterinary Associates’ Animal Hospital in Valley Stream at about 5 p.m. that night.
Hospital veterinarians cared for the chicks until Dr. John Charos, president of the hospital, was able to find them a home.
On Friday, Maria Devlin, administrator at the 4-H Camp, brought the baby chicks to the not-for-profit in Riverhead, where they will be cared for and observed — and used to teach children about wildlife.
