Around 1,000 small chicks have been found abandoned in a field in Cambridgeshire.
The RSPCA has launched an investigation after members of the public discovered the chicks huddled together on land near Peterborough on Friday.
RSPCA inspector Justin Stubbs said: “I have never seen anything like it, it was just a sea of yellow and the noise was unbelievable.
“The chicks are only about a day old and are really tiny and quite delicate. Some of the birds were dead or dying when we arrived so some, sadly, had to be humanely put to sleep.
“Thankfully, most of the chicks did not appear to be suffering.”
The chicks are believed to have come from a nearby commercial chick producer and may have been abandoned by a third party. The producer is assisting in the investigations.
“These tiny birds wouldn’t have survived long out on their own at such a young age and in such unpredictable weather conditions,” added inspector Stubbs.
“For someone to dump these vulnerable chicks is unbelievable.
“But I’d like to thank all the members of the public who teamed together to help us round up all the birds and confine them in boxes where they could huddle together for warmth.”
Anyone with any information about the chicks is asked to contact the RSPCA’s inspector appeal line on 0300 123 8018.
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