It was supposed to be a fun, hands-on display for kids at the Erin Fall Fair and a chance for them to hold newly-hatched chicks and learn about farm life.
But just as the fair was getting underway on the Thanksgiving weekend, those 32 chicks disappeared.
Organizers say it’s believed the chicks were stolen from their warming box, known as brooder, sometime between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 10.
Mayor of Erin, Michael Dehn, was at the fair when the chicks went missing from the Agri-dome. He says he and the chicks owners, Gary and Eileen Brown, had stepped away for the fair’s opening ceremony. When they returned, the lid had been taken off the top of the brooder and the chicks were gone.
He says he believes that someone was able to sneak into the Agri-dome before the fair began and steal the chicks after a door was left open.
“Somebody had put a piece of hose in a doorway. It looked like it was closed but it wasn’t,” he said.
Dehn says that since the chicks and other animals were on the other side of the building, no one noticed that anyone had got in.
“Nobody was working in that end of the building so I guess the door was not double-checked,” he said.
The Erin Agriculture Society quickly took to social media asking for the public’s help in finding the chicks.
“If you have them or know anything, please return the chicks no questions asked,” the post said. “They are day-old chicks and need to be kept warm. If they are not properly cared for, they will die.”
Dehn says the chicks are one of the highlights of the Erin Fall Fair.
“There’s a steady flow of people, it’s almost non-stop,” he said. “Sometimes there’s two volunteers or even three volunteers there just because it’s such a high interest level with children and adults.”
He says the chicks are part of an agricultural education display that the owners look forward to every year.
“Gary has been doing this for so many years,” he said. “He was the most heartbroken of anyone.”
Dehn adds that Gary and Eileen have a strong attachment to the chicks.
“Gary and his wife raised the chicks in their own incubator,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking when you see a volunteer get defeated like that.”
Just when it seemed like the chick display was not going to go forward, Dehn stepped in.
“We have free range chickens on our farm and my step-daughters found some chicks earlier in the week,” he said.
He says his daughters are very supportive of the fair and agreed to bring their chicks and use them for the display.
“It’s a good, neighbourly thing to do,” he said.
Dehn says that Gary was ecstatic when he brought in the new chicks.
“I’m glad that he was smiling when the other chicks showed up,” he said. “That made it all worthwhile.”
