Lebanon — Half a dozen animal protection advocates were turned away when they showed up at Kofkoff Egg Farms Friday morning in an attempt to learn more about the conditions in the coop where at least 80,000 chickens died Tuesday after a fire broke out, according to an animal rights activists network.

Zachary Groff, a fellow with the international animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere, said members of the National Lawyers’ Guild Animal Rights Activism Committee, Direct Action Everywhere and Collectively Free, were among those who showed up to the 400 Mack Road farm.

Groff said the advocates wanted to know if any of the chickens survived and wanted to highlight the conditions that chickens in egg farms across the country are living in. When they arrived, however, farm management and security personnel told them to stay off the property.

The activists, who said they wanted to represent the concerns of consumers and advocates nationwide, then held up signs and protested in front of the farm.

"If 100,000 dogs burned to death on one day there would be a national outcry, yet 100,000 hens die and advocates are not even allowed to inspect the scene," Groff said in an email statement sent following the protest.

Ed Hoffman, director of operations at Hillandale Farms Conn, which owns Kofkoff's operations, said in a statement, "It's heartbreaking for any farmer to experience this kind of loss, and we're so thankful our employees were unharmed. Our attention and efforts are fully focused on the health of our hens."

According to Lebanon Fire Marshal Scott Schuett, the Tuesday evening blaze most likely started in one of the electric motors that power conveyor belts that move chicken waste, food, water and eggs in and out of the coops.

No firefighters or employees were injured in the fire, but an estimated 80,000 to 125,000 chickens perished.

Kofkoff Egg Farms LLC, which also has operations in Bozrah, Franklin and Colchester, became a subsidiary of Hillandale Farms Conn LLC in July last year. Prior to that, Kofkoff operated under Moark LLC.

In February 2014, Kenneth Pauze, director of operations for Moark LLC – East at the time, wrote in a letter to the state legislative Planning and Development Committee that Kofkoff had 4.7 million birds and employed close to 300 people.

On Friday afternoon, the state Department of Agriculture announced that it has completed an inspection of the farm and found that all remaining chickens appear healthy and that eggs from the plant are safe to eat.

The agriculture department first inspected the farm on Wednesday and followed up on Friday, determining that there were no adverse effects on the other approximately 1.5 million chickens there, the department said in a news release.

Water, electricity and feeding systems were all restored early Wednesday, and production has returned to normal levels, the agriculture department said.

Agriculture Commissioner Steven K. Reviczky said the damage to the farm could have been much more extensive had it not been for the quick response of the company and volunteer firefighters who prevented the fire from spreading to other coops.

He encouraged all agricultural operations to work with their local public safety officials to develop an emergency-response plan.

Staff writer Judy Benson contributed to this story.

l.boyle@theday.com