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FREDERICTON - More than 50 poultry workers from northwestern New Brunswick gathered at the legislature yesterday to protest the Liberal government's handling of the so-called chicken wars.

Union members at Nadeau Farms are asking the province to enact a bill introduced this summer that would require all live chickens in the province to be processed in designated plants.

About 175 employees lost their jobs at the Nadeau plant in Saint-Francois-de-Madawaska in September when its supplier decided to ship its chickens to a Quebec plant.

"Our chickens are being processed in Quebec right now," Eric Pelletier, a spokesman for the workers, said at the rally. "We're hoping to get the chickens back and get our jobs back."

Pelletier said he last spoke with members of the Liberal government two months ago.

"They told us to be patient. It's been more than two months right now and we're still looking for chickens," he said.

"We tried to get some from Ontario and Quebec, but they closed the border over there so we can't get any chickens from them."

The Agriculture Department has been considering enacting the passed bill and is waiting for lawyers in the Justice Department to evaluate the situation. The department has also offered to take part in negotiations on the issue.

A recent decision by New Brunswick Appeal Court ruled that Westco couldn't be forced to supply chickens to a New Brunswick processor.

The court decision came after a ruling by a federal competition tribunal that rejected Nadeau's application to prevent Westco from taking its poultry to Quebec.