RABBITS, DUCKS, CHICKENS & ROOSTERS
PAPA SMURF, SAM & DEAN
Papa Smurf, Sam, and Dean were all rescued from slaughter. A man in Ohio was breeding them for meat and was getting rid of some of his rabbits due to overcrowding. We took in these guys along with a few others that we eventually adopted out to families that will keep them for their lifetime. Dean sadly passed away on July 17, 2019 and like all the animals that find their way to Foreverland Farm, we are grateful to have known him and miss him everyday.
PUDDLE
This past April, Brittney made a trip to the local feed store to stock up on grain and bedding for the residents. She noticed a tiny duckling in one of the brooders with a severely swollen eye. The store knows the amazing rescue work she does and let her take the duckling and off to the vet they went. After multiple vet visits and procedures over the next few weeks, Puddle’s eye finally stopped filling up with fluid. Today you’ll find Puddle either running around or splashing in the pool!
BILLIE
Brittney got an emergency call about a chicken that was found injured in the parking lot of a local business. She immediately jumped in the truck. She wasn’t sure what kind of shape the chicken would be in. Once she arrived, Brittney just picked her up and was so relieved that she didn’t have any broken legs or wings! The chicken was covered in blood and filth. She was incredibly hungry and thirsty. We assumed that Billie fell off a transport truck and found safety in the loading dock of the business complex. We are so grateful for compassionate people reaching out to help this sweet girl find sanctuary. A few months after her rescue, Brittney picked up Billie and placed her in her coop to go to sleep. Billie started struggling to stand up, she wobbled around trying to get her footing and couldn’t stand on her own. Birds like Billie are not meant to live long fulfilling, healthy lives. They are bred for human consumption. They’ve been genetically modified to grow at unnatural rates, mobility gets increasingly difficult as they grow larger, sometimes their internal organs shut down from the rapid growth, this is what we’ve done to them. We put Billie on an even stricter diet, and took her to the vet to make sure it’s wasn’t an infection or neurological issue. The vet confirmed what we’ve thought all along, that her muscles are not strong enough to support her weight. Our vet said that if she wasn’t walking on her own in a few days, then we should consider putting her down. We will ALWAYS do what’s right for the animals regardless of our own feelings, but both Brittney and Sawyer would never give up on her that easily. Billie was alert, eating, drinking, trying to move around, and as long as she was fighting so will we! To most people this is crazy to do for a chicken, not for us. We do whatever it takes to ensure they have a good life whether it’s a horse, chicken, cat, dog, pig, whatever! We decided to purchase a wheelchair for Billie to get her up and moving on her own again. Before we could even get her into the wheelchair, because of all the physical therapy we did to build her muscles, and her strict diet, not only is she walking again on her own, you’d sometimes see her running! Billie lived a remarkable life at Foreverland Farm. Sadly, she passed in July 202l, leaving behind a whole host of people and animals who loved her and were inspired by her.
FIDGET
Another sanctuary had a few surprise babies hatch and this little babe had been having difficulty walking on their left leg. The other hens were giving Fidget a hard time and that can be very dangerous for a chick this little. So… we were asked if we could take the babe in. Our hope was that once Fidget got a little bigger, we could integrate the little nugget in with Elle. Fidget had other plans, and the plans involved Rabbits, including burrowing underground with the bunnies!
ELLE DRIVER
A woman reached out to Brittney to ask if we could take in one of her hens that had a serious eye infection. When she had brought the hen to the vet the vet had recommended that the hen be butchered...... the other alternative would be to have surgery to remove her eye which would make it difficult for her to return to her flock. So not wanting to kill her, the woman reached out to us. Per the first vet, we thought Elle would definitely need to have her eye removed, but after taking her to our vet, we learned that it was most likely an ulcer on her eye that was causing the infection and discomfort – no removal needed (as of right now)! After administering medication twice-a- day for two weeks, she was good-to-go. She will never have full vision of her eye, but it was nothing, absolutely nothing that she should have lost her life over! We will always be grateful for her precious family for wanting a different option for her. Her life las value and meaning and she’s enjoying every moment of it!
(Photo: Elle, black & white chicken, visiting with the rooster, Barney)
FLORENCE
Florence was dropped off to us after being attacked by a dog. She had broken her leg during the attack. Unfortunately, she did not receive any medical care since the incident and now her leg has permanently healed at a 90-degree angle. She’s not in any pain any longer, but as you can imagine mobility is an issue. She also had two pressure sores from propping herself up all the time. Our vet recommended lots of PT to help extend the leg and hopefully get a little more flexibility so she can use it somewhat. She can still get around it just takes a little more effort. If PT doesn’t work, we will look into other options. Her weight was also down so we needed to monitor her food intake and make sure she was getting enough calories. Florence is doing much better and is now enjoying exploring with all her new friends.
JANE
It was a typical Sunday afternoon in early May, until a man stopped by the sanctuary to tell Brittney he thought a white turkey that was near his house, on the side of the road, might be a resident of Foreverland Farm. After racing out to check on Rumor & River, exhaling a huge sigh of relief, Brittney let the man know the turkey wasn’t one that resides at the sanctuary. He asked if she could come take a look at the injured turkey (you know the answer!). Yes, of course. Fast forward…the turkey didn’t appear to be injured at all and while we’ve tried to find out if someone is missing her, we still have no idea where she came from but you can guess where she is now! Jane can now be found taking a dip in her pool or cuddling on any available lap …she’s such a sweetheart!
PARAMORE, CHARLOTTE AND LAURA JANE
This past May, Iowa Farm Sanctuary put out the call to help aid them in a massive rescue mission. A local egg production farm was closing and 140k birds were set to be killed or die of neglect. They jumped to action with the help of Barn Sanctuary to go and rescue as many birds as they could. We cannot imagine the horrors the rescuers faced as they pulled birds from certain death. We here at Foreverland Farm wanted to help as much as we could. With the help from our wonderful friends at Sunrise Sanctuary who drove to Michigan to pick up these girls and our fabulous friends Julie and Autumn who drove them to us, these three have found their forever home. It was incredible seeing everyone come together for these girls. We are inspired and honored to be part of such a beautiful community working together for the animals. (Photo: Girls upon arrival to Foreverland Farm)
BARNEY & FRED
Barney was born and bred for meat. He was originally taken in by another sanctuary with his brother Fred. The boys got too big and aggressive for the owners and they asked if we would be able to take them. We happily agreed. Fred passed away in 2019 leaving Barney alone for the first time in his life. These birds do not typically live very long due to the breeding mutations that make them grow so big so fast. Because of the breeding, their life span typically lasts only 42 days. Barney lived another two years after Fred passed, enjoying every minute of everyday.
THE CAPTAIN & NIC
The Captain & Nic were seized in a cock fighting ring bust in Colorado. There were 48 birds total that were taken and all of them eventually found homes across the country at different sanctuaries. They would have otherwise been euthanized. After enjoying many happy, peaceful years at Foreverland Farm, sadly The Captain passed away in May of 2020.
Roosters are the most abused farm animal there is, they are the most discarded, and also the least likely to receive rescue and the least donated towards.
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