The Lucky Ones

Flip Flop the goose is a 3 year old Embden Chinese cross. The most friendly goose on the sanctuary; Flip Flop really likes to hang out with his humans. When feeding time rolls around he will follow his human around from food bowl to food bowl so he can get the first bite out of each. It’s almost like he is doing quality control. Flip Flop is part of a bonded trio with Henry and Zorro.

Waddles is one of our special needs residents. He spent the first months of his life living with someone out of their car. He was fed a poor diet of mostly restaurant scraps before eventually being surrendered to the local animal shelter. Ducks have very specific nutrition requirements; especially as they are developing. This poor diet led to Waddles’ legs not properly developing.  Waddles is not able to get around like a normal duck so he spends his days as a spoiled house duck. He has his own little area full of soft towels right in the middle of all the action so he doesn’t get lonely. He gets a bath in nice warm water everyday and when the weather is nice he gets to spend time outside with the other ducks. He also has this nifty little wheelchair (that was crowd funded by our wonderful supporters)  so he can get up off his legs. We think Waddles is a happy duck and we do our best to give him his best life.

Barbie the chicken had a rough start in life. A fan favorite on our TikTok Channel, she was one of many that were surrendered to our sanctuary by a feed store. Just hours old, Barbie along with hundreds of others was packed into a box and shipped across the country to be sold. Barbie’s young, delicate body could not handle all the stress and she began to deteriorate. We were alerted to her situation by one of our local supporters. We were able to convince the feed store manager to surrender Barbie along with many other sickly chicks to our sanctuary. Barbie was one of the few lucky chicks to survive.

Sage along with about two dozen domestic ducks was illegally dumped at a water treatment facility in Ohio. Good Sprout Rescue facilitated the successful rescue of the ducks and placed them with sanctuaries across the United States. In total we accepted three ducks from this amazing rescue effort. We are very happy to have Sage with us. Sage spends her days hunting for some most delicious bugs and swimming in her pool. She gets along very well with Bert & Ernie who were very happy to take their new girlfriends under their wings.

Lurkey was donated to us 9 years ago. Originally a 4-H project, Lurkey was supposed to be returned to the farmer once she was raised. The children who hatched and raised Lurkey fell in love with her. They were not able to bring themselves to doom her to life on a farm where she would be exploited for egg production and meat. Instead, they brought her to us. Lurkey has a very strong maternal drive and will adopt just about any species of baby bird. Pictured with her are some young guinea fowl Lurkey is helping to raise. She is a very protective mother and will not let any other animal near her babies. When she is not caring for baby birds, Lurkey enjoys trying to con as many sunflower seeds from her humans as she can. She also loves to find a nice dry patch of dirt and spread out her wings to sunbathe.

Corona has been with us for over 16 years. She was adopted with her sister Sam. Corona is a gentle giant who will come up to the edge of her enclosure and ask for treats. She does this by very gently making the Emus’ signature thumping sound. Her favorite treats are cherry tomatoes. Corona is a little on the shy side and prefers to be admired from a distance.

Before you even ask; yes, Milkshake does in fact bring all the girls to the yard. Milkshake like so many roosters, started off being purchased as a backyard chicken hen. When he turned out to be a rooster his owners were not able to keep him where they lived and surrendered him to our sanctuary. Milkshake has a nice disposition. He never attacks his humans and is easily handleable. Milkshake recently had a nasty leg infection which required surgery. Thankfully through the generous support of our donors we were able to get him the veterinary care he needed. He has fully recovered and spends his days out with the chicken flock.

Cody is a 26 year old Umbrella Cockatoo. Cody was adopted when she was 9 years old and her previous owners were retiring. Cody spends her days sneaking as many snacks as she can; reminding the cats that she is in charge; playing with her toys and snuggling with the humans. While the bulk of Cody’s diet consists of a balanced organic parrot feed, her favorite snacks include: grapes, bananas, pretty much any kind of nut or seed, potatoes and pasta.

Zorro is a female goose who lives with our goose flock which is currently 16 strong. She is actually Flip Flop’s (our namesake) mate. Geese often mate for life; Zorro and Flip Flop are inseparable. Zorro loves to swim in her pool, build nests, and munch on grasses.

Brew (top) and PJ were rescued from a local animal shelter. We basically went down to the shelter and asked for the two cats that were least likely to be adopted. Brew is simi-feral. PJ is completely feral. As you can see poor PJ was very nervous about his new home. Both are doing quite well as barn cats here on the sanctuary.

Chief is a barred rock rooster. He is by far the largest rooster on the sanctuary. Despite being a giant among the roos; Chief is a very gentle guy. Often when confronted by another rooster, even those much smaller than him, Chief will back away from the confrontation. Chief truly is a lover and not a fighter. Chief was found roaming a neighborhood by a nice police officer who brought chief to the local animal shelter. After spending a couple months at the animal shelter with no suitable adoption applications Chief along with three other roosters was adopted by our sanctuary.

Friendly, a staff favorite, was one of many chicks surrendered to us by a local feed store. Friendly lives in one of our bachelor rooster flocks. He is friends with Cookie and Rudy who arrived with him. A young rooster, friendly has a very spirited personality. He enjoys attacking the humans boots… but he doesn’t seem to care about plain shoes.

Pumba is a Pot Belly Pig. When Pumba was just a baby, he and over a dozen of his siblings were dumped on a production farm. Since the farmer had no use for potbelly pigs he called a local pig rescue. We heard about Pumba’s situation through a friend that worked with the pig rescue. We ended up adopting Pumba and two of his siblings. Pumba is now 16 years old; a senior pig by all accounts. He spends his days lazing around the sanctuary taking a mud bath or soaking up some sunshine. He loves to root around in the dirt and clean up any wayward snacks left behind by the birds.

Beauregard is a 24 year old Moluccan Cockatoo. Also often called a Salmon Crested Cockatoo. Beau was adopted from a loving family whose situation had changed and they could no longer keep him. He arrived when he was just 7 years old. Beau is a very spirited bird and requires a lot of attention. As with most parrots, Beau is highly intelligent. He can not simply be left in a cage all day which is unfortunately the case with many parrots kept as pets. Beau spends most of his non-sleeping time free roaming the house. He loves to play with red solo cups and boxes. He behaves himself as long as there are plenty of chew toys around… and his humans remember to pick up their shoes.

Cupcake along with her best friends Cookie and Alabaster were surrendered to us as sick babies in spring 2020. All three were lethargic and dying from coccidiosis. It took a lot of teamwork but we were able to save them. Cupcake is a mild mannered hen and she really gets along well with the rest of the chicken flock. She always has Alabaster by her side. Cookie drops by the chicken flock to visit but spends most of his time in one of our rooster bachelor flocks.

Bert & Ernie were raised by an at home daycare. While Bert & Ernie’s original people loved them, their HOA did not permit keeping ducks. So Bert & Ernie were sent here to live in sanctuary. Bert is a fierce protector of his web footed friends. Bert once fought off a hawk attack. Luckily Bert’s human was able to break up the fight but not before Bert got the upper wing. By the time the human got to them Bert was on top of the hawk beating it up. Bert and the Hawk both sustained just mild injuries in that altercation… Except the hawk’s pride… that was permanently damaged by getting its butt whooped by a duck. Bert & Ernie live with their girlfriends Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. The hawk was never heard from again… Rumor has it he dines solely on mice to this day.

At just a couple weeks old, Spud (top) and Pogo were transferred to us by another sanctuary that was not equipped to handle such a complicated case. They were both born with severe leg deformities. Both of Spud’s legs developed backwards and Pogo had one fused leg. We had them examined by an avian vet who concluded they were not in any pain. With that knowledge we proceeded to raise them. After a couple of months it became clear that Spud & Pogo were going to require more attention than we could give them. While it was incredibly difficult to see them go, we had to do what was best for them. We found them a wonderful forever home at Here With Us Farm Sanctuary who specializes in special needs animals. We keep up with Spud & Pogo and they are thriving in their new home.

Sam is a 16 year emu that was adopted on her hatch day. Sam loves people and will lay at your feet to get some neck rubs. During egg laying season (November – May) Sam will actually seek out her human and lay her eggs at his feet if he happens to be in her enclosure when she is ready to lay. Sam loves to snack on tree leaves and make the emus trademark thumping sound. She also likes to take a bath in her pool when its hot.

Picasso was saved from an animal shelter with a group of roosters. He had been abandoned to fend for himself before spending over two months in the shelter. Picasso is a little defensive and not to sure of his new humans. Who knows what this poor guy has been through. He does calm down once he is picked up and snuggled. We think he just forgets he is safe now. We will continue to work with this guy to earn his trust. His brother, Foghorn, is his best buddy.

Henry is a Chinese goose and the patriarch of our goose flock. Henry was adopted when he was around 1 year old. He came from a very loving home but he was the smallest of the male geese and was being picked on. Since Henry wasn’t able to hold his own against the other males, his human decided it would be best for Henry to come live on the sanctuary. Henry is a gentle soul and loves to hang out with Zorro and Flip-Flop. Henry has a unique call that can be distinguished among the entire goose flock.

Holiday loves people. He always rushes over to greet visitors and show off his beautiful feathers. He gravitates to people so much he crashed a neighbors’ party once. Everyone was taking pictures and wanted to pet him. Holiday hangs out with the chicken flock mostly. For some reason he has decided that the feed bucket is his girlfriend.

India is a 3 year old embden chinese cross. She has a very gentle personality and gets along well with everyone. Her favorite snacks are acorns, lettuces and sunflower seeds. Her best friends are: Squirt, Gimp and Maverick. She is also a nest thief. When spring rolls around she will go and sit on any unattended nest. She even tries to steal Lurkey turkey’s nest.

Rosemary was adopted from Good Sprout Rescue in Ohio with her sisters Sage and Thyme. They had been dumped at a water treatment facility. Rosemary now spends her days with her sisters and Bert & Ernie. They make an excellent group. Rosemary settles down nicely when she is held and gives excellent snuggles.

Thyme is a very shy girl. She is still not sure about her new humans but she does like Bert & Ernie a lot. Thyme loves to try to fly even though she can’t seem to get very high. She is also always hunting for bugs. Thyme is very vocal about her feelings and will let the humans know when ever she feels like there is a snack deficit.

Big Bird was found all alone to fend for himself at an abandoned house. He had a tight string wrapped around one ankle which caused a lot of painful swelling. He was taken to a local animal shelter where he stayed for several months. While at the shelter he received medical treatment for his leg. When we became aware of Big Bird’s situation we agreed to take him on. Big Bird is ironically the second smallest rooster here on the sanctuary. Big Bird breaks all rooster stereotypes. He is gentle, friendly and all around a pleasant guy to hang out with. We are not sure how old he is but we estimate him to be on the younger side. Big Bird gets along great with most other roosters but his best friend is Chief… the largest rooster here.

Blue was surrendered to us by a local feed store when he was just about a month old. He had grown to big and no one wanted to buy him. Blue is a very soft spoken gentleman. He is very protective of his ladies and won’t let Bert & Ernie even think about visiting. Blue gets along well with the guinea fowl so that’s where he and his ladies stay during the day.

You can see where Cheeks gets her name. Such floofy cheeks! Cheeks was found at the feed store sick and dying in a poorly designed brooder. She was infected with coccidiosis, malnourished and dehydrated. She was one of the lucky ones who survived… sadly many did not. Cheeks’ best friend is Flapper chicken. They stick together where ever they go. Cheeks loves sunflower seeds and worms. She is also a professional dust bath taker.

Coffee is one of our senior gentlemen here on the sanctuary. A nice, gentle rooster; Coffee gets along very well with his humans and most other roosters. Having just one good eye, Coffee gets a little extra care. He lives in one of our rooster flocks and spends his days scratching around for bugs and taking dust baths.

DickDuck is a feed store surrender. She is a little goober who is not especially friendly towards most of the other birds on the sanctuary. She is full of sass but we love her anyways. She is bonded with Blue and Rebel. She loves her pool and playing in the mud. Nothing makes her happy like a mud puddle. DickDuck has some health problems including chronic ascites which is why she looks like she has a little extra junk in her trunk. We make sure to give her extra attention to manage her health… She is not especially fond of getting human cooties on her though.

Lizzy goose is a precious female Embden goose. She was surrendered as an adult with her sister Victoria (Tori). As you can see, Lizzy is a little different. She has a condition known as “Angel Wing”. Angel wing causes the last joint of the wing to bend in the wrong direction. This occurs when birds are given an imbalanced diet when they are young. This is why it is important to not feed wild birds bread. Generally birds with angel wing can not fly. This is not a problem for Lizzy since she lives on Sanctuary.

Flapper was surrendered at just a few days old. She was failing to thrive but we were able to turn things around for her and she now is doing great. She is best friends with Cheeks. She is very friendly and inquisitive toward people.

Hannibal is a male guinea fowl. He is actually the most aggressive guinea fowl on the sanctuary. He doesn’t really get along with other guineas so he lives with the chicken flock where he fits in quite well. Hannibal is one of several guinea fowl that were surrendered to us by someone who lived in a neighborhood and bought them thinking they were similar to chickens. They are not. Guinea fowl do not tame down very easily and are VERY NOISY. Hannibal does an excellent job alerting his humans and the rest of the birds on the sanctuary when there is an intruder. With his loud call he lets everyone know to run for cover if there is ever any danger. Hannibal is a staff favorite and we enjoy his antics every day.

Onyx is absolutely the nicest rooster on the sanctuary. He is very friendly with his humans and enjoys face rubs and starting crowing contests with the other roosters. He is also gentle with his ladies which is why he is one of the only roosters that gets to live with the hens full time. Onyx was surrendered to us when he was just a couple days old. He was a sickly chick but he had a strong will to live. Thankfully he pulled through and is thriving today. Everyone loves Onyx.

Raven is Onyx’s best friend. She is usually right by his side. She is very well mannered and gets along well with the rest of the hens. She loves a good dust bath and is always available to fulfill her treat eating duties. She also enjoys digging through the compost pile in search of some most delicious bugs.

Rebel is a female pekin duck who was surrendered to us when she was about 1 month old. She is part of our pekin trio which also includes DickDuck and Blue. Rebel is pretty easy going but is not a fan of human cooties. She is a little sassy and does not like Bert & Ernie. Nothing makes her happier than bug hunting in fresh mud. Rebel also enjoys naps in the sun shine and rainy days.

Scarlet is a Rhode Island Red hen. She is almost one year old and came to us as a sick chick just a few days old. Scarlet is kind of an escape artist. She is always testing the fence trying to see how many times she can make her humans chase her every day. We think she just likes to make sure we get plenty of exercise.

Sunny is basically Flip Flop’s twin. They look very similar. They do have very different personalities though. While Flip Flop is really laid back and goes with the flow; Sunny is much more high strung. Sunny is part of a bonded trio with Elizabeth and Victoria. They are inseparable. In fact, if they do happen to get separated there will be no peace on the sanctuary until they are reunited. Sunny, like all of the geese, has a unique call that to the trained ear, can easily be distinguished among his flock.

Tom is an eight year old royal palm turkey. He was being raised by his previous owners to be Thanksgiving dinner. However, he was a smaller, weaker bird and couldn’t hold his own amongst the other birds so his owners donated him to the sanctuary. Tom is a gentle soul. Soft spoken but always returns a gobble. Tom spends most of his time hanging out with the goose flock.

Tori goose is a little more shy than her sister, Elizabeth. When Tori & Lizzy came to the sanctuary they were both very sickly. They had been sitting on a nest of unfertilized eggs for over 6 weeks (more than 2 weeks too long). Since geese do not eat much if anything while sitting, they were very weak and under weight. We weren’t even sure they would survive. We worked with them, slowly nursing them back to health and now they are thriving. Tori stays by her sister’s side where ever they go.

Despite being completely white, Brandy always manages to stay perfectly clean; even on the rainiest, muddiest of days. She is one of our most senior hens and a valued member of our purple hat club. Brandy is quite fond of Milkshake the silky rooster.