|
||||
 
|
I wish you could have seen it. I wish everybody could have seen it. Last night, just before sundown, so the light was too dim for us to get pictures, the first of the cows from New Jersey arrived. (These are the five cows that became a Facebook cause when the people who had been . . . → Read More: A Buddy in Need is a Buddy Indeed 
It was like Romper Room in the barn at closing time last night. Just as I finished closing the coops, overseen by Thunder and Maxwell, the rest of the front pasture cows arrived, evidently attracted by the remnants of chicken feed I had tossed to the sheep. How they “heard” about that all the way . . . → Read More: Party in the Barn! This morning, looking out my window, I saw the cows turn and trot toward… what? The sheep followed, at a distance, wondering what they were up to. I wondered too. Cows rarely run for no reason, especially not the elder and otherwise less-than-optimally-agile cows who are down here with us, rather than up in the . . . → Read More: Birdwatching Cows & Peacekeeping Geese 
Before coming to VINE Sanctuary, emus Tiki and Breeze spent several years sharing a small pen with another emu, never having the opportunity to exercise their legs or break the monotony by ranging freely. One day, their female companion escaped and became locally famous before dying while being recaptured. The retired dairyman who had bought . . . → Read More: Meet Tiki and Breeze 
“It’s kale time!!!” Every morning, the chickens come running when they hear those words. Breakfast kale, yum! Since their foraging yards are frozen, all of the birds appreciate the bright greens each morning. Just like us, chickens are more healthy when they eat their leafy greens. This is especially important for the birds from the . . . → Read More: Join the Kale Club! 
Mama T (also known as Mamati) came to the sanctuary from a local small-scale farm, where she had been overcrowded with hens and geese in a small coop with a tiny mud yard. When she first arrived, she was so overweight from lack of exercise that she rarely walked more than a few steps at . . . → Read More: Meet Mama T 
VINE Sanctuary cares for many heavyweight bovines like Norman, a 12 year-old weighing 2,500 lbs, who enjoys life despite a touch of arthritis, thanks to high-quality veterinary care. . . . → Read More: A Few Fun Facts about VINE I know that folks want an update on the status of the Green Mountain College oxen known as Bill and Lou. I’m sorry to report that, despite what has become an international outcry for mercy, the college remains determined to send them to a slaughterhouse at the end of the month. Thousands of people have . . . → Read More: Shades of “Green” (Update on Lou and Bill) 
Princess came to VINE Sanctuary from an agricultural college, where she was the subject of agricultural experiments. We don’t know exactly what was done to her, but we do know that she was bred repeatedly, suffering both forcible impregnation and the grief of having her calves taken from her. We first suspected, because of the . . . → Read More: Meet Princess |
|||
|
© 2024 VINE Sanctuary (formerly Eastern Shore Sanctuary) Powered by WordPress & Atahualpa |
||||
Reflections on Feeding Kale to Chickens
I had an epiphany while feeding kale to chickens this morning.
Today dawned uncommonly warm after an uncommonly windy night. As I lugged water jugs to the foraging yards, I could hear the chickens rustling inside the coops, eager for the doors to open. They sensed and were ready to seize the sunshiny day.
Birds . . . → Read More: Reflections on Feeding Kale to Chickens