A t one point, their sole purpose in life was to be slaughtered in the streets of Brooklyn, as part of a religious custom. An annual event, seeing thousands of chickens brought to the city, crammed in cages and deprived of food and water for anything up to a week before they face their grisly fate. I won’t go into too much detail as it is rather distressing but please visit endchickensaskaporos.com for more information. Every year, activists work tirelessly to bring this “tradition” to an end, as well as rescuing as many chickens as they can find loving homes for.

Which brings me to the JP 6…

Sunshine, Joy, Isabella, Savannah, Rene and Hope – The newest lights of our lives at JP!

It’s easy to forget these guys are still babies as they’ve been through so much already; factory farms to transport trucks; crates in city streets to a basement and finally, they’ve made it to their permanent home with us. In anticipation of their arrival, JP co-founder, Oscar, renovated the chicken barn to accommodate the new residents. They now have their very own house, space to potter about in the grass and a dirt patch for dirt baths!

Taking care of Cornish Cross hens is not without challenges. They have been bred to put on so much weight, so rapidly, their legs can struggle to support their oversized bodies and if not properly handled, even their organs can fail them. This being said, it is paramount we restrict and monitor their diets closely, which isn’t always easy because they LOVE their food and we love giving them what they love!

We also had to adapt their house – the chickens already living at JP (Victor and Ava) love to perch on a high beam or nestle on top of hay bales but that’s not an option for the cornish girls as they can’t jump or fly very far, because of all that weight. We had to ensure they could still make themselves comfy though, so instead of high beams and bales they have groundlevel cubby holes and loose hay to snuggle in.

Safe & together at JP Farm Animal Sanctuary!

It is somewhat bittersweet when we think of those who were not so fortunate but having these survivors makes us want to do more for the millions of animals out there who need help.

Logistics aside, I think I speak for all the JP crew when I say, having these 6 little ladies come into our lives has been an absolute pleasure. Watching them become comfortable in their new surroundings, growing in confidence and beginning to show off their own quirky personalities leaves us all sharing constant updates on the new things they’ve done. Sitting in our laps, chasing us through the grass, eating new foods, walking up the ramp… each and every milestone is celebrated here at JP and it is not lost on us just how close they came to a very different, devastating end. It is somewhat bittersweet when we think of those who were not so fortunate but having these survivors makes us want to do more for the millions of animals out there who need help. We are forever grateful to all the New York activists who dedicate so much of their time, money and compassion to the animals and who went above and beyond to help us bring these girls home.

Love to All Beings,
Jenny & the JP Farm Animal Sanctuary Family

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T hey arrived in late September and since then we have watched and enjoyed seeing them get settled into their new forever home. We want to thank the Farm Sanctuary Adoption Network team for contacting us to potentially adopt these beautiful beings as their previous owners were no longer able to care for them.

Let’s welcome Ronnie & Bernie to the JP Farm Animal Sanctuary!

We heard their story and saw their picture and couldn’t say no. …

Oscar had been wanting to rescue turkeys for some time as their story is a tough one in the farmed animal production. An estimated 245 million turkeys raised and processed every year in the U.S. and have no federal legal protection. More than 46 million of them are processed each year at Thanksgiving alone, and more than 22 million at Christmas according to PETA. Ronnie and Bernie will never have to worry about those statistics as they will live out their lives with loads of love here at JP Farm Animal Sanctuary.

“More than 46 million turkeys are processed each year at Thanksgiving alone, and more than 22 million at Christmas according to PETA. …

Bernard is a beautiful soft black turkey who can be shy but when it comes to food he opens up and will eat right out of your hand! He also talks a lot in a sweet voice and since we are getting to know him, we are trying to figure out exactly what he is saying.

Ronald on the other hand opens his beautiful brown and off white feathers for viewing. When you sit with him he slowly dances around you till he gets really close. Then he will let you rub his keel (his tummy) for a bit. His head turns many colors, more than Bernard, this usually demonstrates his mood.

The day R&B arrived, transported by Farm Sanctuary caregivers. 🥰

We were concerned as it is hard to home two male turkeys but these two boys have been together for a while and really love each other, they are inseparable. They like to explore their new surroundings and listen to the pigs make some very loud and strange noises. In fact now the turkeys & pigs mingle together sometimes. We are slowly introducing them to the cows as well!

It is through their story that we want to share that all animals want to live and deserve the space, friendship and love that we all desire.

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Love to All Beings,
Britt, Lynn, Oscar & the JP Farm Animal Sanctuary Family

O ne of our veterinarian’s clients, Tania, called them to ask for help. She lives in a condominium complex and the tenants/condo management wanted to get rid of the free roaming chickens that had been living on the complex grounds for approximately a year and a half! She took it upon herself to feed them, became quite attached, and didn’t want them to be harmed in any way so she made it her mission to find them a forever home.

Watch the video of how Victor & Ava came to join our JP family

“… how they survived all this time, especially during winters, is absolutely amazing!”

Every once in a while chickens would randomly show up at the complex and then randomly disappear as the condo is located across the street from a meat farm (so they were escapees!). In February of 2018, two chickens, who have been named Ava, after Ava Gardner and Victor/Victoria, The latter is the name of an old movie where the actress played the part of a male. She settled on Victor once she realized he was not a hen. The management at the complex called the farm and told them to come get them and the farm said we don’t want them. Tania took it upon herself to make sure they always had food and water. Not knowing anything about chickens she researched how to care for them. They survived without a coop and at night would perch up in trees or hide under porches. Which is so crazy, usually chickens without coops get attacked by wildlife at night-even chickens with coops get attacked, so how they survived all this time, especially during winters, is absolutely amazing!

Tania said during the day they walked around the complex together, Victor never left Ava. He stood next to her while she ate and waited for her to finish before starting to eat himself, and when she took her dust bath in the complex gardens he stood next to her. She said it was like watching an old married couple, if they could have held hands they absolutely would have.

“She has never found any eggs and the other people in the complex have also stated that they have never seen eggs. With the timeline this would make Ava at the age of a non-laying chicken, which is usually 3 years old …

Some people at the complex had complained about Victor crowing early in the morning, which is when management told Tania they had to go, after reaching out to some rescues who said no, she emailed the hospital, which is when they called us.

The rest is history as Oscar completed building their ‘new condo’ (chicken coop) and they seem to love their new home! When they first arrived Oscar made a temporary room in the cow barn and they still have free range to walk around the cows. We love them and are so happy they will live out the rest of their lives here at JP Farm Animal Sanctuary!

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Love to All Beings,
Britt, Lynn, Oscar & the JP Farm Animal Sanctuary Family

W e are thrilled to share with you that we have two new residents, Bruce and Evan, through our relationship with the Farm Sanctuary’s Farm Animal Adoption Network. We have worked with them for the past year and were also introduced to Tallulah, our Scottish Highland cow who was rescued from a neglect case and DJ our pig who came from a college agricultural program.

Evan and Bruce ❤

We had the chance again to work with the Farm Sanctuary to adopt Bruce who was from a meat farm and Evan who came from the dairy industry. Both would have ended up on someone’s plate if they had not been rescued.

… they knew something was up

We were able to go to the Farm Sanctuary on the first of May to pick up Evan and Bruce and yes we all practiced social distancing, wearing masks and gloves. When we first met them they were outside playing and mooing, they knew something was up. They are so small, as I rubbed them I found that their hair was soft and they were such a delight to watch. They are curious and you can see they like to be around people. After we introduced ourselves to them the staff from the Farm Sanctuary easily got them into the trailer, they were locked in and we started our journey home.

With the crew at Farm Sanctuary

Bruce is part Scottish Highland and Angus mix, reddish in color with beautiful long eyelashes. Very easy going and loves to butt heads with Bruce. Evan is smart and very curious. His eyes are bright and big with an amazing sense of wonder when you look into them. The two boys really love being with each other and are inseparable. Bruce follows Evan and does whatever he does. They have started to run in the fields, try to smell and lick the other cows through the dividers, it really seems like they have settled into their new home. They are getting to know the other cows safely in the barn so when we finally let them all out in the fields together it should be an easy transition for everyone.We are happy to say that Bruce and Evan are now at their forever home.

Our mission is to help make an impact for animals by educating people on animal exploitation and to stop the inhumane treatment and killing of literally billions of animals a year.

We look forward to helping people find alternative food choices, by sharing plant based recipes and making kind food choices. And of course making connections with these beautiful living creatures that also just want to live their lives.

Would you like to be a part of the sanctuary community? Sign up for our newsletter, write to us, share our sanctuary with others, volunteer or make a donation.

Love to All Beings,
Lynn, Oscar & the JP Farm Animal Sanctuary Family