H oly Moly, it has been a wild ride at JP Farm Animal Sanctuary over the past few months. So much action going on and everyday is an adventure with the hippy kids, visitors, the pig barn and the farm doggies keeping us entertained!

Here are some sights and sounds from this summer so far.

The hippy kids (Scottish Highland cows & steers) have been inspiring us to make their barn and daily routine better. Oscar & Lynn hung up fans to keep the barn cool and lessen the amount of flies. The fly situation is crazy, as those flies love to hang out on the cow’s ankles and noses. So we have been researching fly potions. We’ve been using ‘Pyranha Zero Bite All Natural Fly Spray’ but wanted to try to make our own. Our friend Gina donated home-made remedies using ‘DoTerra’ oils which we’re still exploring. We’re open to more suggestions for the right mix as those flies can be ceaseless (if you have a suggestion, please write us).

Aside from the fans to keep cool, Oscar gave haircuts to Brody, Grady, Ethan and Belle and what a difference that made! We also try to hose down all of their feet as often as we can. Scottish Highland cows are used to colder temperatures so keeping them cooler with water, hydration, shade and fans blowing is super helpful to keep them comfortable.

Our resident doggies: Oliver & Ace; new lettering for our truck
and t-shirts for staff and donors!!!

Tallulah, our newest resident at the farm, received her own fenced in area so that she can roam free while we are trying to integrate her with the original herd. She is super enthusiastic and the others still need to get used to the way she moves (which is a bit faster than they move)! She and the others do like to eat hay together so there is progress! As for her own integration with the humans, she went from ‘Shy to Hi’ with us. She absolutely loves to be brushed and hugged. We think she is pretty smart and shows us by opening the cookie bin on her own (we actually have a lock on it now! 😉

The pig barn ground-breaking was just one month ago when the first dig began. We are literally completing the structure frame today, thanks to Oscar’s direction, and the rest will be completed within a few weeks (it takes a little longer with full time jobs and doing the building ourselves, which is pretty cool in itself! Who knew we are builders too!). It was too crazy that during this building we had a heat wave as well so we became a little loopy in the sun. That was ok because we had good tunes and did a little silly dancing in between cutting and nailing wood together. We simply can’t wait for ‘Tofu-Beanie’ & ‘Dolphin’ (the female piggies) to join JP Farm.

We simply can’t wait for ‘Tofu-Beanie’ & ‘Dolphin’ to join JP Farm.

People are also becoming interested in JP Farm Animal Sanctuary whether it is through our own circles, on social media, website or strangers stopping us when we get out of our truck that we just had branded and or see our new t-shirts (we’d like to start selling t-shirts in the near future, let us know if you’d be interested by emailing us at info@jpfarm.org). We love that people are contacting us to visit, volunteer and learn more about the animals and the farm. It’s so much fun and humbling to share the lives of these beautiful beings. And we couldn’t do it without support. Thank you so much for those who help us daily, from afar and or on the internet.

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

PS: We are giving away JP Farm T-shirts to the first 5 people who donate $25 or more!!!

With loads of kindness and summer lovin’,
Britt

JP Farm Animal Sanctuary is a nonprofit, tax-exempt
501(c)(3) corporation (EIN 83-1674833)

O ur hearts break thinking about Brody and Grady crying out to be with the herd and knowing that their bodies are in pain. As many of you know, they have very significant health issues and we continue to research solutions for these sweet cows. They have trouble walking, getting up and moving around because of musculoskeletal pain and weakness. Today we had Nicole Finazzo DVM come to visit with technician Laura. They were able to provide both Brody and Grady with cold laser therapy and acupuncture. It is so sad for us to see that these two young steers are not able to run around and be frisky and just have fun being cows.

Grady getting Cold Laser Therapy

So to explain about these two therapies and other options for treatment I will quote Nicole directly:

“Palliative and cold laser therapy will treat the pain and discomfort, they do not treat the actual disease process (osteoarthritis or hip dysplasia in their cases).

Options for palliative therapy include acupuncture and laser therapy. Acupuncture involves placing small gauge needles into different acupoints in the body. These acupoints are neuromuscular and/or neurohormonal junctions – in layman’s terms, this is where the body receives feedback that controls the release of various hormones and anti-inflammatory molecules. Stimulating the acupoint works directly to relax the muscles and release anti-inflammatory molecules in that area, and works indirectly by the release of neurohormones from the brain that lessen pain. There are a number of ways to stimulate the acupoint and the method will vary depending on the patient’s reaction to the session. Dry needling involves the placement of the small gauge acupuncture needles into various acupoints and leaving them in place for 10-20 minutes.

Laser therapy also known as cold laser therapy, involves low level light therapy to stimulate healing and reduce inflammation. Laser therapy is working on a cellular level. Photons from the light reaction with the components of the cells to release anti-inflammatory molecules. The laser therapy also mildly increased the temperature of the tissues which causes an increase in blood flow to the area which improves healing. Laser therapy is non-painful and most patient’s enjoy it.”

Brody getting assessed by Nicole & Laura

Brody and Grady reacted positively to the treatment today. They did not like the needles going in to their hind end at first but then started to relax and we even noticed that Brody’s muscles were not as tight in one area at the end of the session. We will watch them over the next few weeks to see how the treatment affects them. As we continue to search for solutions we would like to ask for your support and ask you to sponsor Brody or Grady with their health care. We will continue to give them pain medicine so they have consistent pain relief as there is no cure for their disease.

Lynn, Oscar, Nicole & Laura

We will watch them over the next few weeks to see how the treatment affects them. As we continue to search for solutions we would like to ask for your support and ask you to sponsor Brody or Grady with their health care. We will continue to give them pain medicine so they have consistent pain relief as there is no cure for their disease.

Can you help these kind souls to be as happy as they can be. Please donate so they can continue with the therapy sessions and medicine.

Love Cows,
Lynn

JP Farm Animal Sanctuary is a nonprofit, tax-exempt
501(c)(3) corporation (EIN 83-1674833)

I t has been wonderful having our beautiful boys (steers) with us for the past 6 years! We knew very little about raising cows and how much our hearts would melt getting to know each one individually. They were very small when we brought them home to our house in Newtown. They were frisky and a little scared and so were we!

Belle & Brody

Amazing to see the dynamics of how this herd has grown …

They have always loved each other and are inseparable. When they were young they played all the time. Cody, who was very connected to his Mom Cara, would cry out if he didn’t get his way or if someone was picking on him. Cara would come right over to check on him, she was an amazing Mother. Belle was always licking on Brody, he had wild hairdos from all her loving. The boys and the girls like to lick ears and eyes, grooming soothes them as it is a time for bonding. Belle also loved on Ethan quite often as well. It is amazing to see the dynamics of how this herd has grown and changed in many ways. Cody has past away, Brody and Grady struggle with health issues but we are working to provide them with the best health care we can.

Most of the time the cows are very quiet but you can see the excitement in them when it’s time for cookies as they start to move around in their stalls and watch with curiosity, who’s going to be the first to get treats. We will always make sure they get special treats every year on their birthday and encourage them to be who they are, a cow that gets to roam freely at JP Farm Animal Sanctuary.

When they were young

Each day I walk into the barn and greet them, they make me smile as they turn their heads. They inspire me to want to be a kinder more generous person. One who will advocate for those who don’t have a voice, encourage plant based food options that are healthier, really tasty and are better for our planet.

We want to wish the boys the Happiest Birthday and for them to live out their lives in peace and joy.

Would you like to get the boys a birthday gift? Any donation amount toward their food and medical expenses would be wonderful!

JP Farm Animal Sanctuary is a nonprofit, tax-exempt
501(c)(3) corporation (EIN 83-1674833)

Cody & Ethan

… We want to wish the boys the Happiest Birthday and for them to live out their lives in peace and joy. Would you like to get the boys a birthday gift? Any donation amount toward their food and medical expenses would be wonderful!

Love Cows,
Lynn

I sn’t it amazing that these gentle giants can survive on hay? Well not only hay, they also enjoy fresh grass, apple and oat cookies and mineral licks as well. What can we say? They love to munch! And we love to watch and listen to them munch!

But back to the hay, do you ever wonder how we get it and what it all costs? A few of our supporters asked us so I thought I’d share with you too. Behind the scenes goes something like this…

An hour each way to get around 60-70 bales of hay twice a month

Oscar hooks up the trailer to the truck and travels about an hour each way to get around 60-70 bales of hay twice a month. He loads up the truck/trailer with the help of the hay farmers and upon his return, stores the hay on the second floor of our barn to keep it dry and clean. He had been tossing the bales up to the second floor manually, crazy because each bale weighs between 40-50 pounds. Needing to be more efficient and practical we decided to invest in a hay elevator. Look at Lynn and crew going for it! You can see how much easier it is with the hay elevator and a few extra hands! As for the type of hay, we usually get second cutting hay which is more nutritious and sweeter than first cutting hay (well at least that is what our cows tell us ;)).

Here is an approximate breakdown because sometimes they eat more than the daily allotment. Up until now, we’ve been very lucky to get our Hay at $6 dollars a bale of second cutting in our previous area, hence the long trip to pick it up. We’d like to find affordable local hay but unfortunately there isn’t much second cutting available in our new area for the price we have been paying. The farmers had a challenging year with all the wet weather and they weren’t able to harvest as often as in previous years.The local going rate is $8 dollars a bale. So that means that the breakdown you see below may be increasing if and when we change hay suppliers.

Currently:

One bale of hay is $6
Hay for a day: 4 bales at $24
Hay for a week: 28 bales at $168
Hay for a month: 125 bales at $750
Hay for a year: 1500 bales at $9,000

Between all of the expenses the sanctuary has it is probably easiest to relate to a bale of hay. You can think of it like a cup of coffee and a muffin, which costs the same or more than a bale of hay. The cows love their hay and we would love your support to help them keep on munching. See the video of Brody showing us how to munch correctly 😉

Would you like to donate a bale of hay, hay for a day or more? Please click on our donate button. Any size donation would be super helpful to feed these beautiful beings!

JP Farm Animal Sanctuary is a nonprofit, tax-exempt
501(c)(3) corporation (EIN 83-1674833)

… they also enjoy fresh grass, apple and oat cookies and mineral licks as well. What can we say? They love to munch! And we love to watch and listen to them munch!

With loads of hay munching gratitude,

Britt

A s you all know, running a sanctuary is a labor of love. So when we meet like-minded individuals we get so enthusiastic to support each other’s mission, learn more about their animals in need and have a natural urge to spread the word about one another.

We also met, Gene Baur – President & Co-Founder of the Farm Sanctuary who was being interviewed by Jasmine & Mariann from ‘Our Hen House’, the famous Podcast that endeavors to end animal exploitation! This compassionate and informative interview will be available for the public on the ‘OHH’ website in August. We were over the moon that we met Gene, as we recently adopted Tallulah, our newest Scottish Highland cow, from the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY. And yes, we gushed over how well she is doing at JP Farm Animal Sanctuary and Gene as well as so many kind guests and staff from Woodstock were happy to hear more about Tallulah and our other furry residents.

JP Farm Animal Sanctuary is a nonprofit, tax-exempt
501(c)(3) corporation (EIN 83-1674833)

We met many of Woodstock’s 380 rescued cows, pigs, goats, turkeys and more! See Yvonne with rescued gentle giant steer, Caesar.

It was truly wonderful and is always inspiring to see how many caring people there are that want to help farmed animals in need. Thank you to all whom we met at the Jamboree and those who are reading this right now! None of our sanctuaries could do it without you!

Our special mentions go to:

Woodstock Staff: http://woodstocksanctuary.org/

Rachel McCrystal – Executive Director

Lauren Jones – Humane Educator

Kim Beller – Humane Educator

Vegan Food Trucks & Booths:

Vegan Desserts with Soul: https://www.howdelishhd.com/

The Green Palate: https://www.thegreenpalate.com/

Cinnamon Snail: https://cinnamonsnail.com/

Like No Udder: http://like-no-udder.com/ 

Yeah Dawg: http://www.yeahdawgvegan.com/

Kettle Pop: https://www.facebook.com/KettlePop

Plantie: https://www.theplantie.com/

Compassionate Speakers:

Gene Baur: President & Co-Founder https://www.farmsanctuary.org/

Brenda Sanders: President & Founder https://www.afrovegansociety.org/

Jasmine Singer: Co-Host/Founder https://www.ourhenhouse.org/

Mariann Sullivan: Co-Host/Founder https://www.ourhenhouse.org/

With loads of Sanctuary Love,

Britt