A Week at Farm Sanctuary: Introducing New Lambs, Partying with… – Enviroshop

A Week at Farm Sanctuary: Introducing New Lambs, Partying with Pigs, Celebrating “Rebirths,” and More!

This week at Farm Sanctuary has been an eventful one, marked by new life, new (and old) friends, exciting developments, and happy celebrations. Here’s a look at what our rescued residents have been up to!

It’s a Lamb Party!

This week, we introduced our supporters to five very special new residents. Vera Jo, Cindy, Laura, Jack, and Bob Barker lambs were all born to mothers who were pregnant at the time we rescued them from a horrific “farm-to-table” operation in Cattaraugus County, NY.

Jack (brown-and-white lamb, farthest left), Bob Barker (second from left), Laura (third from left, with dark markings), and Laura (right) at play.

Moms Izzy, Zepha, and Daniella were being kept at the farm to produce lambs who were used for lamb meat. We can never know how many lambs these mothers had taken away from them prior to their rescue, but we do know that they and their babies are safe for life, never to be separated again (and never to be bred again, of course!).

Try saying “leaping Laura lamb” five times fast. It’s tough, but it looks like we’ll get lots of practice!

The lambs are doing great

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it’s hard not to have fun when you have boundless energy and four friends your own age to play with!

Spring-loaded Vera Jo soars above her young buddies.

National Shelter Director Susie Coston introduced Vera Jo, Cindy, Laura, Jack, and Bob Barker to our supporters in our first-ever Facebook Live video efforts this week; you can see a recap of the first below and the second here.

Susie helps Vera Jo, Laura, Cindy, Izzy, and Zepha make their big Facebook debuts in this video recorded live at our New York Shelter.

If you’re a Facebook user and haven’t yet liked Farm Sanctuary, please consider doing so if you’d like to be notified of future live video events!

…And a Pignic Party!

What better way could there be to celebrate both summer and pigs? On the Fourth of July, we held our annual New York Pignic event, and man of the hour Andy pig was clearly happy to soak up all the extra attention.

Rescued from a factory farm as a piglet, Andy was very ill when he came to us. He rallied and grew into one of our most beloved residents, charming everyone he meets and helping them to see that pigs like him are each someone, not something. (Read his earlier profile on Animals of Farm Sanctuary here.)

While Andy and his fellow pigs were the guests of honor at the Pignic (naturally), our other residents also got in on the action during the event!

Gentle Belinda cow, above, survived both the dairy industry and a backyard butcher operation before finding her way to sanctuary. Today, she is able to enjoy the finer things in life: grooming sessions with her cattle friends, being scratched and brushed by her human pals, and even playing in the snow during the winter! For this sweet girl who loves to be petted, the Pignic was a great day indeed! (Read her story here.)

From the photos above, you might not be too surprised to learn that Faith cow’s nickname is “The Exfoliator.” (Learn about her road to sanctuary here.)

Kirsty, left, is our oldest cow resident at 28

– well over two decades older than the average cow in the dairy industry is when she is considered “spent.” Kirsty is an amazing ambassador for animals, and she dotes on much younger resident Valentino (lying down), a fellow dairy-industry survivor who shares her love of the humanimal!

Francis sheep is one of the most friendly and popular guys on any tour of our New York Shelter (though he was a bit of a problem child in his youth). Psst: Did you know that you can now take a 360° virtual tour of Farm Sanctuary? Condition One VR produced this virtual experience that will whisk you away to our New York Shelter through your smartphone, tablet, or computer

– and Francis makes a special appearance! Take a tour here (and learn how to visit us in person here).

Flockmate Kalfin sheep also enjoyed lots of attention from new friends.

Cecilia turkey seized the opportunity to meet some new friends…

…then took some time out for a nice massage from her buddy Ben Araya.

Kai and Jackie turkeys greeting one of their guests!

Olive goat made a new young friend…

…meanwhile, daughter Maggie (who recently turned six months old) was busy doing some visiting of her own!

Lulu,Tatiana, and Min goats enjoyed some quality time (and snacks!) with their friend Ben.

…which Min followed up with a nice neck-scratching session! Want to visit one of our shelters? Find out about our tours and events, and join our email list if you’d like to be notified when event tickets go on sale!

New Wheels!

You may remember that little Benedict goat, who came to us through last fall’s Hudson Valley backyard butcher rescue, has lived with ongoing neurological issues that make it more difficult for him to get around than the average goat. This week, he got some extra help with that!

Benedict (who, along with gentle friends Chucky goat and Scott lamb, lives with the resident turkey ladies at our New York Shelter) is a real trouper, and his mobility challenges haven’t stopped him from playing and loving life. But we thought we might be able to make things easier for him with the aid of a wheeled cart, and this week he got to try it out for the first time.

His early verdict: a big thumbs-up (or, if you prefer, hooves-up)! He’s still getting used to it, but we think he’s made amazing progress in a short time. And Chucky and Scott are excited about it as well, investigating the cart with great curiosity and nibbling it gently to see what it is all about.

As you can see in the video above, Benedict is doing a great job!

Time with Friends

Perhaps the turkeys are rubbing off on Chucky! This little goat has discovered the joys of the turkeys’ dust box, which you can see him sharing with roommate Christina turkey here.

Chucky doesn’t actually dust-bathe in the box like the turkeys do; we suspect he likes laying in it because it’s nice and cool. Whatever his reasons, it has given him the chance to spend some quality time with Christina!

Meanwhile, Scott lamb enjoyed a special turkey grooming session! (It’s a thing.)

Time with Family

A few weeks ago, we met little Josie Mae and her mom Willow after they were rescued by Farm Sanctuary Board Member Tracey Stewart, who brought them along with her to our most recent board meeting at our New York Shelter.

Josie Mae’s leg issues required a short stay at the Nemo Farm Animal Hospital at Cornell University (of course, Willow went along so the pair wouldn’t be separated), but now she’s feeling quite silly and sassy, as you can see! She has a long way to go for a full recovery but this pair is finally settling in having a blast.

Meanwhile, in California…

The cattle and donkey residents goat a big surprise this week in the form of a new feeder – and they are thrilled about it!

It might not seem as exciting as it is, but Bruno (above) and his buddies can’t believe their good fortune and have taken to hanging out near it, even when they’re not eating, as if to reassure themselves that it won’t disappear.

Dig in, boys!

Another Southern California Shelter resident, Cinder goat (above), made the big move into the main sheep and goat herd. Cinder, who arrived recently and came from a difficult situation, is still keeping to herself, but she loves having more space and has already staked out a favorite tree!

Celebrating “Rebirth-Days”!

Friday marked five years since Northern California Shelter residents Blake, Phoebus, and Sixer steers joined the Farm Sanctuary family. Saved from starvation, they are now happy, healthy, and still as inseparable as they were on the day we met them. (Read their story and see more photos here.)

Friday also marked Southern California Shelter resident Paul Harvey goat’s first “rebirth-day.” (Read Paul Harvey’s story here.)

And today (Saturday), we celebrate the one-year anniversary of Lola pig’s arrival at our Northern California Shelter! Saved last summer when compassionate teenager Bruno Barba, who raised Lola through his school’s Future Farmers of America program, decided he couldn’t let Lola be sold for meat and reached out to Farm Sanctuary for help instead. Lola made the trip to sanctuary with Bruno along for support, and now enjoys spending her days exploring with friends Reggie (pictured) and Stacey pigs – and wallowing in the mud, of course. (See video of her rescue here.)

Psst…One More Thing