Rachel McCrystal,
Woodstock Farm Sanctuary
May 2018
All the babies we rescued that year had a bacterial infection, and that caused Magnus to lose his eyesight. Phoenix slipped his tendon in his right leg before he was rescued, probably as a result of the way these birds are bred.
We make generalizations about farmed animals and their care often. We
even do it at sanctuaries as we have to make decisions about housing,
medical care, and enrichment based on what “most” pigs or cows or goats do
in a certain situation and what is the best for “most” ducks or chickens.
One of those generalizations is that roosters can’t live together or can
only live together if there are a certain amount of hens.
But Magnus and Phoenix have a different story. They are both large Cornish
Cross boys—the type of chicken bred to be killed and eaten at six weeks old.
They were rescued from religious rituals in NYC in September of 2015 and
came to us along with dozens of other scared, sick, and traumatized baby
chickens.
Sadly, all the babies we rescued that year had a bacterial infection, and
that caused Magnus to lose his eyesight. Phoenix slipped his tendon in his
right leg before he was rescued, probably as a result of the way these birds
are bred.
Because of Magnus’ blindness and Phoenix’s permanent leg condition, they
were both unlikely to fare well in a big flock. But they immediately bonded
with each other and have lived as a bonded pair for the last two and a half
years. They sit in the sun together, eat together, and guide each other.
Because of their breed and Phoenix’s injury, Pheonix is likely to not live
much longer.
Juan
When Phoenix passes, Magnus will be all alone. While the caregivers here
were thinking through what the options will be for him without his longtime
companion, Juan the chicken arrived.
Juan was found a few weeks ago in NYC – just walking in the middle of the
road! He was only four weeks old—still a chick. Given those circumstances,
we can assume that he came from a live-kill market and narrowly escaped
slaughter. Thankfully, some kind people recognized that he needed help and
picked him up and drove him upstate to Woodstock Farm Sanctuary.
Although he is just a baby, we know he’s a rooster as he has the biggest
feet we’ve ever seen on a chick of his age. He’s so friendly with people and
other birds but we don’t have any other babies of his age to introduce him
to…so we thought, what about Magnus and Phoenix? Could these sweet big
roosters welcome a little friend?
As it turns out, Juan is great at making friends! He runs to Magnus to
snuggle up during the day when they are all outside together and the three
of them sleep together at night, Juan in the middle. Phoenix keeps an eye on
him from his blanket as Juan walks around their yard. This little lost chick
and these two disabled roosters, all from the streets of NYC, all rescued
from near death, have become the sweetest threesome at the Sanctuary.
When the time comes for Phoenix to pass, we are grateful that Magnus will
have a companion. He’ll never be alone. He’ll have Juan.
Please come and visit and see some of the residents here this visiting
season. Hearing about their friendships with each other is one of the best
ways to start seeing them all as individuals. Here at Woodstock Sanctuary,
we give everyone the space and time to develop friendships with each other.
So that can be a friendship of over a decade like that between goat Burt and
sheep Bubbles (who are currently our oldest goat and oldest sheep), a
maternal connection like between cow Maribeth and steer Mikey, or the
head-butting sibling friendship of Louie and Luna, twin goats who lost their
mother in childbirth but will live out their lives together.
If you visit
often, you’ll see the same animals hanging out together and choosing to be
with each other month after month, year after year. It’s really special but
also reminds me every day of how many families and friendships are broken up
as a matter of course in animal agriculture. We are so honored to be able to
give our rescued residents the space to find long-term friends and family
here.
And of course, if you visit and come back a few times, you will get to know
the animals. And even start developing your own friendship with a goat, a
turkey, or a Juan. I can’t think of a better friend! We can’t wait to see
you.
You can sponsor Juan, Phoenix, Magnus or all three of them on the website
for
Woodstock Farm Sanctuary.
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