Flat Rose's Journal

Farm Sanctuary
This first picture is of me standing outside of the "People Barn" at Farm Sanctuary's New York Shelter. Farm Sanctuary isn't a typical farm that raises animals for people to eat. Instead, Farm Sanctuary is a safe place for cows, chickens, pigs, and other farm animals who have been mistreated or abused to live out the rest of their lives in peace and happiness. Farm Sanctuary rescues animals from people who mistreat them, and then cares for them for the rest of their lives. People from all over the world visit Farm Sanctuary to meet the rescued farm animals and learn their stories. There are more than 700 rescued farm animals at Farm Sanctuary's New York Shelter. Although I didn't have time to meet each and every one of them, the animals I did meet were amazing and very friendly!

Snickers the steer
This is Snickers. He is a steer, or a boy cow. Although Snickers is really big, he is also very friendly. When Snickers was a young calf, he and his mother were living on a farm that didn't take very good care of the animals. Sadly, Snickers and the other animals on the farm were not given enough food or water and were very hungry and sick. Luckily, caring people at Farm Sanctuary were able to work with humane officers to have the animals removed from the farm and brought to live at the shelter where they now get all the food, water, veterinary care, and love they need to be healthy and happy.

Did you know that cows are very smart and sensitive animals? They can recognize and respond to the names that humans give them - the cows at Farm Sanctuary do that all the time. Cows can also remember good and bad events for at least three years and they can smell things from up to six miles away! Just like humans, cows care about others and feel attached to their family members and friends. Some cows at Farm Sanctuary love to hang out together all of the time, and some cows avoid each other no matter what! Also, mother cows really don't like to be separated from their calves: they will moo loudly and get very upset if they are.

Chickens
These are some of the chickens who live at Farm Sanctuary. The black rooster is named Plantain. Have you ever been around chickens before? They are pretty neat!

Do you know how chickens keep themselves clean? Instead of taking showers, they take dust baths. They actually get dirt in their feathers on purpose to remove oil and bugs from their skin. They are also pretty smart. Mother chickens teach their babies how to eat, drink and avoid danger, just like human parents do. And do you know why roosters go "Cock-a-doodle-doo" in the morning? It's because they see the light of the sun starting to brighten up the sky - and they can see light in the morning almost an hour before humans can? That's pretty amazing!

The chickens at Farm Sanctuary are very happy. If you watch them for a little while, you can see how chickens really like to live. Unfortunately, most chickens in the U.S. are kept in very small cages where all they do is lay eggs, or crowded together in dark, gigantic sheds. Pretty sad, right? Before coming to Farm Sanctuary, many of these chickens lived in cages so small that they couldn't even lie down comfortably or stretch their wings, or in big, smelly buildings full of thousands of very unhappy chickens. At Farm Sanctuary, the chickens are very happy because they have a good home with lots of friends and plenty of space indoors and out to run around.

Sheep
This is Hershel, a very friendly sheep. Believe it or not, some people eat sheep, and many people wear clothing that is made from the wool that is taken from them. Here at Farm Sanctuary, though, all of the sheep get to live out their lives in peace and safety. Scientists have discovered that sheep are very good at recognizing faces: they can identify up to 50 different sheep and 10 different humans. We also know that sheep are very good at figuring out what kind of mood people are in - they much prefer to be around happy, smiling people. Wouldn't you?

Goats
In this picture, Clarabell the goat is giving me a friendly lick. Goats are very playful and love to run around, climb up things, and butt their heads together as a kind of sport. All goats, like humans, have unique personalities and are as different from each other as people are from one another. While Clarabell is very curious, another goat named Zoop is very playful, and Juniper is very quiet. Even though they all have different personalities, most goats are very sociable, both with each other and with humans. You might also be surprised to learn that people eat goats and use their milk. But the goats at Farm Sanctuary don't have to worry about that anymore. They get to spend their days frolicking and playing, and will have a wonderful home for as long as they live!

Turkeys
Here is one of the many turkeys I met at Farm Sanctuary. You may notice that she is really big for a bird. That's because turkeys are raised for their meat, and farmers have bred them to grow very large. While wild turkeys like to fly up into tree branches and roost at night, most domestic turkeys are too fat to fly, and they even have trouble walking. But they are still very smart and friendly! Some of these turkeys love it when people stroke their feathers because they know that we won't hurt them. They trust people now because everyone at Farm Sanctuary has always been kind to them.

It's easy to tell what kind of mood a turkey is in.just look at his or her face! The colors on a turkey's face and neck change when his or her mood changes, like when he or she gets upset. Has your face ever turned red when you were embarrassed or angry? Just like people, turkeys can be very curious. When something catches a turkey's interest, he or she will usually peck at the object to figure out what it is, just like we might pick an object up and touch it with our hands.

Ducks and Geese
This is a picture of the duck and goose pond at Farm Sanctuary. The ducks and geese here spend most of the day down in the pond or relaxing in the sun with their friends. Then they are brought into the barns at night to keep them safe. Ducks and geese live in big families, and they are always trying to protect each other from danger. In fact, when they go to sleep, only the ducks and geese on the inside of the group close both of their eyes. The ones on the edge of the group keep one eye open all night to watch out for predators.

Did you know that some people eat ducks and geese? Some ducks and geese are raised on farms where they are trapped in tiny cages and forced to eat up to a third of their own weight in food each day. This is much more food than they would normally eat, so they get very sick. Can you imagine what that would be like?

Pigs
This is Ellen the pig. As you can see in this picture, pigs like to play in the mud. Some people think pigs are dirty animals, but that isn't true. Sure, pigs roll in the mud, but they do that to stay cool. When people get hot, they sweat, which helps them stay cool. But pigs don't have sweat glands, so instead they cover themselves with water or mud to cool off. Pigs are also very smart. Some people say they are smarter than most other animals, even dogs. They can use their noses as digging tools to help them look for food in the ground. Best of all, they are very friendly and they love to get belly rubs!

Pigs raised for pork are bred to grow very fast and very big, and are killed before they even reach their first birthday! Isn't that sad? But at Farm Sanctuary, the pigs will never be killed for food, so they live much longer and get much bigger than they would on farms. At Farm Sanctuary, pigs are allowed to do what they like best . and they sure do make the most of it!!!

I hope you have enjoyed hearing about my trip to Farm Sanctuary and learning about all these amazing farm animals. To find out more about farm animals and what you can do to help save them from abuse, check out the rest of the Kidz Club Web site.