So  many things have changed at our farm in the last year, and it is now impossible to keep up with this blog!  I have deleted the multitudes of entries, leaving just a few of our earliest ones about hen rescue for those who somehow keep searching for them. I will delete these shortly too.  I am currently compiling the other entries into a book, in my spare time when not completing a book on adoption, co-written with an amazing child and youth worker.   The blog will just have to wait–we are too busy!  Aside from writing and rescuing, and focusing on  the new changes occuring at the farm, my human family has grown and expanded.  Although already a mother to two children, I became mother to six beautiful children in the past year, many of whom are undergoing their own healing process.  Blog writing must wait.  I would like to personally thank the thousands of readers who have read the blog over the last few years and shared their own comments and stories.  I wish I could continue on, if only to continue a dialogue with you!  Who knows, at some point perhaps I will find the time.

    The farm continues on with our battery hen rescue, and at this point we have had rounds of hens come, be rehabilitated and leave to fantastic homes.  The healing process never ceases to inspire me.  The farm has changed and grown in ways I never could have forseen. We are currently planning and expanding, with the focus of the farm being a place of peace for traumatized children, where they are able to learn life skills.  The hens are an integral part of this (and I continue to thank the farmers and rescuers who bring us hens for the children to work with) as the children are able to demonstrate their love and care and use their skills to heal the hens.  Another cornerstone of the farm is yoga and meditation.  Many of the children have ADHD or PTSD.   Teaching the children the benefits of sitting quietly with their thoughts and helping them to find their unique selves, so often buried beneath pain, will aid them in coping with their stressful lives.  Sometimes spending quiet times with animals, or a simple walk in the woods or along the creek is all that is needed to restore a child’s sense of wonder in the world.  Cobble Hills Farm is privileged to offer these children a place of friendship and fun, in an uplifting and calm environment, a world away from the stressful lives they lead.  Every child deserves a few moments of peace.

     I know the official start of winter hasn’t truly arrived, but the storm that has battered the farm for the last two days says otherwise.  The same routine this year, trying to fasten plastic over every drafty window, piling up the straw bales and feed sacks against every leaky door.   I have doubled the amount of straw in each stall so the animals can nestle and hide from the cold.  I’m boiling the kettle twice a day so the hens can have warm water to drink.

     The former battery hens are doing very well at their new homes!  Our friends with a bed and breakfast (who had adopted goats from us before) took some.  Someone who saves Pot Bellies took four hens.  A wonderful couple with an idyllic retreat in Moonstone took eight other hens, and last weekend a kind-hearted animal-loving lawyer adopted four other hens.  The barn cats took one look at the Mercedes in the driveway and were trying to find ways to sneak inside and leave with him.  Cats can be so fickle.

     Photos have come pouring in, showing the happy hens in their new digs.  Most of the hens are living in heated barns!  They have tons of room to run indoors and out, and have their fellow hens for companions.  Best of all, they have safety and will truly spend their remaining years in peace.  The boys who did the rehab work are thrilled.

     We still have sixteen hens who are slow to heal. They make continual progress, but will be here a bit longer while they regain their feathers.  Homes still await these girls and they will leave sometime in the new year.  We have sixty new hens coming in the spring, so it will be perfect timing.

     Three new residents will be arriving at the farm in just another week– all goats– and the boys are excited to have new animals in need of their care.  Now that all of the stray kittens have been placed in new homes, the boys have a lot of affection they need to lavish on something.  These goats are in for some attention!   

Nov. 18, 2009–Changes

     The boys were out at the farm last night. It is so dark and cold at 6:00 now, a switch from the beautiful red evenings we had when the program began two months ago.  The van arrives in utter darkness, but I hope the golden glow from the barn windows is inviting.  They rushed in, as they always do, this time clutching paintings and sculptures they had done at school and wanted to show me.

     We cleaned the coop as usual, fed the animals.  I was able to spend a bit of one-on-one time with a boy who has cared for the rescued kittens.  I have a home for the kitten he was most fond of.  (Just last week, after the sister kitten had been adopted out, this boy had run to me with tears in his eyes and begged me not to let the kitten be sad or lonely because it would miss its sister a lot!  It broke my heart.)  He told me how upset he’d be if this kitten left, but I told him that we had a warm, loving home waiting, and that sometimes we have to let something we love go to a different life in order to keep them safe and happy.  I asked him what he wanted to do, if he would keep the kitten here in the barn when it could be in a warm house with even more attention. He said he wouldn’t do that to his cat.  He did say that he would cry when it left, and I told him we would cry together.  There are learning experiences here every day.

     The grocery store called about another kitten pleading for help at the store door this week, so that kitten is now here  and I’ve enlisted the boys’ help to nurture and heal this thin kitten too.

     We didn’t just work through loss last night, we had some fun too!  We had crayons and paper and the boys scribbled away in the barn aisle, making pictures of hens.  One boy, our little writer, wrote a full-page manifesto on kindness towards chickens.  

     What struck me, is the difference between now and two months ago.  Not just the light outside or the temperature.  One of the boys picked up an ex-battery hen for a model for their sketches. But he didn’t draw.  Instead, he sat with this very plump, fully feathered brown hen in his lap.  It soaked up his warmth, pecked at his arms in a friendly manner. Two months ago this hen was scrawny, bald, terrified and screeching.  It now appeared to be an entirely different bird.  We looked at the hen’s short nails, caked in mud from her afternoon foray outdoors.  The best change of all, is that the boy holding her looked more confident, more calm than the child who showed up here two months ago, not sure of what to expect in this barn.  Changes….

Oct. 26, 2009–Eating Out of Their Hands

     The Pet Network day of filming was a great success and we will be featured on the show Pet Central at some point. The host, Candice Batista is an enormous animal lover, as is the producer.  Candice had the feral kittens soaking up her attention, purring every time she held them.  The filming was quick and easy and lots of fun, and the crew even brought a vegan lunch for us all to share. 

         Although a few hens are still missing feathers, the majority are beautiful, with lots of small brown feathers. They are running outside and stretching in the sunshine.  Best of all, they are trusting the boys who work with them.  They are literally eating out of their hands!  Last Tuesday the boys lay on the floor of the coop, and filled their cupped hands with scratch grains, lay mash and corn.  The hens gathered around each boy, pecking away and eating from the boys’ palms.  It was a great show of trust.  With each achievement I am more encouraged to expand our program. 

Oct. 20, 2009–The Past Week

     It has been busy around here to be sure, but productive as well.  Last Thursday the boys came out to care for their chickens.  I had planned on letting them help trim a few of the hens’ nails, and then I would finish the job at another time.  It is tedious and time-consuming and most adults would find the job lengthy, but these boys continue to amaze me.  Once the boys were shown what to do, they kept at it until every single hen had her long, over-grown nails trimmed.  The boys were so calm, so incredibly focused as they gently held the hens and steadily cut the nails.  Not a single hen bled, not a nail cut too short, which would be a feat for an adult.  These boys are capable of big surprises.  The hens look like they walk much better.

     We also had planned on a small tidy of the coop, but again, with shouts of “I love this job!” they filled wheel barrow after wheelbarrow of dirty straw, ran it to the manure pile in a frenzy, and had the hens bedded down on clean straw in no time–the entire coop cleaned out.

    On Sunday I was called about two small kittens who were abandoned outside. They look about 5 weeks old and feral.  In two days they have gone from hissing and scratching to purring.  The boys are back out again tonight and I look forward to greeting them at the barn door with yet more tiny creatures for them to love.

     Just a week ago the Toronto Star came out to spend the afternoon with the hens.  Both the writer and videographer were wonderful guys and we had a really nice time. One hen, now dubbed J-Lo, really loved having her photograph taken and ended up making the front page. Driving home from town, I kept glancing down at the newspaper in disbelief.  This hen was hours away from slaughter, had spent her entire life in a wire cage with the personal space amounting to the size of a mousepad, yet here she was on the front page of the Star.  What an unexpected journey for a little hen.   You just never know what awaits you in life, and this chicken surely couldn’t have predicted this.

     Nor was I able to predict what would follow the article running in the paper.  I’ve been swamped by emails, some swearing off caged-eggs, some offering homes for hens, some offering much needed funding to keep the animals fed, and also some kind letters of encouragement.  We’ve also had a few offers of help as we move forward and expand our therapy program. 

     There have been requests for radio interviews (had a really great chat with Mary Ito on CBC Radio One on Saturday morning — she’s a fantastic lady!) and more newspaper stories. The Pet Network is booked to come out and do some taping here. 

     Last year I toiled alone in the cold barn, just dreaming of beginning a small therapy program, letting animals and children heal each other.  In my mind I could see it developing but didn’t know how.  Even during my business meetings with Pierre, I sometimes wondered if we could realize our goals. But like the hen who had no idea what was in store, I didn’t realize that our little story would resonate with people, that people might care and want to help.

      Now I truly believe that by tapping into the expertise that is being offered we will be able to expand the program and help more children and more animals.  It is so heartening to know that support is out there.  The boys are proud of their work and they will be thrilled to hear how much people have cared about them, and about their chickens. 

Oct. 2, 2009–Chickens

     What progress the ex-battery hens have made!  Within three days small tufts of white downy feathers were appearing on some of the birds.  The yolk of their eggs had turned from pale yellow to vibrant saffron, thanks to the corn introduced to their diet.  The hens began to run around their coop on sturdy legs.

    For several days they seemed unsure of how to rest. In battery cages if you lie down you are stepped on, pecked, and possibly killed.  The hens tended to stand up to sleep, eyes closed, keeping one leg in mid air to rest.  Slowly, one by one, the hens are learning to nestle down and relax in the straw.  They are no longer dropping their eggs wherever they walk, but instead, are going to quiet corners and nesting, laying their eggs the way nature intended. 

   It is wonderful to watch the hens move about and slowly, luxuriously stretch out their wings, or stretch out their legs and hold their appendages there, as though they savour the ecstasy of what had been denied them for so long… space.

     Last night the boys came out from the group home and after tidying up the coop and feeding the hens, they helped put sweaters on some of the hens who remain painfully bald. Cold, damp fall weather has arrived and copying the lead of UK battery hen rescues, we took donated sweaters and put them on the birds.  Each boy so quietly and gently slipped a sweater over each of the chicken’s head, fastening the straps beneath wings and legs, always taking the time to pet their hens and speak to them.  By the end of the evening one of the purple-vested hens was already gaining trust in humans, allowing herself to be touched by the boys, rather than running away in a flurry of chicken squawks and feathers.  I continue to be amazed, that despite the dark histories of the children, they are utterly benevolent towards their fragile hens.

     On Thursday evening our gang of boys came out to get the coop ready for the battery hens, as they will be in school on the day the hens actually show up.  

     It is a fine balance trying to explain to the children where the hens are coming from and why they are going to look the way they do.  I don’t want them being shocked when bald, sickly hens arrive, especially if the kids are expecting plump brown hens like we have on the farm.  I didn’t want to terrify the kids with PETA photographs, especially as most of them have known trauma and tragedy beyond words and we don’t need to add to that so I found the least upsetting photos of caged hens I could (black and white no less) and tried to convey to the kids that although the hens will look bad at first we will make them better! 

     As well, the point of the program is not for me to spread vegan propaganda (although I wish I could!) so I have to be somewhat matter-of-fact in explaining why the hens are kept in cages.  “And this is just how eggs are produced in Canada,” I try to say in an even voice, while telling the kids where their chickens will come from.  But out of the mouths of babes… “Isn’t that animal cruelty?” one boy shouts?  How to answer that one?  I did tell them that Europe has started producing eggs a different way, and that segued into a geography lesson.

     The boys filled the coop with straw, and began naming the hens who are not even here yet, with creative names like Tulip, Fly and Gandolph.  Crawling on their hands and knees the boys made beds and nests for the chickens with such loving care.  One of the sweet boys wanted to paint his hen’s name on her bed. Another boy told him “chickens don’t read.”

     We had so many laughs on Thursday evening.  We took a walk at dusk to the creek to watch dragonflies.  We ate freezies.  We saw the sun set a fiery red through the antique barn windows.

       I wish everyone could see these beautiful boys.  Despite being  in foster care they are clever and wise (also full of wise-cracks).  They are hilarious and witty and inquisitive and full of ideas.  As I watched them tenderly making soft beds for chickens no one else sees worth in, chickens the boys haven’t even met yet, I wonder what this program is really going to teach them. They are already compassionate and kind.

Oct. 7, 2008–Outside at Last

     I gave up trying to teach the new hens how to use the ladder and ramp outdoors.  Considering they have only just learned to walk, perhaps navigating an obstacle course was asking too much of them.  Instead, each day, after the pigs are returned indoors, I leave the coop door open and the chickens head out into the pigs’ yard.  There isn’t alot of grass and clover like the other hens have to enjoy, but there is fresh air and sunshine.

     On the first day I ushered them out of the coop, the hens looked quite worried.  They have grown to trust me and come running for food, but this drastic change made them wary.  Once I had the lot of the in the barn aisle, I opened the door and cajoled them to head towards the light.  Considering they came all too close to the proverbial “light” not too long ago, they weren’t interested.  It took two days of patience before they were willing to discover the outdoors.  Now they love lying in the sunshine, wings outstretched, eyes closed.

     They must really be feeling better.  Today, as I was letting Rusty the piglet run loose in the barnyard, he ran at a nervous duck, who subsequently flew into the chicken coop to hide.  The new hens decended en masse– jumping on the poor duck and pecking at her, squabbling and squawking away.   They puffed up their neck feathers–a remarkable feat considering they  don’t have many feathers on their necks!   In the end the duck escaped, the hens savoured victory, and Rusty found someone else to play with.

     Yesterday the hens finally walked free.  Their quarantine period up, we were able to move them from the horse stall in which they have been kept.  Their week in the stall was a learning experience for the hens.  They learned what lettuce and tomatoes were, how to scratch the earth, how to eat from feed bowls and drink from a poultry fountain.  They learned how to walk on their own legs and how to make a nest in straw to lay their eggs the way natured intended, not having their eggs roll out of them and down a conveyer belt.

We moved the hens in with my own, who were outside at the time.  They looked around the large coop, ate, enjoyed the light shining in the window and the change of scenery, exploring every nook and cranny.  Our resident hens came in from outdoors, and,  upon seeing the home invaders, started squawking like mad!  They look so healthy compared  to the battery farm hens, their combs standing so bright and red. 

At first the new hens huddled in a corner, all eight of them, terrified.  Once the resident hens decended their ladder they looked around, curiously, and began to eat alongside the come-from-aways.  Eventually, a few squabbles broke out. One of my hens puffed herself up and fought with a newcomer. Now that the new hens have their strength back, they were evenly matched, so another one of my hens jumped into the fight, taking the side of her comrade.  Fortunately, it wasn’t long until night fell, and they all took up roosts, the war over.

Today, the hens remain segregated–the resident hens sticking to the outdoors, and the new hens, remaining inside, so far unable to figure out the ramp and ladder system which takes them outdoors.

Trooper, the sickest of the hens, is looking so much better and her limp is nearly gone.  She hasn’t gained the weight of the other birds but she’s getting there.  Progress is slow, but it does happen.  Hopefully it will only be a matter of days before the hens all get outside to enjoy their first taste of nature.