Chicken Health & First Aid with Dr. Holly Galusha, DVM
This is the recording of Chicken Health & First Aid with Dr. Holly Galusha, DVM, hosted by Clorofil on August 13, 2026.In this two-hour class, avian veterinarian Dr. Holly Galusha...
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Summer BBQ Cooking Class 2026
In this summer BBQ cooking class, I show how to make a fresh, colorful plant-based spread perfect for warm evenings: a chilled cucumber soup, a hearty bean salad, and tofu skewers...
Tzatziki
We made this tzatziki during our Summer BBQ Cooking Class using our own homemade dairy-free yogurt. You can watch the recording here. Fresh, tangy, and ready in minutes, this tzatz...
Black Eyed Pea and Carrot Salad with Spring Mint
This recipe is from Rancho Gordo, a wonderful heirloom bean grower in Napa Valley. We made it during our Summer BBQ Cooking Class. You can watch the recording here. If you think be...
Tofu and Veggie Skewers
We made these veggie skewers during our Summer BBQ Cooking Class. You can watch the recording here. With a tangy mustard and lemon marinade, tender tofu, and charred summer vegetab...
Grilled Tofu with Peanut Sauce
This recipe is from The Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook: Entertaining for Absolutely Every Occasion by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. We made it during our Summer BBQ Cooking Class....
Chicken Family Planning 101
It's a story we hear more often than you'd think. Someone picks up a few chicks at the feed store or takes in a small flock, and a year or two later they're overwhelmed. What start...
Green Waffles
A savory twist on our classic Belgian waffles, green on the inside and crispy on the outside.Ingredients for 3-4 waffles: • 1½ cup flour • 1 Tbsp baking powder • 1½ cup soy milk •...
The Dark Side of Feedstore Chicks
By Sherstin Rosenberg, DVM.Sherstin is the executive director at Happy Hen Animal Sanctuary, a non-profit 501(c)(3) animal sanctuary located in San Luis Obispo, CA.THE PROBLEMEvery...
Coccidia
If you've done a fecal test on your chickens (and if you haven't, you should!), you may have seen the word "coccidia" on your results. It's one of the most common findings in backy...
Thinking about going vegan?
January is when a lot of people give it a try, and also when a lot of people give up. Not because being vegan is hard, but because changing is hard. There's so much to figure out a...
Tapenade
This quick and flavorful French tapenade comes together in minutes and makes a perfect spread for toasts, crackers, or salads.Ingredients: • 1½ cups olives, pitted (black or green)...
Holiday Cooking Class 2025
In this holiday cooking class, I show how to make two cozy and elegant plant-based dishes: classic French onion soup with deeply caramelized onions, and a golden winter vegetable t...
Why Fecal Tests Should Be Part of Every Chicken Keeper's Toolkit
When it comes to keeping our feathered friends healthy, one of the most valuable diagnostic tools is often overlooked: the simple fecal test. This summer's rescue and fostering exp...
Four Lives, Three Stories: Our Summer of Rescues
This summer has been a season of incredible rescues here at Clorofil. We've been welcoming four very special birds who needed second chances: three who are staying with us permanen...
Merida's rescue
We shared a wild turkey’s miraculous survival story day by day on our fundraiser while raising support for her medical care. I’m saving it here on the blog so her journey and every...
Date balls
These energy-packed date balls are endlessly adaptable and perfect for hiking, snacking, or sharing with friends. The flexible approach comes from my friend Kimmy, who's been makin...
French Omelette
A creamy, fluffy vegan take on the classic French omelette, perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.French OmeletteIngredients (serves 1): • 1/2 cup Just Egg • 1/2 Tbsp vegan milk...
Quarantine
Updated on January 19, 2026.We’ve been talking a lot about quarantine lately due the covid-19 pandemic. The word originates from the Venetian “quarantena” meaning "forty days". It...
Predator proofing
Updated on April 17, 2025.I often hear horror stories involving a raccoon or a dog entering a chicken coop and massacring all the birds. Too many well-meaning chicken keepers set u...
Vegan Hard-Boiled Eggs
Let's tackle one of the trickiest textures to replicate: hard-boiled eggs. Whether you’re craving a nostalgic deviled egg or a comforting scoop of egg salad, there are delicious, p...
Coop upkeep
Updated on April 7, 2025.It’s spring cleaning time! Pick a nice sunny day and thoroughly clean your coop. Scrub the roosts, remove all bedding, sweep the floor, and disinfect the h...
Quiche
Quiches are savory French tarts traditionally made with lots of eggs, cream, and cheese. Here are two ways to bake them without eggs and dairy.Quiches without eggsIngredients: • 1...
Happy chickens
Updated on March 29, 2025.A chicken who doesn’t get adequate enrichment and mental stimulation will be more inclined towards problem behaviors. Feather pecking, being noisy, bully...
Vegan Egg White Replacements
Looking for effective egg white replacements in your cooking and baking? Here are plant-based solutions for three common egg white functions: whipping, binding ingredients, and cre...
dust-bathing
Updated on March 16, 2025.If you've ever watched chickens joyfully rolling in the dirt, wings flapping and legs kicking up dust, you’ve witnessed one of their most essential natura...
Quick Reference: Vegan Egg Substitutes
Eggs serve different roles in recipes—binding, leavening, and adding moisture. Whether you're vegan, allergic to eggs, or just ran out, these substitutes can help you achieve great...
new friend
Skye has a new human friend!Last weekend, my friend Corinne came to spend the day with me. As usual, I set up a fence in the house to keep Skye and guests separated. But since Cori...
safe place
It’s raining a lot. The cleaning ladies are here. And here is where Skye decides to hang out…Her spay cage is now her safe place!! (See the pyometra emergency of last July.)Crazy,...
French Flavors for the Holidays 2024
In partnership with the Plant-Based Advocates, we crafted elegant holiday desserts with French flavors in an online cooking class. Treat your friends and family to festive, elegant...
ping-pong with Tanya
Skye has been making tremendous progress with our pet sitter Tanya. Yesterday, we played the ping-pong game. Look how much fun she is having!(The video has been accelerated to fit...
touch with Tanya
Look at Skye playing 'touch' with Tanya!A month ago, we removed the gate between her and our pet sitter. And today, I stepped away from Tanya's side. Skye stayed relaxed and I thin...
Madeleines
A madeleine is a small French sponge cake with a distinctive shell-like shape, traditionally flavored with orange blossom or lemon zest.MadeleinesIngredients (makes 16 madeleines):...
Crème Brûlée
Crème Brûlée is a classic French dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a contrasting layer of hard caramelized sugar. Here's an easy plant-based version of this fan...
Welcoming New Chickens to the Flock
Last month, we welcomed two new hens: Rose and Blanche, 12-year-old Ameraucanas from a sister sanctuary. Integrating new chickens into an established flock can be stressful for all...
diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a naturally occurring, fine powder made from the fossilized remains of tiny aquatic organisms called diatoms. It's commonly used as a non-toxic method to...
back in the crate
After Skye's emergency in July (due to pyometra), she became reluctant to enter her wire crate. However, she remained excited about the daily egg treat she received when we put the...
window cleaning
Skye is amazing!Look at her watching calmly the window cleaner working on the back of the house:It's been more than 5 years that we hadn't have our windows professionally cleaned!...
clear of cancer
The pathology report for the huge cyst on her ovary came back clear of cancer. Woo hoo!This great news came as Skye is official recovered from the scary pyometra. Today was her fir...
teefies
After her surgery and while she was still under anesthesia, Skye got her teeth cleaned. Something we of course had never done! The vet didn't do an x-ray but they saw that one was...
recovery day 7
Skye has been doing a great job at not touching her scar and is healing really well. She is in fact feeling so much better that she is ready for zoomies! We are still limiting her...
recovery day 4
Skye is healing well and is doing a great job at not touching her scar. She is actually feeling so much better that she is starting to do zoomies and wants to play! We've shrunk he...
recovery day 2
It's been 2 days since the surgery and Skye is doing much better than we expected. She eats and drinks well. Actually she has a big appetite which is most probably caused in part b...
pyometra
What a day! We spent it at a veterinarian hospital for an emergency surgery on Skye. Any life threatening operation is stressful enough, but add to it a fearful dog who is under so...
raccoon attack
A big kerfuffle in the yard woke us up at 5am. I jumped out of bed and ran to the barn. Peter followed with a flashlight. The top half of the door was opened (we had opened it in t...
wire crate closing
We've been working on desensitizing Skye to closing the door of the wire crate. Look how far we are!Every evening when we put the chickens to bed, she gets a piece of their eggs wh...
cannelloni
Thanks to DOGLi, we have been trying different enrichment games with Skye. One of her favorites is the cannelloni! A TP tube stuffed with treats wrapped in a small towel. To make i...
Profiteroles
After mastering the choux pastry with the gougères, I experimented with a sweet version of these decadent puffs and I am happy to present you the profiteroles! Profiteroles is a Fr...
story & portrait
This week, I had the opportunity of reading Skye's story at a local library. Afterwards the kids got to draw her portrait.
Do chickens like attention?
Do chickens like attention or would they rather be left alone?This is an interesting question I was asked during one of my recent chicken care classes. The short answer is “It depe...
DOGLi socks
My friends are about to launch a new app with dog games, activities, and enrichment. It's called DOGLi ; check it out!They gave us a pair of socks and an empty plastic bottle to tr...
preening
Preening is the grooming behavior in chickens. Chickens smooth their feathers by running them through their beaks so they perform better at insulating and waterproofing. Chickens...
relaxing in wire crate
Skye has made tremendous progress with the wire crate. Look at her relaxing and staying in it after Peter asked her to go in!The fact that there isn't any pressure to get her in th...
team Skye
Lidia and Rina have become Skye's good friends. They have been part of Skye's life since day one.And they are now officially part of Team Skye. See their t-shirts... :)
assistant
My loyal and hard working assistant :)
Easter Cooking Class 2024
We had a cooking class where we made enticing plant-based hors d'oeuvres to impress your friends and family this Easter (and any other occasion!).We prepared pigs in a blanket, dev...
dog sitting milestone
Yesterday was a great day! Not only did we had an amazing time eating and playing with wonderful friends, but we got to do it for the whole day! We were gone from home for almost 1...
play time
Sometimes Skye is very eager to play. She would come inside, interrupt whatever we are doing by offering lots of play bows, nosing our arms/hands if we ignore her, and softly barki...
encapsulating pills
Chickens don't really like to be pilled, but they dislike it even more when the pill leaves a bad taste. Unfortunately many medicines taste bitter, and if you need to pill a chicke...
chicken bed time routine
Skye loves the chicken bed time routine!You can see how eager she is to go in her crate and touch my hand when asked. All that to get a little piece of their eggs. :)
Sweetie and frostbite
Chickens Just Want to Be WarmBy Melanie Moonstone.Melanie is the founder of Rooster Redemption, a non-profit 501(c)(3) animal sanctuary located in Skagit County, WA. You can follow...
Not a Nugget
We are honored to be featured in Not a Nugget, a short film made in summer 2022 by our friend Mark Middleton. It is about a chicken named Iann who he took care of for a while in 20...
Avian Influenza
Updated on April 1, 2025.Since last fall, HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza, aka H5N1) has continued to affect northern California, with confirmed cases in Riverside, Merced,...
dinner sitting
Skye let Tanya, our pet sitter, prepare her dinner and put Sophie the turkey to bed tonight while we were away!!! It's the biggest gift she could give us on this first day of the N...
Lasagna Bolognese
This vegan take on the traditional Italian dish tastes as though it's been perfected over generations.Ingredients (serve 8):* 1 lb no-boil (aka oven-ready) lasagna noodles (gluten-...
hawk attack
3pm. We are on a zoom call with Abbie. I hear Sophie the turkey barking. I glance outside and see her all puffed up. Peter goes in the yard with Skye to see what's going on. Sophie...
invisible cage
I took this picture of Skye without noticing the shadow of the chickens' fence on her face. I was going to delete it but the composition on the photo struck me.You see a physically...
tree work
Yesterday, we had a crew of arborists working in our backyard. We've been postponing this tree work for a few years as we didn't know how to handle Skye during their visit. We can'...
Holiday Cooking Class 2023
We gave a cooking class hosted by Los Gatos library in collaboration with the Plant-Based Advocates. We created a savory plant-based holiday feast with a mouthwatering mushroom Wel...
Vegan roasts
Don't feel like cooking? A bit overwhelmed by your first plant-based holiday feast?No worries! Here are a few of the many plant-based centerpieces for a savory holiday feast. • Fie...
Mushroom Wellington
Let this mouthwatering mushroom Wellington be the star attraction on our holiday table. A celebration of earth's wonders without harm.This centerpiece is inspired by our friend Deb...
Green bean casserole
This plant-based version of classic green bean casserole is the perfect holiday side dish.Ingredients (serves 6-8):* 2 lb green beans (fresh or frozen)* 2 yellow onions, thinly sli...
Cauliflower & wild rice stuffing
This is an excellent recipe by Brian Patton published in a VegNews Thanksgiving Cookbook. I added a few notes in italic.Ingredients (serves 8):* 1 tablespoon vegan butter, plus mor...
parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction where an egg develops into an individual without being fertilized by a sperm. This means that the offspring is genetically identic...
The birds and the bees
Let’s talk about how baby chicks are made. Chickens reproduce sexually, meaning that they need a male and a female who combine their genetic material to create a genetically unique...
Roasted artichokes
I always steamed artichokes until I had a roasted one. It's so much tastier and so simple to make that I never looked back.Ingredients (serve 2):* 2 large artichokes, rinsed and tr...
forgotten friends
OMG! This happened today!Skye is taking treats from Lidia! Two years after after the scary beep incident.
4 years
Four year ago, Skye was rescued from a dog meat farm and arrived to our home after a long journey.Today, we made pupcakes and celebrated with the chickens and turkeys!PS: You can f...
strangers
In the last few days, we had to have two visits of strangers in our backyard. It's always a bit stressful as it's one of Skye's safe zone, but she handled it really well. She follo...
both asleep and awake
Chickens possess an intriguing ability that we humans don’t (one more!). They have a sleep phase called unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, during which one side of the brain is asleep...
The fabulous vision of chickens
We’ve recently welcomed 3 hens who each have an eye injury. Athos’ right eye was cloudy, Porthos’ left cornea and eyelid were damaged, and Aramis’ left eye was bulging out. Our avi...
Dairy & Egg-Free Workshop 2023
We had an online cooking demo where we showed how to veganize many recipes, and demonstrated how to make some of your own staples.Here are the recording, the recipes, and more.Repl...
coop renovated!
Et voilà! The chickens have a new home.The whole project ended up much bigger than anticipated. It started by "let's replace the damaged pieces of wood by new ones" but we quickly...
ridge cap (coop renovation #11)
Installing a ridge cap on the run.This was the final big piece of our coop renovation project. Next will be the winterization of the run which consists of adding plexiglass sheets...
interior (coop renovation #10)
Building the nest box and installing the roosts.We decided to try a communal nest box as they always ended up piling up in one nest box to lay their egg. If they don't like it, we...
porch (coop renovation #9)
Connecting the barn and the run.The connection ended up looking like a nice little chicken-size front porch :)
new run is up (coop renovation #8)
Removing some extra soil in order to gain a few inches in height inside the run. It will make it easier for people to move around in it :)Installing the new run on top of the new f...
chicken door (coop renovation #7)
Installing an automatic chicken door.And testing it :)
foundation (coop renovation #6)
Leveling the area with a rotary laser level using batter boards and mason string line (thanks YouTube!).Digging.Filling the trench with sand to stabilize.Placing the beams.Et voilà...
bye bye old hen house (coop renovation #5)
Dismantling the run and removing the hen house.
splitting the barn (coop renovation #4)
Finishing the new end of the run:And splitting the barn in two so turkeys and chickens can be under the same roof at night:Pretty proud of our handy work :)
babies are out!
Skye brought all her babies outside so I guess we are done with her false pregnancy…
12 babies
Skye's litter is still growing!Meet her 12 babies...
Prolapse
Earlier this month, I happened to be at Rancho Compasión & Blackberry Creek sanctuary when Opal had great difficulty laying an egg. Her egg was positioned askew and while straining...
hormone implant
There exist hormone implants that pause the egg laying in birds. The drug is called Deslorelin (brand name Suprelorin) and is implanted subcutaneously similar to a dog’s microchip....
new run complete (coop renovation #3)
We completed phase 1 of our coop project by replacing the last two panels of the run!The wood of the whole run was so rotten that we couldn't reuse any piece, but we did reuse the...
7 babies
Seven babies is a record!Skye gathered 7 toys in her nook to dote upon during her false pregnancy.You can see Emu, Roxy, Squirrel, Mousy, Carrot, Wumba, and Tuggy. Roxy, Squirrel,...
happy digging
Digging in the soil is well known to make people happier and it works for dogs too! Ask Skye.
replacing the old run (coop renovation #2)
The coop renovation continues... We replaced two more panels. 🛠🪚Which left Sugar confused for a moment...
flying bowl
Remember how proud I was about the progress Skye was making with our pet sitter? See last update.Well... this happened since...This unfortunate incident is causing a big setback. S...
coop renovation
Chai alerting us that her home is falling apart...The base is indeed quite rotten. The coop is made of fir wood and has been sitting on the soil for 13 years!Since the run is made...
vegetable garden
Growing vegetables in our urban backyard is not as easy as one may think.History of our gardening challengesWe started growing vegetables in 2009 when we moved into a house with a...
Mayonnaise
Egg-less version of the classic mayo, with aioli and tartare sauce variations.Based on Miyoko's recipe from her "The Homemade Vegan Pantry" cookbook.Ingredients (yields 12 oz mayo)...
spaghetti monster
Skye comes begging at the table when spaghetti are on the menu... and dad can't resist ;)
pet sitter update
We've been making quite some progress with Skye's acceptance of Tanya (see previous update from last summer). Watch this:Skye is not only happy to see Tanya coming in, but she is r...
treat tasting
We did a bunch of tasting tests and Skye loved the game :)Here are the results: • Best of all: • Tuna and Salmon flaked, wet cat food (Wellness CORE) • Egg white (from our c...
vegan salmon
Skye has been eating vegan food for a while now (see post), but her training treats are mostly not. We tried many plant-based treats with peanut butter, sweet potato, etc, but the...
GHG burger props
A few years ago, I saw these weighted hamburger props at an Earth Day event and was totally impressed with them. People pick them up and are surprised how heavy the beef burger is....
The Cruelty Footprint of Food
I spent Earth Week talking to people about the impact of animal agriculture on our planet. I use a game to engage the public and start conversations. Its goal is to sort different...
happiness
Skye is thoroughly enjoying the return of the warm days ☀️
treats
Skye hasn't been very interested in training (see previous post) till a week ago when Abbie, our awesome dog trainer, suggested we just upped the value of the treats we were using....
welcome home
I came back home after a 10 day trip, and Skye was really happy. She gave me a warm welcome, full of cuddles and zoomies!She's been my shadow since. She doesn't want her mama to le...
frisbee
Skye, the frisbee queen or the frisbee monster? LOL
Tarte aux pommes
Tuesday was Pi Day (3/14!) and I baked my favorite go-to apple pie! Well, almost, as the power went out in the process due to an heavy storm...It has very few ingredients, super ea...
Mushroom Stroganoff
Delicious garlicky creamy plant-based version of the popular Russian dish.Ingredients (serve 4-6):* olive oil* 1 onion, diced* 1 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced* 1 Tbsp soy sauce (or...
The Coop Life: A Chicken Keeping Story
By Carina DeVeraCarina DeVera (she/her) is an animal advocate, outdoor enthusiast, and writer. She has been a dedicated champion for animals since she was a child, when — to the ch...
training break
For some reason, Skye decided that she wasn't interested in training anymore. She just walked away from our last two sessions...Why? We don't know but here are several hypotheses:1...
wind and cuddles
Skye is quite scared of the wind and yesterday she had a hard time with the 25mph gusts. We gave her gabapentin to lower some of her anxiety, but she really wanted to be near us.S...
another night out
While Peter and I celebrated Valentine's Day with baby goats, Skye did amazingly well home alone for more than 7 hours!
40 second collar
40 seconds, our new record!:)
hunting team
A few weeks ago, Skye came into the house very excited. She clearly wanted us to follow her outside. She brought us to the garden hose holder and sniffed eagerly at it. We looked b...
leave it #3
Skye is crushing it!If I ask her to "leave it", she will ignore all the treats I place on the ground in front of her.Same if I drop treats on the ground.And she totally knows the d...
wire crate
Skye's rabies vaccination is due this summer and we can't keep ignoring it. (At some point, we thought of doing that while spaying her but we gave up on that project.) So we discus...
bad dream?
In the morning, Skye usually sleeps in until after we ate our breakfast and are ready to start the day. But once in a while, she quietly goes outside as soon as we wake up. She wal...
New Year Cooking Class 2023
We gave a cooking class hosted by Los Gatos library in collaboration with the Plant-Based Advocates. We baked gougères and made a lemon parfait.Here is the recording:And here are t...
Gougères
Gougères are little French cheese puffs made with choux pastry. They come from Burgundy where I grew up and were served when tasting wine in cellars. They are also served as an app...
Palmiers
Palmiers are classic French cookies in a palm leaf shape. Sweet, light and crispy, they are also called French hearts or elephants ears.They are incredibly easy to make and quite a...
Vegan in the New Year?
At Clorofil, we’ve been vegan for almost a decade. I grew up in France where eating meat, dairy, and eggs was the norm. And although I made at a young age the connection between th...
2022
2022 may not have been the year of the collar for Skye, but she made tremendous progress in many other areas.She is much more at ease, engaged (loves her training), curious (especi...
leave it #2
We are moving to the next level of the "leave it": leaving the treat in the open hand. It's hard but she is doing really good!
snuffle mat
Skye got a fancy snuffle mat for Christmas and she took to it immediately!She had a simpler one and knew right away what to do with it. With no hesitation, she put her paws on the...
first night out!
It was a success! We had our first night out Saturday with Skye locked inside the house (*). We were away for 5 hours and a half, and there was not one barking. She slept through i...
leave it
Skye is learning a new skill.Step One.Hold a food treat in your closed fist so the dog can smell but not get it. Let him nuzzle, lick, paw at, or otherwise bother your closed fist....
fries
Skye continues to expand her culinary repertoire!Peter is really proud of her as fries are the Belgian national food (yeah, French fries do not come from France ;).
home alone #2
Skye has been really doing well by staying home alone in the evenings with the door to the backyard closed. So well, that yesterday we added some difficulty to see how she would re...
cookie taster
She has recently discovered that human food is tasty and is now joining us in the kitchen every time we are cooking. Yesterday, she "helped" me baking cookies...(From La Cuisine de...
Pecan sablés
A vegan version of the French butter cookies with pecans and maple syrup. They are soft, crumbly, and simply delicious.Our dog Skye was eager to help :) She has been rescued a few...
collar update
Skye continues to make amazing progress with her collar. I am now able to put it completely around her neck without any lure, and keep it there for 15+ seconds! I was also able to...
Lessons from the lockdown
The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been decimating birds across the whole country since the beginning of the year. It hit California in mid-July and is still active i...
spaghetti
Skye has been more curious about our food lately, and spaghetti is becoming one of her favorites (she is a 100% carb girl! LOL).Here is our version of Lady and the Tramp :)
Golden tian
This fall and winter baked vegetables dish is not only very tasty, but it's so pretty that it steals the limelight on any table, including the holiday table!Ingredients:(Serves 3 a...
home alone
Skye is really good at staying home alone during the day, she has no separation anxiety whatsoever. She has full access to the house and the backyard, and usually settles in a sunn...
Cranberry tart
It's cranberry season!I discovered cranberries when I came to the US and I immediately fell in love with them. I like to add them to apple or pear crumbles, but here is a tart wher...
Gratin de crêpes with butternut and sage
We did a holiday cooking class and made a delicious gratin of crêpes with roasted butternut and sage. Perfect to impress your friends and family during the holiday.Unfortunately we...
hide and seek
Here is another indoor game we love to play when it's raining outside.
collar update
Skye has been making quite some progress with her collar training lately.In this first video, she puts her head through the closed collar and she is able to keep it for a few secon...
Gâteau de crêpes
I had a hard time transitioning to veganism because of the dairy and I was looking for ways to make the creamy French dishes I was used to with plants. That's when I stumbled on th...
Bursting lockdown boredom
By Jenni MorrisJenni Morris is the Social Media Manager and Adoptions Coordinator at Goatlandia Farm Animal Sanctuary, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping animals, people, and the planet...
muffin pan #2
We are adding variety to the muffin game. In addition to paper balls, we have fabric squares, toys, and tennis balls (which were the hardest)!As you can see, she couldn’t contain h...
trusting dad
Skye has been requesting (and receiving!) lots of butt scratches from her dad, but this is the first time she is letting him pet her like that.This makes my heart sing <3
new collar exercise
We have a new training exercise and she is doing fantastic!Skye places her chin on the collar, and I move the collar around her neck as if I was putting it on.This is only the seco...
off gabapentin
This is now two weeks that Skye is off gabapentin, and it shows! She has much more energy, she is more interested in training, she engages more with us, and above all, her zoomies...
sneaky kiss
Skye creeping up on me to kiss me...I love her so much!
training session
Here is how our training sessions currently look like (it has been accelerated to fit in a minute):As you see, we work on 3 different aspects of the collar: 1) desensitization of t...
muffin pan
We have a new game with Skye: the muffin pan!I put treats in the holes and hide them with a ball of paper. She is getting really good at it :)As usual, it's taking some time for Sk...
3 years
Celebrating Skye's 3 years of freedom! 3 years ago, I fell in love with this mama dog used for breeding on a dog meat farm.
false pregnancy #5 ?
I think Skye is starting another false pregnancy...She brought babies squirrel, monkey, and mousy to her bedroom nook.Or maybe it's a side effect of having just weaned her off gaba...
fun in the house
Playing a mix of our ping-pong game and hide & seek in the house while we are getting the first rain of the season (yay!).As you can see, Skye is loving it! :)
meeting the muzzle
Here is Skye interacting with the muzzle for the first time:Pretty impressive! isn't it?The muzzle has been laying with her toys for the last couple of months as we are slowly plan...
The faces of the egg industry
Meet Fennel, Sweetie, and Curry, three of our hens who have been rescued respectively from a caged, cage-free, and a pasture egg farm.Fennel was a very loving hen. She adored being...
10 second collar
OMG! Look what just happened!Skye had her head in the collar for 15 seconds!!And it was on her without me holding it for 10 seconds!!!
crate training
Skye is now very comfortable with her soft crate. She hangs out in it whenever she wants. Recently, we've started training her to go in the crate on demand. At the end of every col...
spay planning
We've been thinking about spaying Skye (see earlier post) and starting talking to our dog trainer, vet, and vet behaviorist about it. The two main challenges are bringing her to th...
over licking
This is now several days that Skye has been licking a spot on her leg. And since she doesn't do things by halves, the small itchy spot (probably an insect bite) is now a big red, s...
collar update
The collar training has been slow, but little breakthroughs like this one are very rewarding. It gives me hope that someday she will wear a collar.In addition to desensitizing Skye...
pet sitter update
After lots of desensitization and counter-conditioning to our pet sitter, Skye is now looking forward Tanya's visits. This week, we reached the milestone where Tanya can drop treat...
estrus
Skye is not yet spayed. We planned to do it with the surgery on her leg at the very beginning, but since that ended up being unnecessary, she never went on the operating table. And...
Lallie
We just came back from a hike at Sunol, our annual pilgrimage to the wilderness where we scattered Lallie's ashes 3 years ago. We hiked these trails so many times together, that ev...
Summer and scaly leg mites
Summer is our newest resident. She is a red hen who was found as a stray. She was in rough shape: missing lots of feathers, bright red spots on her skin, thick scabby and crusty fe...
summer and the washing machine
I went to do the laundry and found an egg in the washing machine!Oops! I must have left the door open and Summer, our new rescue, found that it made a wonderful nest box. You see,...
supermoon
Tonight is the largest supermoon of the year. A supermoon is a full moon that coincides with the closest that the Moon comes to the Earth in its elliptic orbit. It results in a moo...
collar restart
After the failed attempt to put a collar on Skye, we have been having difficulties making any progress with the collar training. Skye was eager to train and interact with us, but n...
july fourth
Happy to report that we survived the holiday weekend without any trauma!New Year and Independence Day's fireworks are very scary for a lot of animals (humans included). Last year,...
100%
Yay! Skye is now eating 100% vegan kibbles :)It took a while, a bit more than 2 years, but we successfully replaced the beef kibbles by vegan ones.
Apricot jam
Apricot jams have always marked the beginning of the summer for me. Since childhood, my siblings and I have helped mom make it - cleaning fruit (tedious), stirring the huge pot (im...
shedding
Skye doesn't shed all year round like Lallie, but when she does, it's massive!Here she is shedding her winter coat:As she doesn't trust a brush yet, I am using my hands and she see...
at the farm
I just received a few pictures from Skye and her pups at the farm. They were taken by Sophie Gamand on August 9th 2019, a bit more than a month before HSI got all the dogs out and...
Soju
This is Soju, one of Skye's pups. He is being featured in an amazing series of portraits of survivors of the dog meat trade. Sophie Gamand is the photographer, artist, and dog advo...
nose back in!
Skye has a be a bit hesitant taking treats from the collar on the ground. I think she was especially wary of us being around, like if it was a trap. So we moved on to the next step...
martingale with buckle
Skye is wearing out her collars so fast that we had to buy her fourth one already! LOLNo seriously, we are trying to find the best type of collar that works for her. We started wit...
square one
After a week break, we are restarting the collar training and going back to basic desensitization.1. Put collar on the ground with high value treats in the middle.2. Get Skye to pu...
false pregnancy #4
Yesterday, Skye took her last "baby" out of the nest and put it outside on the grass with the 3 others. This officially marks the end of her fourth false pregnancy. Her babies this...
back to square one
So after what happened yesterday (see previous post), Skye doesn't want to have anything to do with the collar, any of the collars!Yesterday, Peter did a training session where he...
collar - try #1
So today was the day I put a collar on Skye. I did that during our regular training session. Watch...As you can see, Skye tried to back off it but continued to be engaged with the...
so close!
Skye is getting very close to wearing a collar!Look how nonplussed she is at keeping her head in the collar. She is taking all her time to chew the treats.Anyone willing to bet the...
mother's day
To celebrate Mother's Day, I was able to gather pictures of Skye's babies (*) and got their human parents to describe them with 2-3 adjectives.Aren't they the cutest?Can you believ...
overnight guest
My sister came to visit us. It was both wonderful (we hadn't seen each other for 5 years!) and stressful because of Skye. She doesn't really like strangers in her house, and we nev...
DSCC 2
Continuing the desensitization and counter-conditioning (DSCC) to our pet sitter. Tanya is now coming alone in the house and is able to move around in the kitchen without Skye over...
happy & silly
Skye being silly in the grass :)
collar with dad
We are getting really close to get Skye wearing a collar!Look at her doing some training with her dad:Yay!
relaxed stay
We started working on getting Skye to relax on her mat. Our training is inspired by the Dr. Karen Overall's protocol for relaxation. It's a great tool that can be used in a variety...
secret santa #8
Skye did amazingly well today with the visit of her future pet sitter, so she got to get one of the last toys from her endless secret santa box. It's a big plush owl and she loved...
DSCC
After Skye nipped Tanya, we took a step back in our pet sitter's introduction. Back to basic desensitization and counter-conditioning (DSCC) which means giving Skye tons of treats...
no training thanks
We always start our training session by a hand targeting, but Skye wasn't into it this morning...I have got to say that she is really good at is communicating when she doesn't want...
safe with mom
A couple of painters came to do some work on the house. Skye wasn't very happy about it but instead of going outside in the yard, she decided to stay with me in the office. At firs...
Einkorn pizza dough
Einkorn (Triticum monococcum) is a very ancient grain and the primitive ancestor to the commonly used modern dwarf wheat. Like modern wheat, it contains gluten and should be avoide...
Where does the chicken come from?
Yes, chickens descend from the jungle fowl who themselves descend from the Tyrannosaurus rex (see "Her great-great-...-great-grandma was a T-rex"). But closer in their family tree,...
training hiatus
Training with Skye is a bit discouraging at time. Everything has to be decomposed in tiny little steps, and then we go very slowly through each of these steps. We need to push her...
backdoor threshold
We've been playing the ping-pong game with Skye for a few months and are now doing it through the backdoor. Look at her confidence with it! :)
Einkorn bread
Einkorn (Triticum monococcum) is a very ancient grain and the primitive ancestor to the commonly used modern dwarf wheat. Like modern wheat, it contains gluten and should be avoide...
in the rain
Look at this poor little doggie. All alone, outside in the rain...How can her humans not be moved by her puppy eyes and let her in?That's because the backdoor is open and she chose...
sleepful nights
After experimenting with several meds to help Skye sleep at night without totally sedating her during the day after (see previous post on the topic), we finally found that a combo...
new bed 4
Tada! Look who is sleeping on her new bed without any piece of the old one!
82%
Yeah! Skye is now 82% vegetarian :)Over the last 2 years, we have been slowly been replacing her beef kibbles by vegan ones.In addition to her kibbles, she gets a dinner of a homem...
presentation
Skye hanging out with me during an evening presentation :)Sometimes she would go to the door and put her head out to check what was going on in the yard.
new bed 3
Now that Skye accepted the new bed, we are trying to slowly remove the old cover. We folded it in two so it covered less of the bed. At first, she curled herself in a little ball t...
leash training 4
We are continuing to make progress with the collar!Here we are getting used to the collar touching all the sides of her neck:Here we are working with the final collar which is way...
to train, or to sleep?
To train, or to sleep? That is the question we are having every day for the last two weeks.Skye has been doing fantastically with her training since December, and we made quite som...
martingale
Following the advice of our VB and dog trainer, we bought Skye a martingale collar. Martingale collars (aka no-slip, limited-slip, or Greyhound collars) fit comfortably on a dog's...
nip
We've been working on introducing Tanya, our pet sitter, to Skye. I should actually say re-introducing as we already tried last summer (see pet sitter introduction). This time arou...
tree squirrels
Every morning, Skye sits under the big oak tree and watches the squirrels having their breakfast. Or maybe just waiting for them to fall down...
one second collar
OMG! Look what happened this morning!Skye wore a collar for one second!!! :D
chin touch
As part of the collar training, we are doing this new game to desensitize the touch of her chin and neck area. We started with our bare hands. Skye has simply to put her chin on ou...
new bed cont'd
After Skye slept on the new bed through the old bed for about a week (picture #1), we decided to go one step further: remove the foam of the old bed but leave its cover on the new...
Spaghetti carbonara
A plant-based version of this rich Italian pasta dish that usually uses cream, cheese, eggs and bacon.Ingredients (serves 3):* 9 oz spaghetti* 1/4 cup raw cashews* 1/2 cup water* 1...
the princess and the pea
After 2 years, we finally got Skye to lay on her new bed! Well kinda... It's more like the princess and the pea style, but that's hopefully to one step closer to using the new bed....
ping-pong
We've been playing this new game with Skye where she has to alternate between touching both our hands. The plan is to use this later to help her cross the house threshold on demand...
bouncing back
One major progress that Skye has made is on the time it takes her to bounce back from a stressful event.Here you can see her flinching from the touch of the leash (it was my first...
wolf moon
After not sleeping for a night because of Skye and the full moon, we added extra sheets of paper and turned on the new white noise machine we just bought.This unfortunately didn't...
full moon
I think that Skye is part wolf. Every time around the full moon, she is up at night and barks.The problem is that she sleeps in the living room where the external wall is a huge wi...
crate training
Skye's crate training has been a passive training. We put the crate outside in our covered patio and just waited. Professor rat helped her to go in it at the beginning, and it slow...
fun training again
We had our first session with our friend dog behaviorist/trainer and it was fantastic. Everything feels possible again and I am energized!She first got us to move forward with the...
refillable treat pouch
I have a new tool to my training box: a refillable baby food pouch!It allows me to use messy treats like peanut butter and wet cat food (Skye's highest value reward!) during traini...
dog training
When we started working with our new VB, we had to change our trainer. So we scheduled an appointment with a new trainer who was both local and recommended by the VB. Their earlies...
secret santa #6
After the fiasco of yesterday gift, Skye received another toy from her secret santa box. A little fox with a big rope as skeleton and a squeaky as a brain. She absolutely loves it!...
secret santa #5
To add a little more fun to the gift of Skye's fifth toy from her endless secret santa box, I put it in a smaller box for her to open. Should be fun, right?Well, it wasn't such a g...
Egg replacements
There are many ways to replace eggs when baking and cooking. Here are our favorite ways to substitute 1 egg in a recipe: • 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds + 3 tablespoons water It...
Queen of Diamonds
Chickens are smarter than we think! If you’ve been following our social media, you’ve seen Sweetie taking on the Queen of Diamonds' challenge at the beginning of the holiday and th...
secret santa #3-4
Skye received her third toy from the endless secret santa box on Christmas day. It was a flat cow with 8 squeakies in it! She immediately ran outside with it and started killing th...
wrapping paper
During these holidays, Skye learned to master the essential skill of shredding wrapping paper.One step closer to becoming a "regular" dog. LOL
a social Christmas
Skye is becoming a social butterfly!Well not quite... but she met people 3 days in a row and did amazingly well. With covid and this summer's setback, we had put on hold people soc...
friends again!
Yeah! Look at Skye greeting our visitors :)She had not been greeting them since the beep incident 6 weeks ago!This is the best Christmas present!
shell game
Skye is getting more confident and is interacting more with her environment. Here she is learning the shell game (find the shell hiding the treat - we are starting with one shell/c...
off sertraline
A month ago, we met with our new vet behaviorist (VB) and we talked about the different medications Skye was on. We decided to wean her off sertraline since we weren't sure about t...
secret santa #2
Skye got to pick her second gift today! She got quite a few from her HSI secret santa, but we waited until her false pregnancy was over to not add to her "babies"...She seems to en...
master digger
The last exploit of our master digger...I hope this poor callistemon will survive! Its root ball got quite a shave!
Holiday Cooking Class 2021
We gave a cooking class hosted by Los Gatos library in collaboration with the Plant-Based Advocates of Los Gatos. We made a cashew cheese log and chocolate mousse, and even got tim...
false pregnancy #3
Skye is going through another false pregnancy...Her babies this time are Ducky, Squirrel, and Monkey. It is quite cute to see her carrying them around and showering them with love,...
secret santa
We are doing a gift exchange with the HSI dog ambassadors this holiday, and we just received ours!She totally got spoiled with toys of all sorts (squeaky, plush, ropes...) and she...
scary beep
Skye hates all the beeps coming from our phones, computers... As soon as she hears one, she stands up and goes outside. That's her way to cope with scary stressful things.We are tr...
always watching
A couple of cute pictures from Skye.
leash training 3
Still making progress with the leash... It's slow but she is now putting her head quite far into the loop, and we've added movement to this exercise.In the second video, I use 2 co...
watch me
Skye trying to figure out what the "watch me" game is all about without looking directly in my eyes. LOLHer head flip is too adorable, isn't it?
blackhead disease
Blackhead disease (histomoniasis) is a disease that affects turkeys, chickens, pheasants, quail, and some other birds. It is caused by the protozoa Histomonas meleagridis that are...
Personalized care
While it is convenient to treat all our chickens the same, sometimes their individual needs lead us to create specialized setups and personalized care. With our first 3 chickens, w...
halloween
Halloween is sure quieter since we have Skye...
belly rubs
Just a girl loving on her dog. This video reminded the time when only my shadow could touch her (see virtual belly rubs video).
dad
Since this summer, Skye's relationship with her dad has deepened.She now comes to him for love and butt scratches.This makes my heart smile.
sleeping with us
Skye has been joining us in our bedroom at night. It started with the last wind storm and I guess she found it cozy so she returned :)This makes my heart very happy.
new toy
Skye loves her new toy!It's soft and squeaky, and it has a tag! Tags are the first thing she chews away :)
professor rat
Skye got another crate training session with Professor Rat. She had her first one this summer.Although hard to see in this accelerated video, Professor Rat escapes unscathed after...
wind
In the middle of the night, Skye came to her little nook in our bedroom. The wind was blowing outside and this is her safe place. As the wind kept blowing all day, she stayed insid...
alprazolam
Alprazolam is the latest medicine we have been trying on Skye. It's an anti-anxiety drug that is supposed to lower her stress threshold and remove some of her inhibition. This is t...
bedtime routine
Bedtime has become a smooth and stress free routine. Yeah!When she is outside, she just comes in when we start preparing her lick mat. She sits patiently in the kitchen till we are...
lizard
Skye's cute hunting moves...
Flystrike
We’ve been talking about flystrike and the need to keep chickens’ butts clean in our chicken care classes but we didn’t expect to get a hands-on experience last month! Sweetie, our...
butt cleaning
Updated on June 1, 2022.Chickens are usually really good at preening themselves and don’t need our intervention to stay clean and fluffy. But sometimes some may need a little help,...
Wendy
This is beautiful Wendy, one of Skye's daughters...All Skye's pups are living on the East coast with wonderful families.
2 years
Celebrating Skye's 2 years of freedom! On September 28th 2019, Skye left the dog meat farm #15. She arrived at our home a day later after 2 long flights. We brought her immediately...
leash training 2
Continuing making progress with the leash...See training videos from 2 months ago to see the difference.
farm 15
Two years ago today, I set foot on a dog meat farm and fell in love with one of the breeding moms. Here are some pictures I took during the rescue. All the dogs have been rescued a...
in her crate
Look what happened this morning!!!It's the first time Skye lays in her crate!We got this soft crate in March and introduced it very slowly. She made a breakthrough during a night t...
bedtime cue
Here is Skye's new bedtime routine.Around 9pm, we put a lick mat in the living room while calling "Skye. Bedtime.", and close the door of the living room. It's her cue to come insi...
grassless spot
Guess why we have a brown spot in the middle grass?No, it's not because of the drought.Yep, it's Skye's favorite spot!She naps there, plays there, zooms there (well she zooms all o...
Fresh vegetable bouillon
This highly flavorful vegetable bouillon is super easy to prepare, requires no cooking, and is kept in the freezer.This recipe uses a lot of salt to preserve the vegetables. It als...
squirrel bite
Yesterday Skye caught a tree squirrel. It's not often that this happens despite the fact that we have a few families living in our big oak trees. The squirrel escaped from her mout...
Salpingitis and lash eggs
I remember the first time we found a weird little rubbery egg in the nestbox. It clearly wasn’t an egg, but it took us a while to identify it as a lash egg and learn what it was. W...
how many eggs does a hen lay?
A commercial layer hen lays about 300 eggs a year, and there is nothing natural in this. We have been breeding them for maximum egg production, and we still are. In the US, the pro...
setback over
It's been 12 nights that Skye is sleeping in the house with the door closed, and the bedtime is becoming a routine! Most of the time, Skye comes by herself in the house. She usuall...
annual vet checkup
Today was Skye's annual vet checkup and it went really well, nothing in comparison with last year visit! See rabies vaccination post to read how dreadful it was.How come? you asked...
Céleri rémoulade
The celery root remoulade is a classic French salad that can be found in everywhere in France from small restaurants to cafeterias to takeouts. It's simple to make and quite tasty!...
bedtime trigger
This is now 6 nights that Skye sleeps in the house with the door closed, and the last 3 nights we didn't need to herd her inside. As soon as we touched the temporary fencing we put...
cookie monster is back!
Our cookie monster is back!During the last month and a half, Skye didn't interact much with us as she spent her days recovering from her long exhausting nights "guarding" the yard....
no more night barking
This is now 3 nights that Skye sleeps inside the house with the door closed (no access to the yard), and that there is no barking! Yeah! After herding her in on the first night (se...
door closed
After trying for more than a month (35 days to be precise) to get Skye to sleep inside at night, we decide to finally herd her in the house and close the door. It worked and we had...
hotdog vs. grass
Hotdog or grass? What do you think Skye will choose?Grass! She chose grass! We have the weirdest dog! LOLWe bought a series of new treats to find some we can use as super high valu...
back outside :(
I was really hoping we were on the right track, but Skye slept outside the last 2 nights... Quite frustrating I must say, especially as we have no idea why.Skye has always been a b...
5th night inside
Skye has been sleeping inside for 5 nights in a row (yeah!) but with intermittent barking outside...This cartoon from Mutts summarizes our current situation pretty well. Especially...
Tomates à la provençale
Here is another way to enjoy the summer tomatoes. Tomatoes Provençale is a French classic and a perfect side dish!Ingredients:* tomatoes* salt* pepper* garlic, minced* dried oregan...
3rd night inside :)
I think we are on the right track. Skye slept inside last night! She went out twice for barking (10pm and 2am) but came back in all by herself. Yeah!Skye got a new squeaky squirrel...
2nd night inside!
I don't want to jinx it, but I think we had a breakthrough! Skye came by herself in the house during the night and slept for about 6 hours in a row on her bed!!One thing that may h...
Canning tomato sauce
With the summer bounty of tomatoes, I am making tomato sauce and canning it for later use.The recipe for the sauce varies based on what's available in the garden at the time I make...
1st night inside?
Is night 26 the big turn around?Skye slept inside the house from 11pm to 4:30am! Yes, inside!!We were able to keep her relatively relaxed on her bed in the evening before going to...
#eatplants
Just a dog eating her greens... in the form of flowers, zinnias to be precise! LOLTalking about eating plants, Skye is making progress on her reducitarian diet. She is now on 50% p...
24th night outside
This is now 24 nights that Skye is sleeping outside but we are making some progress... And we are starting to catch up on sleep or at least stop losing it :)5 days ago, we shrunk q...
lick mats
To get Skye to come in the house in the evening and stay a bit longer than half a minute, we are giving her two lick mats: one with vegan cheese cream (her new favorite spread) and...
Pupcakes
Plant-based pupcakes are a fun way to get your dog to eat more fruits and veggies :)Ingredients for 12 pupcakes:* 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour* 1/2 tsp cinnamon* 1 tsp baking soda*...
fencing day 4
We shrunk the yard quite a bit more yesterday. Skye has now access to 20% of it. It was actually a bit harder to get her inside the fenced area. And it may become harder in the com...
neighbors
With Skye's nocturnal barking we've been really worried about our neighbors' sleep, so we wrote them a letter to apologize and tell them we were working on it but that may take som...
19th night outside
No no, we aren't counting our sleepless nights! LOLHere is a video to show you the arousal state of Skye at night:And here, she is as soon as it's daylight... off night duty!
fencing day 2
Yesterday, we increased the fenced off area to 30% to include the veggie beds since they are attracted quite a few rodents at night.Skye slept outside but did bark less (midnight a...
fencing day 1
Yesterday, we started fencing off some part of our yard to make it smaller. This is part of the make-the-yard-less-fun-at-night-so-skye-comes-sleep-inside strategy. We blocked off...
unplanned training
In the early morning hours, I witnessed something pretty cool via our webcam and recorded part of it. (The video is accelerated to fit in a minute.)Skye is completely in her soft c...
meds
Skye is currently on a cocktail of drugs...Sertraline and gabapentin twice a day, with additional melatonin and trazodone at night.
15 nights and counting
This is now 2 weeks that Skye has snubbed the house, that's exactly 15 nights and we are starting to be exhausted! It's amazing how our brain is getting sluggish and easily irritab...
Buttercup the Cornish Cross
By Abbie Hubbard.Abbie is a dog behaviorist with Humane Society International, and lives with 2 dogs, 3 parrots, 4 budgies, 4 chickens, 2 pheasants and a turkey. You can follow her...
lucky 13?
This is now 13 nights that Skye doesn't come inside at night. But she is making progress during the day. She started in the morning by finishing her night on her bed in the living...
breakthrough discovery :)
After many sleepless nights, we made a breakthrough discovery!Rats and/or cats caused adrenaline nullifies the effect of sertraline, trazodone, and gabapentin in Jindos.The picture...
9th night outside
Tonight was quieter, but Skye stayed outside. Only Pomponette and the rats got Skye's attention, and we (Peter mostly) only got to go outside 4 times. She would be so much more com...
party until dawn
One of our neighbors threw a party last night. It was loud and lasted till 2am. Useless to say that Skye didn't like it, and no amount of meds helped her to relax. The only way we...
sleepful night
Yes! Skye didn't bark this night and we got to sleep for the whole night! :DShe did stay outside until 6am, at which point she came in our bedroom to check on us and decided to go...
6th night outside
So the gabapentin got us through till 2:30am which is an improvement. I only got to spend half the night sleeping with her outside! LOLI found that she was also a bit less frantic...
squirrel toy
At the suggestion of a friend, I got a bunch of tiny squirrel squeaky toys and Skye absolutely adores them! She loves them so much that she brings them everywhere she goes, includi...
gabapentin
After a 5th night sleeping outside and a consultation with our VB, we are adding gabapentin to Skye's meds. It's supposed to help lower her anxiety and hopefully allow her (and us!...
4th night outside
We increased the dose of trazodone (150mg) last night but didn't see any difference. Skye wasn't in the mood to sleep. The moon was very bright, so in addition of hearing the critt...
3rd night outside
Skye spent another night under the stars. She slept until 1:30am, which probably corresponds to the time the trazodone wears off. After I went outside to calm her, she woke us up a...
sleeping outside
Yesterday night, we gave trazodone to Skye and although she didn't come inside, she did sleep the whole night and did bark. So we did sleep too :)
sleepless night
So that's it, Skye didn't come in the house during the night and we weren't able to lure her in. We took turn at getting her to stop barking throughout the night, until 4am when Pe...
frustrated
I have learned to accept the snail pace progress we are making with Skye and to manage everything around her so she feels safe. But I am having a hard time loosing what we've gaine...
pomponette
Pomponette is our neighbor's cat. Behind her sweet innocent name and face hides a tiny devious tiger. She loves teasing Skye from the other side of the fence. She sits a few inches...
leash training
We are making some progress with the leash...This second exercise is getting Skye to press her chin on the leash, and be fine with the other part of the leash going above her.
snuffle burrito
Learning a new game when treats are hidden in a rolled towel!Getting her to use her nose, interact with objects, and just have fun :)
evening play
Skye spends most of her day sleeping, but is very active in the evening.When it's time to tuck the chickens in their coop, she is ready to play!And she loves playing with her dad :...
lazy long weekend
Enjoying July Fourth long weekend.
fireworks and cats
Yesterday, we were a bit worried about Skye's reaction to the many fireworks and firecrackers in our area, but she did really well. She stayed inside, laying on her bed looking pre...
pet sitter introduction cont'ed
This is the 8th visit of Tanya and look how great Skye is doing!We first greet Tanya through the kitchen gate (see introduction post) so Skye has time to settle down from the guest...
no thank you
Skye is very clear at telling us when she doesn't want to do something.Here is Peter trying to play the shell game with her:This was her reaction to a lot of new things just a year...
3rd eyelid
Chickens have a third eyelid called the nictitating membrane that slides horizontally over the eye to protect it from dust and debris.
Parasitic worms
Last month, we discussed external parasites. Today, we are going to look at the worms who live inside our chickens.There are 3 groups of worms: roundworms, flatworms, and thorny-he...
Croissant jambon fromage
The "croissant jambon fromage" is the rich and decadent cousin of the "croque-monsieur".It's a hot croissant sandwich made with ham, cheese and béchamel!Here is how to make a plant...
another false pregnancy?
I think Skye is going through another false pregnancy…She has started nesting with Mme Octopus and Mr Chipmunk, 2 of her favorite toys, in her nook in our bedroom.
pet sitter introduction
Now that we are all vaccinated, we've restarted people socialization and the first person we would love Skye to accept is Tanya, our pet sitter :) Tanya is coming for 30 minutes tw...
Chilled avocado citrus soup
Nothing beats a cold soup on hot summer day. Beside the famous Spanish gazpacho, try this amazingly refreshing Chilled Avocado Citrus Soup. The recipe is from Nadsa De Monteiro, th...
mat is lava
Skye thinks mats are lava! She does everything she can to avoid putting her paws on it. She only trusts an old bed and a very old mat from our previous dog, and doesn't want to hav...
10 hours alone
We celebrated my birthday with a tour followed by a lunch at Goatlandia, a farmed animal sanctuary. It was nice being outside the house and meeting friends after more than a year o...
sweetie
Hey mom! There is a chicken in the house! Let me in!Sweetie is a little red hen who is recovering from an ugly head wound. She is healing well but was getting restless in our anima...
Tabbouleh
This tabbouleh is my family's version of the Middle Eastern dish.It's the perfect refreshing dish for hot summer days. It can be served as side dish or main entree. It's a great ad...
lick mat
We just bought a lick mat for Skye so we can lengthen the time she eats treats during training. She liked the idea, but found her own lick mat... ... Peter's chickens clogs! LOL
early mornings
For the last 3 months, we have been waking up with Skye sleeping in the nook in our bedroom. She doesn't come when we go to bed, but joins us in the early morning. Every time I hea...
External parasites
A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has characterized parasites as "predators t...
acariasis & pediculosis
An infestation with mites is called acariasis.And an infestation with lice is called pediculosis.
introducing the leash
We have been slowly introducing the leash to all the fun activities.The leash is part of her dinner table:and part of her favorite game, the snuffle towel:Making baby steps...
bed time
Since we were able to close the backdoor, we had quiet nights with Skye sleeping soundly inside. But yesterday, Skye didn't come in. I don't know if there was more activity than us...
Sourdough bread
A simple way to bake your own bread.No kneading. No bread machine.Ingredients:* dutch oven* bread flour* wheat flour (optional)* water* salt* sourdough starter (either get one from...
bumble bee
I was focusing on a bumble bee when Skye came by :)
Dairy & Egg-Free Workshop 2021
We partnered with Acterra and gave a cooking demo for their Meatless May challenge. We made a plant-based quiche and chocolate mousse.Here are the recording and the handouts that w...
cookie monster
Skye has a sweet tooth and with our training to empower her to have more control on her environment, we've made a cookie monster!Every time we eat a cookie or a muffin, she comes r...
snuffle game
We have a new game with Skye and I think she likes it :)Look how eager she is!And I love how she lays down in anticipation!!
trazodone
While we are weaning Skye off fluoxetine, our VB asked us to test trazodone. At small dose, it could be used to decrease anxiety and at an higher dose as a sedative. So we want to...
sertraline
Skye has been on fluoxetine for a bit more than 5 weeks now, and we are not seeing any benefit from it. Actually the sedation effect is still lingering, so our VB decided to stop i...
happy birth day
Two years ago, Skye gave birth in a dog meat farm. Their future was bleak until HSI closed the farm and rescued them all.Skye has since learned the joy of squeaky toys.
not in the mood
Nope. I am not in the mood for training.LOL
soft crate
Three months ago, we got a soft crate. The ultimate goal is that it will be Skye's safe place when we are in an unknown environment. But with Skye, everything has to be introduced...
Palliative care and CBD
Fleur is a little white leghorn rescued from a battery cage farm at the end of 2017. She joined our sanctuary in the following spring. She was in poor shape with her broken foot an...
Oysters Rockefeller
A plant-based version of oysters Rockefeller, a popular American restaurant appetizer. It consists of baked oysters with a rich green sauce, and is named after John D. Rockefeller...
Bean Bourguignon
A plant-based version of the beef Burgundy, a French beef stew braised in red wine. (Based on a recipe from the Culinary Institute of America.)Ingredients (serve 4):* olive oil* 2...
best friends
Skye and me enjoying a nice sunny afternoon together. She doesn't know it yet, but we are going to be best friends one day :)
playing again
Yippee! After 2 weeks being quite lethargic, Skye is playing again!We are thinking that her low level of energy may actually not have been caused by the fluoxetine but by her being...
fluoxetine
After 6 months working with our VB team, we are making progress but it's slow. So we are starting Skye on fluoxetine. It's a SSRI and has been used successfully with dogs with high...
backdoor
Two weeks ago, we couldn't deal with Skye's nocturnal barking anymore and closed the backdoor so she wouldn't have access to the yard during the night. We slept well that night, an...
necropsy
When one of your chickens dies and you don’t know why, do a necropsy. It will not only explain the cause of her death, but also detect things like viruses, bacteria, and parasites....
Fat chickens
Chai ran through the yard to greet me, her limping seemed heavier. I picked her up and checked if something was stuck under her feet, but I didn’t see anything. She has been slight...
Lemon curd
This rich creamy lemon curd is from a recipe from Miyoko's cookbook "The homemade vegan pantry". Ingredients:* 1 cup raw cashews (soaked)* 1 cup water* 5 lemons (2 Tbsp zest + 3/4...
18 months
Today we are celebrating Skye's 18th months of freedom!Do you think she likes her new toy? :)
chin press
Skye is starting to master the chin press game. This training game is to get her comfortable placing her head on something and feeling some pressure on her throat/neck. The little...
new furnace
It took 2 days to change our furnace and install an AC unit. Most of the work was in the garage and on the side yard, and Skye did pretty well! She hanged out with us in the living...
nocturnal barking
Skye is pretty laid-back. Her typical day is a long nap either in the house or in the yard that is occasionally interrupted by play and squirrel chasing.However she wakes up at dus...
training fun
As part of handing the control over to Skye, Peter is pausing to see if she wants to continue the 123 pattern game. As you can see, she is enthusiastically deciding to continue! No...
working it
Skye made sure we felt very guilty of leaving her outside while we and our cleaning crew were inside this morning...And she won! I ended up hanging out with her in the cold (50F wh...
one step forward, two steps back
One step forward, two steps back. This is how Skye's training feels like... Every time we meet with our VB trainer, it seems that the level of our assignments are getting lower and...
visitors
After a long time without having people over, we invited a couple of friends yesterday for coffee. We kept Skye in the backyard but left the screen door open so she was with us wit...
when hens have teeth
The French idiom "Quand les poules auront des dents!" which translates literally to "When hens have teeth!" is used when something is never, ever going to happen. The corresponding...
Adopt, don't shop
With spring around the corner, we are starting to see lots of ads to buy baby chicks. Please resist the temptation of buying these fuzzy balls of cuteness and adopt instead.This is...
enough training
Skye decided to walk out of our training session this morning. Just like that! LOLI guess our work to give her control on her environment is working! LOL
plumber visit
So this afternoon our main drain got clogged and stuff started to come up in the house. It was an emergency! Not fun, but usually manageable: call the plumber and get it fixed. Wel...
seductress
Skye seducing her dad...He has treats in his hands ;)
peanut butter cookies
A couple weeks ago, Skye and I read her book to a group of little kids. They noted that one of her favorite foods was peanut butter, and yesterday they surprised her with home made...
house chicken
We brought Terra, a sick little hen, inside the house for treatment. And Skye is of course very interested!But she is surprisingly not obsessed with her which allows us to do some...
Chicken embryo development
Watch this animation of the 21 day development of a chicken embryo in the egg.
Formation of an egg in a hen
Take a tour though the hen reproductive tract.
Digestive system
Take a tour through the chicken digestion process.
play
Since we cannot go for walks (yet!), Skye burns off energy by zooming around the yard, playing tag and tug.This is one of the best bonding times between her and Peter.
pattern games
We started a new type of exercises with Skye: the pattern games. They are games with a fixed pattern of multiple steps that gets repeated multiple times, so the dog can predict wha...
master digger
The master digger. Not the best companion to the master gardener. LOLBut imagine the pleasure of digging in the soil after all those months in a cage! Pure joy!
sun napping
Taking a break from all the training and enjoying Californian winters :)
lure to touch
Another one of our exercises is to teach Skye to touch things (eventually the leash) by herself. 1. Start only with a towel on your knee or on another surface.2. Use food to lure S...
Bedding materials
Bedding is an important part of keeping your chickens happy and healthy. In the hen house, the bedding provides a soft surface for the chickens to walk on, jump from the roost, and...
aromatherapy
Instead of using aromatic wood shavings like cedar and pine that are toxic to chickens, you can add certain herbs to the bedding in the hen house for a pleasant smell. Some herbs a...
Bolognese sauce
A plant-based version of the famous Italian pasta sauce with a French twist.Ingredients:* 1 onion, diced* 1 bell pepper, diced* a dozen crimini mushrooms, sliced* 4-6 garlic cloves...
head in a bucket
One of our training exercises is to get Skye to put her head in a bucket. The idea is get used to put her head in/through things (end goal: collar, leash). It's one step further th...
officially over
We are officially declaring today to be the end of Skye's phantom pregnancy!Leopardo got kicked out of the nest 2 days ago, and this morning it was the turn of Mr Octopus, her last...
Tofu bacon bits
Smoky, salty, crispy bits without killing a pig.Ingredients:* avocado oil (or any vegetable oil with a high smoke point)* 8 oz firm tofu* 1 Tbsp soy sauce (or tamari for no gluten)...
resuming training
Now that Skye is out of her nest-nook, we are resuming training. And we have a few new exercises. The first one is nose targeting. Basically, she gets a reward (yes + treat) when s...
done with the babies!
Over the long weekend, Skye started to leave her nest-nook more and spend more time with us outdoors (we had unusually warm weather). Today, she almost didn't go to it at all durin...
self-nursing
I found nesting a cute symptom of phantom pregnancy, but I find self-nursing quite weird...
Galette des rois
La galette des rois (aka the French king cake) is a puff pastry filled with frangipane. It's baked throughout January in France to celebrate Epiphany (January 6th). Enjoy this plan...
nesting
While we are working with our VB and vet to figure out what's going on with Skye, she is bringing more toys into her nook... Look what we got on the webcam :)It does really look li...
phantom pregnancy?
We haven't talked to our VB yet but I am really starting to think that Skye may be going through a phantom pregnancy.Her 4 lower teats seem swollen (or maybe it her licking that ir...
mystery
Something is off with Skye. For the last 5 days, she has been hiding in her little nook in our bedroom. Not just at night, but also during the day. At first we thought she had a tu...
sales taxes
Something we never talked about is the administration going on behind the scenes. With the sale of our Rescued! game, Peter, our volunteer CFO, met a new challenge this year. Below...
Thinking about having chickens?
Updated on February 21, 2024.It’s the New Year and one of your resolutions may be to get chickens. So, let’s discuss the pros and cons of keeping chickens so you can make the right...
opossum
On Christmas Eve, we got the visit of an opossum and I started to learn more about these fascinating creatures.Opossums are opportunistic omnivores. They eat a diet of insects, wor...
asking for attention
Skye has been trying to get more and more attention from us, especially me. Look how cute she is when she does that:She obviously wants some love, but when we give her, she is not...
sleeping in
It's full moon and someone has been partying (i.e. chasing critters) all night long and is now sleeping in...PS: It's just a few extra pillows in the bed. LOL!
2nd Christmas
Merry Christmas!
christmas night visitor
Skye barks. It's past midnight. I get out of bed, put on my robe and walk outside. Skye is at the chicken gate. Her bark becomes excited now. I gaze in the direction she is looking...
chai's limping
We just came back from the vet and Chai doesn’t have a bumblefoot but arthritis!She was slightly limping when we got her (rescued as a pullet from a slaughterhouse) and it got wors...
French onion soup
This French onion soup is served gratinéed with bread covered with cheese floating on top. It's perfect for cold winter nights. Ingredients for 8 servings (we eat 2 servings as a f...
pistachios
Skye bonding with her dad over pistachios :)
training update
We talked to our VB dog trainer today and got further clarifications on the training games and the reason why we shifted from the leash exercises we started doing. The fact that Sk...
sleeping together
We spent another entire night together!I added a thin fleece blanket under her mat so it is extra comfy, but I have to be careful not to make it too soft. Our snub queen doesn't li...
farm pups
Skye's book is having lots of success with all the other dogs rescued from the dog meat trade like her.#1: Luna (farm 1), Leila (farm 6), and Hermione (farm 6)#2: Tiger Lily (farm...
4th VB appointment
Yesterday we met with the dog trainer working with our vet behaviorist. We are going to meet with her every 2-3 weeks to help us with the day to day training.Prior to the appointme...
whole night
OMG! Skye slept the whole night in our bedroom! This is the first time ever!She came in her little nook after we turned off the light, and laid there till after we woke up! I makes...
cleaning dishes
A dog licking clean a dish may seem mundane, but it’s a big deal for Skye! Not only she is hanging out in the kitchen with us, but our snub queen is showing interest in the food we...
excitement
Yesterday, we received our print copy of Skye's book and we got both quite excited about it!It's interesting to see how Skye was excited to see me excited. Pawing, hip nudges, kiss...
treat game
Every day, we have several short training sessions with Skye to slowly desensitize her to the leash. Here is how a training session looks like.You will see that she perks up and is...
children's book
Inspired by this blog, my friend Marian Hailey-Moss wrote a whimsical diary of the journey from trauma to trust of Skye. This children's book is beautifully illustrated by Marc Cha...
begging
Someone is starting to beg for food.The VB warned us this may happen as a side effect of our training. LOLAnd of course we can't say no :)
food storage container
When you buy a 50-pound bag of chicken feed, you don’t use it all right away and need to find a place to store it. Although sturdy, the bag will not protect its content from the el...
Gearing up checklist
So, you decided to bring chickens into your family. You have weighed the pros and cons of sharing your life with chickens, read everything you could put your hands on about chicken...
treats in loop
Giving treats in a loop on the ground as the first step to get Skye comfortable to put her head in a loop/circle.First with the loop of her leash:Then with big plastic rings:Not ba...
nightmare
Not Skye's but mine..."We are in a big house with a big yard and there are lots of people and a few dogs. Skye is with us and doesn't seem to mind the people nor the dogs. One of t...
third VB appointment
We made lots of progress with Skye since our first appointment. We have a closer relation with her. I think she is trusting us more. It helped that we stopped petting her when we w...
close escape
With my hands full of pumpkins and salad, I approach the chicken yard. The girls see me and run to the gate. In her eagerness to get first dibs, Spunky gets out the chicken yard as...
at the farm
I recently received a few new pictures of Skye and her pups. There were taken on August 11th 2019 when the HSI team vaccinated all the dogs on the farm.I love her so much!And I thi...
back in the bedroom (2)
She didn't come yesterday, but did this morning!A bit before 7am, she came in our bedroom and directly settled on her corner. I installed a little mat the day before to make it mor...
back in the bedroom
5am, I heard paws in the hallway. They stopped at the door, hesitated. Then a wet nose nudged my hand. Skye was back in our bedroom! She curled up in the same corner as yesterday,...
her safe place
The sound of paws going back and forth in our bedroom woke me up in the middle of the night. I stretched my hand out of the comforter and met a wet nose. Skye let me stroke her in...
other rooms
Look who is starting to hang out with us in other rooms than the living room :)The more we ignore her and don't try to interact with her, the more she wants to be with us. Like the...
the feud is over
It has been over 3 months that the turkey girls have been kept separated.One month ago, Sophie decided to stop being an aggressor and won some freedom in the turkey yard. But Addie...
Cashew cheese log
This cashew cheese log is a festive appetizer for the holidays. I't s super easy to make and so delicious!Note that I call it "pâté" several times in the video as this dish would b...
winterizing
This is what management looks like in California's winter... LOLOne of the doors to our backyard is open 24/7 as a way to allow Skye to be comfortable in the house.In spring, we sh...
second VB appointment
We had our second appointment with our vet behaviorist this morning. We watched a few videos we took, and she explained Skye's body language. Like a dog showing her belly could be...
no more morning greetings
This is the second morning that Skye "disappears" when I wake up. She was not in the living room where she spent the night, she was nowhere to be seen in the yard... We finally fou...
torpedo feeding
Torpedo feeding is an alternative to tube feeding a sick chicken or a chicken who cannot eat on their own.In this video, my friend Kim Kunst is showing how to prepare torpedoes and...
Larissa and fowl pox
By Darcy Smith.Darcy is the co-founder of the Funky Chicken Rescue, a non-profit 501(c)3 all animal rescue / sanctuary located in Vacaville, CA. You can follow Funky Chicken on soc...
tolerating belly rubs
One homework from the vet behaviorist was to figure out if Skye loved having her belly rubbed or just tolerated it.This answer is quite evident in this video...A little tail wag bu...
treats trail
Peter got as assignment from the vet behaviorist to leave a trail of treats behind him when he is in Skye's vicinity. The idea is for her to create a positive association with him....
first VB appointment
We finally got our first appointment with a vet behaviorist this morning!I've been waiting so long for it that it was kind of anticlimactic. Even with knowing that there is a no ma...
wound cleaning at the farm
I recently received this video of Skye. It was taken at the farm just after I left and before she did.Marc Abraham (aka Marc the Vet) cleaned her open wound.Watching her wound make...
Egg shells as calcium supplement
Egg shells as calcium supplementDon't throw egg shells away. Give them back to your chickens as calcium supplement in 4 simple steps: rinse, dry, crush, offer.
in the corner
Skye found has a new favorite place in the living room.No it's not her new bed, she is still snubbing it.It's a corner behind a chair on the hard and cold bricks...At first, I thou...
wildfire smoke
I have a light headache, my sinuses are congested, and my throat is itchy. No, it’s not covid nor the flu. It’s the smoke I have been inhaling for the last few weeks. With wildfire...
respiratory system
The birds’ respiratory system is very different from the one of mammals.Their lungs are rigid and are not able to expand, but they have several air sacs that expand and contract wi...
1 year
One year ago, despite being terrified, your eyes called me for help.We immediately became a pack. Your wound healed and you gained strength.There is still a lot to heal, and I will...
freedom for Skye
My friend Tony Seghal made a beautiful film about Skye and the HSI campaign to end the dog meat trade. The movie has been selected to be part of the International Vegan Film Festiv...
bad dream?
We were all together in the living room. Us watching a movie on our laptop, and Skye laying on her bed. When suddenly, we see her in a corner shaking. We didn't hear or see her mov...
hot spot
Skye developed some skin irritations, just near the scar of her broken wrist. It looks like an hot spot, but I can't really bring her to the vet "just" for that (see our last vet v...
stranger-free zone
Skye is not a fan of strangers coming into her home, so while waiting for her first vet behaviorist appointment, we are focusing on minimizing her interaction with people in order...
turkey fights
Sophie and Addie who were peacefully living together are now archenemies! I have no idea why. Maybe they are fighting for the acorns falling from the oak trees or a fruit a squirre...
belly rubs
Nothing is better than belly rubs in the grass!
Chicken cooling techniques
Here are all the ways we are keeping our chickens and turkeys cook during hot summer days.Thermometers to know how really hot it is in the chicken yard.Plenty fresh water to keep e...
How to give subcutaneous (SQ) fluids to a chicken
How to give subcutaneous (SQ) fluids to a chickenWhen a chicken doesn't feel well, she usually stops drinking and can thus become dehydrated rapidly. A very useful way of providing...
Cold cucumber soup
A cool and refreshing soup for hot summer days.Ingredients for 4 servings:* 1 big cucumber (~1 lb), optionally peeled, roughly chopped* 1 1/4 cup plant-based yogurt (here is how t...
pillow
Skye found the most comfortable pillow int he yard... LOLIt's quite hot today (~95F) so it may actually be a cool pillow :)
chicken ID
Dogs and cats usually have a collar with their name and their guardians' contact info so they can be reunited with their family. During emergency evacuations, numbers are being pai...
Fire evacuation preparedness
After an unusually hot week, a thunderstorm broke out and lightnings sparked many fires here in California. These wildfires have been devouring many thousands of acres displacing p...
vet behaviorist
I am very happy. We made an appointment with a vet behaviorist. There are only about 80 certified vet behaviorists in the US. And we started contacting the local ones who have been...
11 months
Skye celebrating her 11 months rescueversary with an old plush toy.Freedom and happiness.
I love her but...
I love Skye to pieces but she has been quite a source of stress the last few weeks. None of it was her fault though. It started with the thunderstorms a dozen days ago. It was foll...
rabies vaccination
The dreaded vet appointment was as dreadful as dreaded but we are recovering (Skye faster than me!).We wake up at 6am, couldn't sleep anymore, stressed by what we were going to do...
turkey fight
Nothing is better than a turkey fight according to Skye...Except maybe to go in the ring with them!
thunderstorm
We are having a wild weather here in the San Francisco bay area. The last two days have been exceptionally hot (100+F) with no cooling down during the night, and around 3am we woke...
ice cream
Skye is being adventurous and had a first taste of an ice cream...She loved it! I actually had to be careful she didn't eat too much of the chocolate cover!It's taking a heat wave...
butt scratch from dad
Skye allowing her dad to pet her without lure or reward!She is not completely sure about it (yawning is a sign of stress) but butt scratches are so good! :)
treat tasting
Knowing that Skye was a picky eater, a friend brought a big jar with lots of different treats. At first she snubbed them all, but then she realized they weren't all the same so we...
Ratatouille
The roasted version of the Provencal summer vegetable stew.Ingredients:Onion, eggplants, bell peppers, zucchinis, tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, olive oil, salt. The quantity of each v...
routine and eggs
Skye likes routine and eggs.Every evening when it's time to put the chickens to bed, we prepare them some treats which includes their hardboiled eggs. Skye who usually doesn't care...
disinfectants
Disinfecting the coop is not something that is required on a regular basis. A good cleaning of the coop and equipment is enough to keep potential pathogens under control. However,...
socialization undone
The few months of shelter-in-place undid the little socialization work we started with Skye. She was doing relatively well with visitors (see previous post) but since the beginning...
10 months
After 10 months together, Skye starts to enjoy belly rubs... Well maybe that butt scratch was a bit too much :)
planning next vet visit
My heart rate went up when I received Skye's license renewal notice. I didn't realize that the rabies vaccination she got in South Korea was only valid for 1 year. It expires on Au...
feather
Skye is very proud of her new finding : a turkey feather!Sophie has already started to molt and Skye found a way to grab the ones near the fence.And she is not sharing it...
hut
Skye loves her backyard and she found a great place to hangout. Skye's hut aka "la cabane de Skye" is a perfect spot to stay cool, observe without being seen all the critters livin...
5 night streak
Hurrah! Skye didn't night bark 5 days in a row!That record streak ended last night, but hey! let's focus and celebrate the good things :)
tug-brush
We haven't groomed Skye since her arrival and actually didn't really needed to. See "self-grooming" post. But with the warm temperatures, she is shedding her winter coat and I'd r...
virulent Newcastle Disease last update
California is now free of the virulent Newcastle disease, and the quarantine is Southern California has been lifted!Since May 2018 when the disease was first detected, over 1.2 mil...
Vaccination
In farms, chickens are usually vaccinated against a variety of diseases including Marek's disease, Newcastle disease, infectious bronchitis, infectious laryngotracheitis, fowl pox,...
9 months
Celebrating Skye’s 9 months of freedom with pupcakes!But since the miss snubs almost every food (and certainly anything that's new!), we are employing tactics that make the food mo...
midnight playtime
Skye who mostly sleeps during the day, barks in the middle of the night to get us to play with her...And I am not sure how to deal with it. I can't just ignore her because we have...
Tian de courgettes
The tian de courgettes is a Provencal gratin where the rice is cookedwith the natural moisture of the zucchinis.Ingredients (serve 3):* olive oil* 4 zucchinis, sliced* 1 cup white...
ginger's retirement
Ginger is 11 years old. She is blind from one eye due to cataract, but otherwise she is healthy and has been maintaining her place in the flock. Recently however, I noticed the oth...
napping with the chickens
Taking a break from chasing them :)
clicker training
It's been almost impossible to do any sort of active training with Skye. She is extremely suspicious of anything we do that is directed to her. I've been trying in vain to do some...
Moemoe's apple cake
Peter's grandma always baked an apple cake when we visited her. It was delicious and we were always looking forward eating a slice or two (or more since like all grandmas she thoug...
what broken leg?
We haven't seen the vet yet, but I don't think any surgery will be needed on Skye's leg to reset her broken wrist. Yes it's still crooked but it doesn't seem to bother her. She doe...
tag with dad
Skye doesn't fully trust her dad yet, but she loves enticing him to a game of tag. It has actually become part of our evening ritual. She waits for him just after we put the chicke...
chickens and dog trainers
Dog trainers learn to clicker train chickens to improve their skills. They use chickens as a model for learning the theories and mechanics of animal training. Chickens are quite un...
Dogs and birds
By Abbie Hubbard.Abbie is a dog behaviorist with Humane Society International, and lives with one dog, 2 African Grey parrots, 3 turkeys, and 6 budgies. You can follow her on Insta...
8 months
Skye got a new toy for her 8-month rescueversary!She didn't totally snub it, but was clearly not impressed! LOL!An old deconstructed tennis ball is so much better...Oh Skye! You ar...
doggie door
Since Skye's arrival - exactly 8 months ago (her rescueversary is today!) - the door to our backyard has been left open 24/7 so she could go in and out as she pleased. It helped tr...
crows and dog
We planted a few grass plugs to reinvigorate a sad corner of our lawn, and set up some obstacles around so Skye wouldn't run through it. A couple hours later, one of the plugs was...
clipped wings
I was in the garden when I heard a big flap behind me. By the time I turned my head, Sophie was on top of the 4' fence. She didn't lose an instant to jump down and beelined to the...
One minute chocolate mug cake
Want a slice of cake with your coffee but don't have time to bake a whole cake? Here is a quick recipe for a quick all plant-based chocolate cake for 1 person.Ingredients for 1 mug...
mother's day
To celebrate Mother's Day, I gathered pictures of Skye's five babies. They just celebrated their first birthday earlier this month.Let's start with the boys.Taro:Buckley:Soju:And t...
new bed
Two months ago, we bought Skye a new bed.Here is what she thought about it at the time...And here is what she is thinking about it today...I guess using it as a pillow is a progres...
pasture predation
In pasture raised egg operations, 10% mortality due to predation is common. Pastures are not a natural habitat for chickens. Their ancestors, the jungle fowl, live in forests where...
who is training who?
At dusk, crepuscular critters (namely rats) are getting active in our yard and so is Skye... I don't mind her chasing them, but she barks a lot doing so! She has quite a deep loud...
Chocolate mousse
No need to give up yummy desserts when eating plant-based!Here is how to make a chocolate mousse with avocados.Ingredients:* 2 ripe avocados* 1/2 cup cocoa powder* 1/4 cup maple sy...
sleeping in the bedroom
Since her arrival, there is a doggie bed in our bedroom. Lallie always slept with us. But Skye is doing things at her own pace. First she slept in the crate she flew in, then on a...
forty five
We finally got Skye on a scale! and I was really happy to see the number 45 on the display. She gained 12 pounds since her rescue (just less than 7 months ago). Yeah!On the other h...
Wing lice
Wing liceDuring her regular health check, we found some lice on Fleur. The treatment is easy: Apply 0.01cc Frontline Plus (9.8% Fipronil) per pound to the skin on the neck. She wei...
Croque-monsieur
Croque-monsieur, literally translated as "crunch-sir", is a hot sandwich made of ham and cheese. It's served as a quick snack in French cafés and bars.Here are the ingredients to m...
Milk, cream, and béchamel
French cooking uses lots of milk and cream, here is how to make rich, delicious, and plant-based milk, heavy cream, and béchamel (white sauce).Milk* 1/2 cup raw cashews* 4 cups of...
chicken poop
Skye found a new treat... under our chicken clogs...I am actually surprised it took her more than 6 months to make that discovery!
Tofu scramble
Tofu scramble by our friend Davy Davidson.Ingredients for 4 to 6 servings:* 14 oz. firm tofu, drained* 2 teaspoons ground cumin* 1 teaspoon salt* ¼ teaspoon black pepper* 1 tablesp...
Belgian waffles
Easy and delicious plant-based waffles.Ingredients for 3-4 waffles:* 1½ cup flour* 1 Tbsp baking powder* 1 Tbsp sugar* 1½ cup soy milk* 3 Tbsp oil* 3 Tbsp orange juice* ½ tsp vanil...
Sunday brunch
Scrumptious and comfort Sunday brunch.Ingredients:* 1 onion* 1 red bell pepper* 4 potatoes* half Soy Chorizo (Trader Joe's)* 1 cup Just EggBon appétit!
Yogurt
Making plain plant-based yogurt without a fancy yogurt maker.Ingredients:* 2/3 cup raw cashews* 1 quart soy milk* 3 Tbsp vegan yogurt (store bought for the first time, then saved f...
Bumblefoot
Bumblefoot is a term used to describe a staph infection on a chicken’s foot. It comes from the old British word “bumble” meaning “to walk unsteadily”. Staph is the shorthand for th...
chicken feet
Healthy chicken feet are mostly smooth and soft with a rubbery feel with scales covering the tops of a chicken’s toes. A chicken’s foot is made up of sixteen bones that work togeth...
How to trim chicken's nails
How to trim chicken's nailsA chicken's nail is very similar to a cat or dog's nail. There are blood vessels and nerves in it, called the quick. You can see the pinkish quick in whi...
6 months
It has been 6 months since Skye joined our family! It seems shorter and longer at the same time. She changed so much during that time! Mostly she is becoming more trusting. For exa...
bite
I spent yesterday afternoon at the vet (well on the parking lot of the hospital because of the coronavirus...). No it was not for Skye. It was for Sunny, the little dog of a friend...
bloody
Skye came into the room while we were watching a movie. She nudged me with her nose and I automatically responding by stroking her without removing my eyes from the screen. She nud...
Quiche Lorraine
Baking a plant-based quiche Lorraine. It's a classic French dish traditionally made with eggs, cream, bacon, and cheese.Ingredients:* 1 vegan puff pastry (I use Pepperidge Farm)* 1...
French crêpes
Making plant-based French crêpes based from my mom's recipe.Ingredients for 8 crêpes:* 2 cups flour* 2 cups soy milk* 1/2 cup Just Egg* 1 Tbsp oil* 1 pinch of saltBlend all the ing...
trusting dad
Skye is letting her dad touch her! Yippee!It's been almost 6 months that Skye joined our family, and although she let me touch her within the first 2 months, she would recoil when...
self-grooming
Skye has an awesome feature: she is self-grooming!Since her arrival, I've been dreaming of giving her a bath. I wanted to remove all the filth from the farm. Every time I touched h...
chicken adoption
This spring, consider adopting chickens instead of buying them. • You save a life. Like dogs and cats, too many chickens come into shelters and too few people consider adoption wh...
My ideal coop
During a decade of keeping chickens, we have modified, fixed and extended our original coop. We also added a few extra coops and structures in the yard to fit all the needs that ca...
5 months
Every day, Skye makes me happy.I am happy to see her playing.I am happy to see her rolling in the grass and laying in the sun.I am happy to see her making mischief.I am happy to se...
meeting Sunny
After the successful playdate with Rufus on Saturday, we felt ready to introduce another doggie friend to Skye. Sunny is a little yorkshire terrier of one of my good friends. She t...
first playdate
Today, Skye got to meet Rufus for the second time. They greeted thought the x-pen at first and then spent some time together in the backyard.Skye did jump on him quite impolitely a...
little black sock
After hearing that Skye had a particular taste for socks, a friend brought an old black sock with couple knots in it and gave it to her. She loved it! She has been playing with it...
little thief
Skye has been stealing things from the house, and till today I thought it was to get our attention. She would look at you, take delicately an item (socks are her favorite), and the...
Biosecurity
: security from exposure to harmful biological agents Merriam-WebsterBiosecurity is a big word that may sound a bit scary. It may invoke images of isolation tents guarded by milit...
fecal test
Updated on June 1, 2022.Fecal tests are part of a thorough chicken health check. It allows you to detect any internal parasites before you see any external symptoms.We do fecal tes...
4 months
Since the day she arrived, 4 months ago, Skye has made a tremendous amount of progress. She is getting more confident every day and is learning to trust people.We see that in littl...
dog meet
Today, Skye met her first dog since her rescue 4 months ago.Since we had no idea how she would react to another dog, especially in her backyard (remember we can't bring her to plac...
licking dish
A dog licking a dish may seem very ordinary. Lallie, our previous dog, was always in the kitchen when we were cooking in case something fell on the floor, and she would come runnin...
new toy
Skye got a new toy today... Well she found it in the closest where I stashed it away... but she seemed so excited about it that I caved in and gave it to her. It makes me so happy...
full moon
I haven't slept well this week. Skye has been barking for the last 5 nights...It's full moon and the night sky is particularly clear, so you can see really well what's going on in...
silly
Skye always looks quite serious. Her little brown eyes and wrinkles on her forehead make her even look worried at times. But today she smiled and showed her silly side :)
training plan
I was really happy to talk to my dog behaviorist and trainer friend this weekend. It helped us create a training plan for Skye, but also set the right expectation and realize that...
new year
I've been waiting to post my New Year's wishes for a picture of Skye with a collar. Since yesterday, I've been (re-)trying to put it on her, but it's so hard. She goes away if she...
Chickens in the rain
This is a rerun of January 2017 newsletter. It’s the rainy season here in California, and our beautiful hills are green again. While the chickens love the fresh new growths, how mu...
pineal gland
The pineal gland is a small endocrine gland in the brain of most vertebrates. It produces melatonin, a hormone which modulates sleep patterns. The shape of the gland resembles a pi...
3 months
Today we are celebrating Skye's 3 months rescueversary!We baked pupcakes (pumpkin, carrots, and apple sauce) with peanut butter as frosting. She loved them! I think we found a way...
socialization
Skye has been making lots of progress with people. Since she cannot go out to meet people in the street yet (would need to wear a collar for that...), we've been inviting people to...
digging
Someone discovered the joy of digging :)
bye walle
How is my heart still functioning?It's been broken so many time this year.We let Walle go yesterday. She had been sick for the last 2 weeks. She started to molt quite drastically a...
collar #2
Skye got a new collar (she ate the first one!). It's a snap collar (for quick release) with a slide on tag (to not get caught on things).Now that I can touch and pet Skye, I tried...
movies
When you are not sure about people, seeing huge ones in your house can be very scary!Since Skye's arrival, we've been watching movies on our laptop in the living room instead of on...
10 weeks
It's Skye's 10-week rescue anniversary!It seems that she has been with us for much longer. There has been so much progress since her arrival. She wags her tail when she sees me. Sh...
mixed signals
We've made tremendous progress since Skye let me touch her a bit more than a week ago. She often comes to me to get petted, and lets me come to her for the same. But she is not com...
Scout and scissor beak
We love heartwarming stories like Sweetpea's incredible luck and recovery, or The Special Ones at Blackberry Creek Farm animal sanctuary. Today we are bringing Scout's story to yo...
thankful
There is so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.Thankful for HSI to have rescued Skye, and for their amazing campaign to end the dog meat trade.Thankful for all my friends wh...
first belly rub
Since she let me touch her last Tuesday, Skye and I have been doing lots of cuddling. She likes scratches behind her ears, but her favorite spots are the ridge of her nose and her...
overnight at Toronto
Today is the 8 week anniversary of Skye's rescue, and I would like to share a couple pictures that were taken during her transit in Toronto 8 weeks ago.Till recently I thought she...
doggie bed
When preparing for Skye's arrival, we took out Lallie's beds for her to use. But she preferred a simple towel on the floor. I guess the beds were too foreign to her, and the towel...
first cuddle
Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! We had our first cuddle today!The last couple weeks, I've been "accidentally" touching Skye while playing with her. At first, she would look at me...
puppies
All Skye's puppies have been adopted in beautiful forever homes, and I have the pleasure to follow them and their new families on social media. They are all adapting pretty well, a...
skye
Watch this beautiful video that my friend Tony Sehgal made about Skye and the HSI campaign to end the dog meat trade.Skye
picky eater
Skye is a very picky eater. Despite being just skin and bones when she arrived, she snubbed all the foods we offered her. However she managed to gain 6lb so far on a diet mostly co...
virtual belly rubs
Skye and I are getting closer every day, but I can't touch her yet. Sometimes I just want to hug her, take her in my arms, give her a nice scratch behind her ears, or a belly rub....
6 weeks
Happy 6 weeks rescue anniversary Skye!
spooked
Something happened yesterday night, and it spooked Skye.I went to an event leaving her with Peter. It was dark and she started barking. Peter went outside with the flashlight to ch...
early play
Skye thought we slept in too long this morning, so she came to check us out in the bedroom. This is the first time she came in our bedroom while we are in bed. I put my hand out of...
5 weeks
One day in Skye's life by Skye...Napping indoor while it's still chilly outside.Exploring the house.Rolling in the grass in the afternoon.Hanging out with my pack after having duly...
good mama
I just received these pictures from Skye. There were taken on August 10th when the HSI team vaccinated all the dogs on the farm.Look what a good mama she is...Pulling her puppies a...
Thanksgiving alternatives
The best way to celebrate turkeys at Thanksgiving is to keep them off our plate. Here are some of the many yummy alternatives for the holiday dinners: • Tofurky Roast • Field R...
Turkeys
As birds raised for meat, their bodies have been engineered to grow big muscles extremely fast, so they reach slaughter weight at 4-5 months of age. Their heart and skeleton can ba...
no halloween
Since Skye has found her voice, she barks at everyone coming in our home. She figured that visitors are coming through the entry door and now barks preemptively to the door opening...
loving the indoors
Skye is quite happy and relaxed outside. We play a lot together, she follows us around, and she always comes near us when we sit down somewhere in the yard. However she is a bit mo...
4 weeks
On Saturday, September 28th, exactly 4 weeks ago, Skye was rescued from hell.Look at the before and after.And look how well that nasty open wound healed!
big social day
Today was a big social day for Skye.First the cleaning ladies came this morning. The first three weeks she ignored them, but today she barked at them. She didn't like having "stran...
tug
Playing together :)
collar #1
Skye doesn't wear a collar yet. She is microchipped, but since we aren't able to touch her, she has no collar. So yesterday when we went to the vet and thought he would sedate her,...
fourth vet visit
5am - I wake up and step out barefoot in the backyard through the bathroom door. As fast and stealthy as possible I walk to the office and close the door. Skye hears me, but I am f...
first bark
Today we heard Skye barking for the first time since we have her!For the last 3 weeks (yep, Skye has been with us for that long already!), we've been introducing her to new people,...
trial night out
We spent 2 hours last night watching a movie in our car in the driveway.Why? Well... we wanted to see how Skye would do home alone.So we setup several webcams thorough out the hous...
getting to know each other
Slowly getting to know each other...
no more bandage?
So the beautiful amazing bandage I made with my blood, sweat, and tears Saturday night...... lasted 2 nights and 1 day...No. I am not desperate...Luckily the wound is really lookin...
I hate bandage day
Today was bandage day. No fun.Since we cannot touch Skye yet, changing her bandage is quite a production. We need to get her in her room and more precisely in her crate, so we can...
first contact
I think we hit a big milestone today! Skye took treats from my hand!Not only once, but multiple times throughout the day. She even followed me couple of times to see if she could g...
firsts
There were many firsts today.Skye played with her first toy and had a blast with it.She had her first zoomies too.It's the first time she gets that close to me (well the camera I w...
moving to the living room
After changing her bandage yesterday night, Skye decided not to stay and sleep in her crate but explore the rest of the house instead. So we closed the doors of all the rooms, open...
rolling in the grass
Skye is starting to act like a dog, a happy and relaxed dog. She surprised and delighted us this afternoon by rolling in the grass and playing with her tail!She also carefully appr...
another good day
Today was another good day. We spent the day outside. She ate good (peanut butter sandwiches seem to be a favorite), relaxed in the sun, continued exploring her new yard, and showe...
a good day
Today was a good day. No stress, no vet, no bandage change... Just the meds but we are getting pretty good at it, it now takes less than 10 seconds! It was just us and Skye at home...
bandage
She destroyed the $300+ bandage during the night! What do we do? We can't bring her again to the vet to redo it. Should we try ourselves with the new sedative? But today was suppos...
second vet visit
Today started with a visit to the vet emergency room. Not that there was anything urgent, but it was the only way to get a vet to change Skye's bandage. We didn't succeed in changi...
a mostly good day
Today was a mostly good day.Yesterday night we figured out that the thing she likes best is to be left alone (which is so different from Lallie who had separation anxiety). Skye fi...
Sweetpea
By Danielle Hanosh. Danielle is the co-founder of Blackberry Creek Farm Animal Sanctuary. In June we received a phone call about a chicken who had been the victim of a dog attack....
vets
Lots of chicken illnesses and injuries are treatable if caught in time and properly cared for. Don't hesitate and go see your vet when your chicken is not doing well. Find a local...
first vet visit
At 7am on her first day home, we brought Skye to the vet. I wish we could have waited couple weeks to get her used to her new home and to each other, but she has an open wound on h...
skye
Skye, a mama dog rescued from a dog meat farm in South Korea, joined our sanctuary today.To meet her and follow her journey, check her diary.
long journey
Skye left the farm on Saturday, September 28th 2019 (will celebrate that anniversary!) with the last shipment of dogs to Canada/USA.She flew from Seoul to Toronto (13h) where she s...
meet Skye
Here are some images of Skye during HSI's initial visit of the farm in July:and here are the ones I took when the farm was closing this week:
dog meat farm
I just came back from South Korea.It all started in January 2017 when Tracey asked me if I would be interested in joining a dog rescue. She is working with Humane Society Internati...
Hanging cabbage
Hanging CabbageKeep your turkeys (or chickens) entertained by hanging a cabbage in their yard .
it takes a village to rescue a chicken
It started yesterday morning while I was browsing my emails at the breakfast table. A friend forwarded me a facebook post from a lost and found pets group, and asked me if I knew s...
Feathers
A chicken’s feathers do not cover her entire body. There are featherless areas that help with cooling when a chicken holds out her wings in hot weather. Feathers grow from follicl...
Molting
It was like they had a pillow fight in the hen house! Poppy started molting overnight. Molting, moulting, sloughing, shedding, or ecdysis is the manner in which animals routinely...
Diseases from chickens
Can chickens make people sick? This is a question I get asked often, and for good reason. We keep hearing alarming news about a worldwide epidemic of bird flu (aka avian influenza)...
virulent Newcastle Disease update
The virulent Newcastle Disease outbreak is considered over in Northern California, however it is still going on in Southern California. Continue to practice good biosecurity aroun...
oldest chicken (2)
Last month, we featured Matilda as the oldest chicken, but it seems that Muffy beat her by quite a few years. According to Guinness World records, she was a Red Quilled Muffed Ame...
happy mom
Lucie is back home! As soon as we brought her crate in the yard, she started greeting Sophie, and Sophie excitedly chirped back. It was amazing to witness their reunion after one w...
bad mom
4am. I can’t sleep anymore. I am a worried mom. One of my babies is in the hospital, and she may never come back home.It started about 3 weeks ago when I opened the turkeys’ barn,...
Dealing with death
Sharing your life with chickens is quite fun and full of delights. Unfortunately their life is more temporary than ours, and we can’t help feeling heartbroken when they leave this...
oldest chicken
The oldest chicken ever to have lived was called Matilda (at least she was the first chicken to receive the title of World's Oldest Living Chicken from Guinness World Records). Sh...
My chicken ain't doing right
Updated on July 7th, 2021.My hen was acting strange. Instead of foraging with her sisters, she came and sat next to me while I was in the garden. The others in my little 3-hen floc...
walle and her bodyguards
So Walle thinks she is a turkey. After asserting herself to the turkeys at dinner time, she is now hanging out with them. They are foraging for food, napping, and exploring the yar...
some days are better than others
and today wasn’t a good one. It’s started with a trip to the vet to say goodbye to Sage. It’s the 3rd chicken we are losing in less that 2 months. It’s too much - although the deat...
easter chicks
Cute bunnies, fluffy chicks and ducklings are popular in Easter baskets. They are delightful, fuzzy, and irresistible, but are not appropriate gifts. They are not toys, they are li...
Gardens for chickens
It’s springtime! Time to take your trowel and spade out of the shed, and plant your garden! While selecting new ornamental and edible plants to add to your backyard, think about yo...
Biosecurity
BiosecurityPracticing good biosecurity, such as wearing specific shoes and washing your hands, has always been important when visiting your chickens. But with the threat of the Vir...
How to tube feed a chicken
How to tube feed a chickenWhen a chicken doesn't or cannot eat by herself, we may need to intervene. The safest way to feed her is to put food directly in her crop. Tube feeding is...
Bird brains
By Rhianna Axon Rhianna is the Animal Care Director at Charlie’s Acres Farm Animal Sanctuary. I bet you’ve heard the phrase “bird brain” used as an insult before, but it’s actuall...
walle takes on the turkeys
Walle is standing with both her feet in the turkeys’ dinner. She flaps her wings and chases them away. Sophie and Lucie run toward me with sad faces. “Mom! There is a chicken in ou...
sophie and the glove (video)
Lately I have been finding my gloves all over the yard. I found the culprit :)Life with Turkeys - Sophie and the glove
how many is too many?
I just tucked my 13 hens and 2 turkeys into their respective coops (4 to be precise!). How did I end up with so many birds in my micro-sanctuary? I had 8 hens at the same time last...
dinner time (video)
Dinner time with Sophie and Lucie.Turn on the volume to hear the excitement and slurps!Life with Turkeys - Dinner Time
Egg labels
There are so many labels on an egg carton nowadays that it’s easy to be both overwhelmed and confused. What do all these labels mean? And what do they not?Let’s start with the labe...
forced molting
Forced molting (aka induced molting) is a practice in the egg industry to boost the laying cycle. At the end of their first laying cycle, the hens are starved for 7-14 days to arti...
how I almost killed my turkey
Saturday - Friends come over to meet our new turkeys. They bring healthy greens (kale, chards, collards, fennel...) as welcome gifts, and Sophie and Lucie enjoy them thoroughly....
dinner time
4pm: Time to feed the turkeys. I prepare 2 separate bowls of food. Sophie needs special meds in hers. I walked to the turkey yard with the bowls. They rushed to the gate excitingly...
treat time (video)
Healthy treats: lettuce in a hollow ball to make it last longer. Life with Turkeys - Treat Time
Peppa's coop
Peppa came to our micro-sanctuary last summer. She is a 6-year-old Brahma bantam who lost her vision and started to be bullied by her flock mates. Being tiny and blind in the chick...
sickles
Sickle feathers are the elongated, sickle-shaped feathers in the tail of a rooster. They are usually very flamboyant. Hens don't have sickles in their tails. Their tails are short...
saddle
Saddle feathers are the feathers in front of the tail of a chicken. They look different based on the sex of the chicken. Similarly to the hackle feathers, hens have rounder saddles...
The Special Ones
By Danielle Hanosh. Danielle is the co-founder of Blackberry Creek Farm Animal Sanctuary. Dashing through the door of the feedstore and out of the downpour, I rushed over to the c...
Chicken health check
Chicken Health CheckHow to do a health check on a chicken. By performing regular health checks on your flock, you can catch things earlier, and prevent minor problems from becomin...
Bachelor flocks
By Lauren Cole. Lauren is an Animal Care Technician at Marin Humane where she loves socializing with all the feathered friends who arrive at the shelter. Bachelor flocks – flocks...
hackles
Hackles are the feathers around the neck of a chicken. They look different based on the sex of the chicken. Hens have rounder hackles, whereas roosters have longer, thinner, and po...
California Prop 12
Last month we talked about the many different chicken breeds. Let’s have a closer look at the lives of the 7.7 billion egg laying hens living in the world today. 90% of them live i...
crows
Crows are awesome chicken allies. They are the smartest birds: some scientists think that crows may be as intelligent as the great apes. They are loud and very territorial, and tha...
alektorophobia
Alektorophobia is the fear of chickens. The word comes from the Greek words “alektor” which means rooster, and “phobos” which means fear.
Chicken breeds
Like dogs, chickens come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. There are more than 400 breeds of chickens. Some have fancy feathers and big combs, some lay blue eggs, some are tiny, an...
ice cube treats
Chickens don't do well in hot weather and can actually die of heat stress. One way to keep them cool during hot summer days is by offering them frozen treats. Watch the short vide...
Waterers
Chickens drink more than they eat (see did-you-know card on drinking water), so it’s very important that they always have access to fresh water. Let’s see the different ways to que...
Feeders
We talked about what to feed chickens a few months ago (see newsletters “What to feed chickens?” part 1 and part 2). Today we are going to discuss how to feed them. There is a gre...
treadle feeder
Using a treadle feeder needs some learning. Watch our foster girls figuring out how to use it.
How to pill a chicken
How to pill a chickenSeveral ways to give a pill to your chicken.
old hen new tricks
You can teach an old hen new tricks. Watch Luna "pecking out" the Queen of Spades from a deck of cards.It's quite amazing, isn't it? Chickens are smarter than we think. They reco...
Best home for an older hen
How old is an old hen? Well it depends on whom you ask... For the egg factory farmer, it’s 18 months just after she reaches peak production. For the smaller farmer, it’s around 3 y...
international respect for chickens month
May is the International Respect for Chickens Month!Learn something new about chickens: • Baby chicks start talking to their moms while still in the egg. • There are 23 billion...
Second coop
Having an extra coop can become very handy in many situations. Here are the multiple roles a second coop can fill: The hospital coop to separate a sick or injured chicken from the...
clipping wings
Clipping the wings of your chicken may be needed if she is a good flyer and a 6ft fence doesn’t deter her from exploring the neighborhood. You should not clip her wings as a workar...
there is a chicken in my plate (video)
Having lunch with the girls... Life with Chickens - There is a chicken in my plate!
email (video)
Writing an email with Luna... Life With Chickens - Email
Adopt, don't shop
We bought our first chickens. We selected Ameraucanas based on their breed traits: docile, not broody, bears confinement well, and the fact that they were good layers. We bought th...
hatcheries
99% of all eggs and chicks come from hatcheries, and they are no better than puppy mills. The parents and grandparents are bred and the less desirable offspring are killed in orde...
Ice cube treats
Ice Cube TreatsOn hot summer days, keep your chickens cool by offering them frozen treats.
A second life for ex-commercial hens
We welcomed Luna and Maya to our micro-sanctuary on New Year’s Eve. They are two adorable 2-year-old White Leghorns coming from an egg factory. The first time we adopted hens rescu...
tidbitting
When a rooster comes across a tasty morsel of food, he does a little dance and song to let the hens know about his discovery. This behavior is called tidbitting. It’s fascinating t...
poisonous food
Avocado, citrus, and uncooked beans are poisonous to chickens. Chickens rarely eat toxic plants. When they do eat something poisonous, it's usually because someone fed it to them...
What to feed chickens? - part 2
The complete feeds we discussed in part 1 make up the bulk of your chickens’ diet. However it is good to add these other foodstuffs. Calcium Laying hens require lots of calcium t...
moldy food
Molds produce mycotoxins which can be harmful or even deadly to chickens. So make sure the grain is carefully stored and mold free when feeding it to your chickens. The image bel...
What to feed chickens? - part 1
The variety of choices found in feed stores can be overwhelming: pellets or grains, conventional or organic, soy or not... And it becomes even more difficult when you start researc...
It's our 1-year anniversary!
♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ chicken dance music♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ One year ago, Clorofil became an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit.♩ ♫ ♬ That same month, we published our first newsletter.♩ ♫ ♬ In spring, we went o...
pumpkins
Chickens love pumpkins! Pumpkins are super nutritious, they are full of fibers, minerals, and vitamins. And now is the season to get cheap or even free pumpkins! People will happ...
tarra
Tarra had 10 lives. One more than cats!She first got rescued from a battery cage farm. She survived a hawk attack. And then fought bravely a reproductive cancer going through 5 bou...
roosting
Roosting is another basic behavior in chickens. They get together to sleep at night. And because they are quite vulnerable when they sleep, chickens prefer to perch (roost) as hig...
Introducing new chickens
Updated on May 18th, 2025.Chickens are like potato chips... You can never just have one... or even two. But adding new chickens to an existing flock is not as easy as it may sound....
Visual introduction
Introducing new chickens: Visual Introduction.Introducing new chickens. After a quarantine period to ensure that the new chickens are healthy, and before putting the new and old ch...
Pecking order
Ever seen your chickens bickering with each other?It usually happens around a valuable resource like the feeder, the favorite nest box, the higher roost. The aggressor is reminding...
DIY coop
We would like to thank our friend Dan for his help with this newsletter. Chickens don’t require much gear, but they do need a coop. A big and safe coop. A chicken coop usually ref...
Cool chickens
When temperatures reach the 80s, we slow down. We put on our shorts and flip flops, sit by the pool, and sip on a margarita. We need to help our chickens to do the same. They don’t...
sun-bathing
Sun-bathing is one of the essential chicken behaviors. You will see them laying on their sides in a warm and sunny spot with a leg and a wing stretched out. At first, you may thin...
Her great-great-...-great-grandma was a T-rex
Birds descended from a group of two-legged dinosaurs whose members include the Tyrannosaurus rex and the velociraptors. And no bird is more closely related on the genetic level to...
eating food
A bantam eats an average of 0.5lb of feed during a week, a light breed eats 2lb, and a heavy breed 4lb. Of course, it depends on the quality of the food, its energy and protein co...
curry
Curry is the latest hen who won my heart.She is a 3.5y old red sex link who was rescued by Animal Place last month. She came to the rescue ranch with 1000 of her sisters. I stayed...
Gardening with chickens
Chickens are foragers. They spend many hours scratching the soil in search of food. With proper management (that is by fencing off your vegetable garden and your beautifully manicu...
drinking water
Under normal condition (70°F), chickens drink twice as much as they eat by weight. This is typically 1 to 2 cups water per day. This ratio of water to feed goes up dramatically wi...
My chicken ain't doing right - part 2
Last month, we talked about how to identify a sick chicken. And we discussed how chickens hide their illness so well that by the time you notice it, you may only have couple of day...
CAFHS
The California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System (CAHFS) offers relatively cheap medical tests and diagnosis for chickens. A fecal test costs about $10 and a necrops...
fennel
Fennel was born in a commercial hatchery. She never met her mom. Her brothers were killed couple days after hatching. And her beak was cut off without pain relief. She was shipped...
My chicken ain't doing right - part 1
My hen was acting strange. Instead of foraging with her sisters, she came and sat next to me while I was in the garden. The others in my little 3-hen flock started to be aggressive...
body temperature
The body temperature of birds has more variability than mammals. The normal temperature of an adult chicken ranges between 105°F and 107°F, whereas the one of a hatchling is lower....
Roosters
On January 28th, we entered the year of the rooster! It is said that people born in this year are hard-working, talented, punctual, kind, capable and adventurous.Roosters are aweso...
sense of hearing
Chickens hear well. They begin hearing while still in the egg after 12 days of incubation, and their hearing doesn’t degrade with age as it does for humans. Their ears aren’t visi...
fostering
Yesterday my 3 foster chickens went to their forever home.I should be happy for them. They went to a nice family. But I am feeling quite awful, as if I betrayed them.They have bee...
How to clip a chicken's wings
How to clip a chicken's wingsClipping the wings of your chicken may be needed if she is a good flyer and a 6ft fence doesn’t deter her from exploring the neighborhood. You should n...
Chickens in the rain
It’s the rainy season here in California, and our beautiful hills are green again. While the chickens love the fresh new growths, how much do they enjoy the rain? Is it okay to let...
sense of touch
Chickens sense of touch is very similar to ours. They have sensory nerve cells that enable them to feel pressure, touch, pain, heat and cold. Their nervous system tells them also a...
Baking without eggs
Around this time of year, when the days are getting shorter, most hens stop laying. They take a break until spring, which is a more favorable season for raising chicks. It’s also t...
senses of taste and smell
Chickens have only 350 to 500 taste buds, while we have 3,000 to 10,000 of them. They dislike strong flavors rather than having strong preferences. Their food choice may be more ba...
Grandpa's feeder
Grandpa's FeederLearning how to use the new feeder.
Chickens are smarter than we think
As chicken keepers we know our birds are smart individuals, but new studies show that we may be underestimated how smart they are. Research from the University of Bristol has demon...
sense of sight
Chickens have a very well developed vision. They have double the sensitive visual cells on the retina compared to people which allow them to see colors and shades of grey in dim l...
chickens everywhere
Chickens have taken over my life!Since meeting Charlie in May (read her story here), I have created two pet chicken care classes. "Before Having Chickens" is to get prospective chi...
clorofil
That's it! I am creating a non-profit!Its name is Clorofil.It focuses on pet chickens. Its goal is to educate people about chicken care and promote their adoption.It has a domain a...
charlie
Charlie is the latest addition to our flock.We are teaching at the local community garden when a gardener asked if one of us knows anything about chickens. I raise my hand. There i...
life on a ranch
Last week, Animal Place rescued 760 hens from a pasture raised egg operation. I spent 3 days at their rescue ranch to help out and to learn how to treat chickens.First let me tell...
pasture raised
This weekend I helped with the health checks of 500 hens. Animal Place rescued them from a pasture raised farm who was going to "discard" them. After having dealt with battery cage...
saving little potatoes
Yesterday I joined Animal Place in rescuing 1,500 hens or "little potatoes" as another volunteer affectionately called them. "One potato, two potatoes, three potatoes..." as we wer...
joining the hen rescue
Decision made. I am joining the next hen rescue. Not the unloading at the ranch nor the health check, but the team that goes inside the egg farm and pull the hens out of the cages!...
1,500 free hens
Yesterday, Animal Place rescued 1,500 hens from a battery cage farm raising hens for egg production. Rescuing 1,500 hens seems like a drop in the bucket, but these hens are ambass...