Mrs Sharp Needed a Friend
This week at the Hen Haven. Read it or listen.
Hello Friends,
Welcome to another Scoop from the Coop on a very blustery Sunday. The clocks have gone back, the air is cooler, and I am in my element. Even though daylight saving has its advantages, there is something about that extra hour of sleep that makes everything feel manageable again. I always feel more like myself in autumn.
Before I get started, a quick note: This is the first Scoop from the Coop I’ll be reading aloud, so if you’d rather listen than read, hit the audio button at the top. Some of you mentioned you enjoyed the photo chat the other day, and it’s the kind of thing you can have on whilst you’re doing house chores, caring for your animals, driving, or going for a walk.
As I write this, Max the bunny is beside me on the bed, rearranging the blankets to his exact specifications and giving his toy panda a very thorough grooming. He's getting increasingly full of beans as the evening approaches.
I keep thinking about how I almost didn't bring Max to the hen haven as a permanent family member. I was worried the extra animal care may be tricky to manage. I was going to try and find him a home nearer to Sydney, but part of me just felt he was meant to be here. And now, here we are.
Max on the bed, panda getting groomed, me completely unable to imagine life without him. He is an enormous distraction and an absolute cheeky chops, and I’m so glad he’s here.
Happy Easter, by the way!
I do hope you’re enjoying some vegan chocolate today.
But it wouldn’t be Easter without a feeling of sadness for what this day means for animals. Every year, without fail, bunnies and chicks are gifted to children. Every year, the shelters overflow in the weeks and months that follow. Some animals end up dumped in the bush or by the road.
If chicks have come from a hatchery, chances are the roosters were already killed before sale. If not, they’ll be abandoned the moment they start crowing.
And the rabbits? So many will spend their lives alone in a hutch, full of potential for friendship and mischief and joy that nobody will ever bother to discover.
I look at Max digging in the blankets, and I feel for them all.
Building Habitats, One Enclosure at a Time
One of the silver linings of pausing new intakes is that we finally have the time and headspace to focus on improving what we already have.
The goal: less “enclosure,” more “garden.”
Less barren, more interesting. Proper habitat rather than just somewhere to contain animals.
Whilst many of the chickens do free range and sleep in coops at night, it is essential for many of the flocks and roosters to have their own areas to avoid fighting between the boys or overmating of hens. But the last thing we want is a bunch of wire enclosures with nothing interesting inside.
Earlier today, David and I walked down into the bushy part of the property, the section we don’t use for chickens because it sits too close to the neighbours and acts as a buffer for rooster crowing.
Under the trees we found fallen branches, pieces of timber that would make excellent perches, and some big rocks. It was actually a lot of fun hunting around for the best sticks or logs. I gently placed some back if I disturbed an insect home, but lots of them were uninhabited and able to be moved.
We lugged some of them back up the field and started the process of distributing them through the enclosures. I can’t wait to do this for all the enclosures.
I’ve also bought a small collection of hardy native plants that can hopefully survive both our clay soil and the enthusiastic attentions of our chickens. We’re going one enclosure at a time, and I feel really excited about it. The chickens all deserve to enjoy the best home we can make them. I can’t wait to show you pics when things are all spruced up.
It’s part of a broader effort to get things properly organised here at the Hen Haven.
I’ve set up a medication corner in the kitchen with a whiteboard listing every animal’s meds, and all the medications have been sorted into labelled plastic drawers. There is also a clipboard with a full list of daily tasks which I update each week as things change. It sounds simple, but it has made such a difference.
And okay, so the rest of the house is in bits, but I am very proud of this, one corner.
If anything were to happen to me, someone could walk in, read the clipboard, follow the medication instructions on the board and take over without any confusion.
The feed room has had a similar overhaul. All the hay on a wire bed frame, up off the floor, chicken feed on one side, pig feed on the other. Less chaos, more time actually caring for the animals. That’s the aim.
I am not a fan of cleaning, but I really love decluttering and organising. My mind feels calmer already! Maybe I will finally have the brain space to work out how to get people to be kind to animals! Or at least not to actively harm them.
Goodbye, Amber
Now for some sad news.
Some of you may have seen the photo gallery I shared on Wednesday, where I shared an image of Amber and Mrs Sharp. Two battery hens, absolute best friends, joined at the hip.
Some months ago, they had arrived at a vet to be euthanised because they had reproductive disease, and the woman who had been caring for them had decided against getting implants again. But they were still bright and well at that point, so the vet contacted me, and they came to us instead.
On Wednesday I took the photo of them above. The very next morning, I found Amber sitting on the ground at the bottom of the coop rather than waiting at the door to come out. Mrs Sharp was pacing around her friend and I knew something was wrong straight away. When I picked Amber up, I felt the swelling around her abdomen immediately,
Amber had already received a Suprelorin implant three and a half months ago. Normally that would still be in effect, but when things have deteriorated to a certain point, the implant simply cannot do what it needs to do. The vet managed to squeeze her in that day but Amber seemed to go downhill even during the gentle handling of the examination, as if any movement was too much for her.
She stayed at the vets for fluids and supportive care. A couple of hours later, I got the call that she had passed.
Amber went downhill so fast. And the reason is the same reason we lose so many of our girls. She was bred, as all laying hens are, to produce somewhere between 300 and 350 eggs a year. Remember, red jungle fowl, who they originate from, would naturally lay just 12 to 30.
That selective breeding, driven entirely by human greed, follows these girls long after they’ve been rescued. The implant did give Amber extra years of quality life with her best friend beside her. I am also grateful for the extra months we gave her. I know they were worth it and she loved every moment.
We will bury her and plant a tree above her grave.
Which brings me to her best friend, Mrs Sharp.
Animals grieve deeply, and a bond as strong as Amber and Mrs Sharp’s makes that grief all the harder. My main concern after Amber passed was Mrs Sharp, because stress and grief can suppress the immune system in ways that make a vulnerable hen deteriorate quickly.
So yesterday I decided to try introducing her to the flock with Brad, Jolene, and Bonnie, who she had been seeing through the fence every day. I was fully prepared to step in immediately if there was any tension.
It was almost like they had always known each other. She isn’t fully integrated into the group yet, but there were no fights. Just some dancing from Brad.
Mrs Sharp settled in with a confidence that surprised and relieved me. I cracked an egg for the gang which they were happy to share, and that enclosure became one of the first we brought logs and enrichment into as part of our habitat project.
Mrs Sharp also has reproductive disease and has a suprelorin implant. But right now she is bright and doing well, and I am very much hoping she continues that way.
Cookie’s Vet Trip
Amber wasn’t the only one at the vet on Thursday. The original appointment that day was for Cookie.
Not to be confused with Mr Cookie the rooster. This Cookie is a Polish mix with a little frizzle in her. She came to us back in 2021 when we were at the Berrima rental.
She arrived with her whole flock, all of them with E. coli. The person surrendering them wasn’t willing to pay for them to get treatment. They recovered quite quickly after we started them on meds, and Cookie has been with us ever since. She is the oldest of the group and the mum of some of the others.
The other day, the coop door blew shut, and instead of putting herself to bed, Cookie was sitting outside. When I lifted her up to pop her in, I felt a hard mass in her abdomen. Unlike the squishy fluid you feel with typical reproductive disease, this was firm which makes me scared it is reproductive cancer.
She is very bright in herself, eating well, moving fairly normally unless you look closely. That brightness is reassuring. The mass is not.
Cookie is home now on pain relief, antibiotics, and a Suprelorin implant. Next week she will go in for an exploratory surgery so we can understand exactly what we’re dealing with. She is coming inside every night for extra food, comfort and company, and we will do our absolute best for her.
A Visit to the Rabbit Sanctuary
Amongst all of the above, I had a lovely experience this week. Kim Cooney invited me to visit The Rabbit Sanctuary, which she founded in 2008 with her late husband, Jim. It’s only twenty minutes from the Hen Haven, and somehow I had never been. Even though I adopted Diesel through the Rabbit Sanctuary, I had picked him up directly from his foster carer.
The Rabbit Sanctuary is a wonderful place, like a little rabbit village.
The Bunny Barn was the highlight. It is a detached, fully insulated bunny living quarters and care room, divided into separate enclosures. Each enclosure has a little tower inside that the bunnies can sleep inside or hop on top of.
There was an area to medicate or weigh the bunnies and on every enclosure door hung a separate dust pan and brush along with information about the bunnies inside.
Another inspiring thing for me was the volunteer accommodation. Partly because it is nothing fancy, but still lovely.
It is a converted shed with air con, a porta loo, and a porta shower outside. Simple bunk beds and a little table. Basic, functional, and self-contained enough that volunteers can come from afar to help or transport animals.
That is exactly the kind of thing we need here. We have wonderful volunteers, but none of them can reguarly help with hen haven animal care as they’re all in Sydney. Whilst I would love to force them to move to the Northern Rivers (hehe) in the meantime a simple, self-contained space would make a world of difference.
Kim has a great business mind which I could see in all the systems she generously showed me. With over 300 volunteers she has a lot to manage, but she pulls it off. And she has a huge amount of love for every rabbit and other animal in her care.
The visit was a good reminder that there is always so much to learn from other sanctuaries, and that those connections are worth nurturing. I hope to go back for another visit very soon.
You can check out The Rabbit Sanctuary here:
https://www.rabbitsanctuary.com.au/
What Your Support Has Made Possible This Week
Paid for Amber’s treatment at the vets. She was supported and given care until the last moment.
Paid for Cookie’s initial vet treatment and will also contribute to her upcoming surgery next week.
A small selection of native plants bought to start transforming the chicken and pigeon enclosures into proper habitats.
A roll of galvanised wire bought for a new chicken enclosure so we will be ready for when some of our baby roosters grow up.
Another load of feed and hay for everyone, plus an extra bale of hay for the pigs, who are very much enjoying snuggling into them now the cooler weather has arrived.
Grapes, grapes, grapes… everyone loves grapes! Piggies Annie, Buster, Eddie and Ginger, Roosters Jasper, Randy and Fraser, Hens Maura, Chloe, Suzie, Monica and Amanda and ducks Echo and Esme all say thank you for the grapes!
If you’d like to contribute: https://henrescue.org/donate or you can become a paid subscriber on Substack.
If you already are a donor, hen hero or paid subscriber… THANK YOU!
Join Me on Wednesday
On Wednesday I’ll be sharing a photo gallery of some of the friendships here at the Hen Haven, both new ones forming and existing ones evolving. It’s always shifting, who gravitates towards who, who has welcomed a newcomer, who has formed an unexpected bond. I’ll share photos and chat about the photos in audio if you’d like to listen. I think you’ll love it.
Thank you, as always, for being in our corner. And in the animals’ corner, which is the more important one.
Happy Easter. Give your animals an extra cuddle from me.
Love Catherine x