10/15/2026
It has come to our attention that there is a rumor circulating that we butcher animals on our farm and at our sanctuary, and we would like to take a moment to clear that up.
Years ago, we did have a few turkeys butchered, but that was a one-time situation prior to obtaining our 501C3 sanctuary status. No animal surrendered to our sanctuary has ever been, or ever will be, raised, accepted, or rehomed for the purpose of food production. Those turkeys were specifically purchased for that purpose from McMurray Hatchery, and quite a few of them are actually still alive and living on the farm today! Even then, I wasn't the person who did the butchering because I simply don't have it in me.
It was not a pleasant experience for anyone involved. Afterward, our farmmate, who lives on the property and helps care for and feed the animals, came to me with concerns about raising animals for food. We discussed it and agreed that it would never happen on our farm again.
In the past, we have also given farm-raised rabbits (never sanctuary residents) to children participating in 4-H. This is something we no longer do, as there are simply too many rescue rabbits in need of loving homes.
HOWEVER, I have always been completely transparent about one thing. If a rooster becomes dangerously aggressive, cannot be rehabilitated, and poses a serious threat to people or other animals on the farm, we may make the difficult decision to send him to Happy Wife Acres, where he could be used in their educational home-butchering classes. We also make sure anyone surrendering a rooster to our sanctuary is aware of this policy beforehand, because we believe in being completely transparent about even the most difficult aspects of animal care.
That being said, to date, we have NEVER had to do that.
In fact, we currently have a rooster who is so aggressive that he cannot safely free-range or live with other chickens. Rather than give up on him, he has his own separate enclosure where he can live safely without hurting anyone. And yes, he still gets plenty of treats!
I want to be clear that I have absolutely nothing against people raising their own food to feed their families. I grew up around that way of life, and I respect it. But personally, after spending hours stitching up an injured animal, nursing one back to health, or bottle-feeding a baby around the clock, I just don't have it in me to turn around and butcher that animal. I've spent too much time fighting to keep them alive.
Heck, we don't even sell our eggs! Every egg our chickens lay goes right back into feeding our chickens, dogs, and pigs.
We're not trying to tell anyone else how to farm, raise their animals, or feed their families. We simply have our own approach to caring for the animals who call our farm home, and we do our best to give them a safe, healthy, and happy life.
And if anyone ever has questions about our practices, we're more than happy to have that conversation. We'd much rather someone ask us directly or visit our sanctuary than spread information that doesn't tell the whole story.
