Meet the Residents
Pony
Pony had a rough start. She came to us from a good Samaritan that pulled her from a kill pen. She was unhandled, emaciated and very pregnant. She lacked the body score to maintain a healthy pregnancy, but was unable to be caught for intervention. After four hours of chasing her around in a foot of snow, we got her onto the trailer and home. A few days later during her vet visit, we fell in love with her. She had the most perfect demeanor. Despite all she had been through and the overwhelming few days she had with humans, moving and the beginning of her halter breaking, she did not offer to kick or bite anyone. She was a perfect angel and we knew she deserved the best chance she could have at happiness. She gave birth two months later, but unfortunately lost the colt, likely due to malnutrition during the pregnancy. After that, we decided she could be our resident “baby sitter.” She stays with our senior or foals as a companion horse when they have no other animals to keep them company.
Bun
Soon after you meet Bun, you realize he is a sensitive boy. He’s got a good excuse for that. His family moved from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania and moved him into a house in the city. Up until then, he lived outdoors, free-ranging in the neighborhood. When he was forced to live in a house, he did things that any dog that isn’t housebroken would do. He chewed a shoe, he barked, and he had accidents. Not to mention the shedding. Bun’s family listed him for rehoming shortly after. They didn’t give him any training or time to adjust. This is why we are advocates for choosing the right breed for you family. A livestock guardian dog that is raised outside for the first year of their life cannot be expected to be housebroken and comfortable living in a small house in the city with no help from their owners. Shortly after he moved in with us, his family visited with their new poodle puppy. Bun was shattered. It took him months to recover. He didn’t go outside much and napped a lot. Since then, he has been housebroken and doesn’t chew any shoes. We’re still working on the shedding, but it’s not looking good for us. Bun is a perfect guardian for the animals. He protects them from predators, and even the wind.
Sh*thead
Sh*thead looks like a mean, old man because he is one. He is 11 years old! He came to us after he outlived multiple generations of his flock. His owner is was too old to take on anymore chickens, so he came to us for retirement. He is hardy as they come and has some serious survival skills. We rarely see him on the ground, because he knows it is better to be up high and away from predators. He has one eye, surely from fighting. He currently lives with another rooster, who had a broken wing and recovered fully. They will fight any bird, except each other. We don’t know why they called a truce, but we are happy they have each other. Sh*thead will live his life out here, on top of the coop.
Dudley
Dudley had a horribly broken wing. After a few months of bandage changes and pain medication, he is as good as new. He can fly and get up into his roost easily. He was a perfect angel for all of his vet visits and tolerated the wrap changes as best he could. We were very surprised by his progress. Initially, we thought he would lose the wing. He is Sh*thead’s best friend and he protects him from any other birds. He is also a gentlemen with the hens. We are very lucky to have so many nice roosters, but Dudley is by far the favorite. He is here to stay. We just hope Sh*thead doesn’t outlive him. We would have a hard time replacing Dudley as his bestie.