Tuesday, June 29, 2010

R.I.P Peeper....



A week ago today I found an abandoned peachick in the barn. He was not walking well & seemed small even for a newly hatched chick. I placed him back with Mom & she proceeded to attack him. An hour later I tried again with the same out come.
Little Peeper came into the house with me! He was so cute! We kept him warm with a heat pad , crate with blankets & straw . He drank warm water & was gaining strength ever minute. By the next morning he was running around keeping me in his sight every second ...I was now his mother! While doing chores I would wrap him up in a towel & place him down my top...a little awkward but it worked!
Peepers also loved to follow our little blind chi/pug cross ....they would march around the bedroom for hours & finally both lay down & fall asleep in the sun.
Peepers was learning to eat (Peachicks eat on their own by day 2). He would eat small amounts & I would supplement with vitamins etc in his water. He was doing so well I was really not worried at all !
By day four Peepers appeared weak...sleeping far more than normal. We increased the frequency of his feedings & added protein, pedalyte etc to his water. Everyday he was worse & we felt so helpless.
Last night I had him sleep with me (his crate beside the bed). I told him I loved him, gave him a kiss & put him to bed at 11pm....he "peeped" back at me.
I woke up at 2 am to feed him & he had died...
Peepers is buried in our animal memorial garden beside L.B. (the bunny).
Only one week with him & he stole my heart...I miss the little fella.
R.I.P. Peepers.... XXXOOO

Sunday, June 20, 2010

First Ever Volunteer Day





Yesterday was our very first volunteer day here at Snooters.The weather called for thunder storms & 20mm of rain but it stayed beautiful with only a few sprinkles at the end of the day! I have to admit I was totally shocked at the great response to our Facebook event invite. We ended up with 68 people here helping out! 90 % of them I had never met in person.
A ton of work got done in a very short period of time....lots of painting & several tons (& I really mean tons) of gravel moved into Poppy/Flossy paddock. Pig houses cleaned, poop scooped, even weeds pulled & of course the horses bathed & groomed!
Everyone arrived about 10am to coffee/tea/juice & vegan pastries from the Danish Vegan Bakery (who so kindly delivered & discounted costs for us!) We all got started about 11am & everything was done by 2pm! A hot vegan lunch was served & everyone got to chill out, visit with each other & all the animals.
Everyone loved seeing the pigs in the mud wallows, the peafowl walking about, the house piggies on the porch , the horses all clean & shining but mostly the calf's ! Ashli & Norman were the best ambassadors....they LOVE to be petted! I think there are about a 1000 photos floating around of them in peoples cameras!
It is so nice to see people really connect with farm animals like this.
I really want to thank everyone who came out, both new & old friends!
Special thanks to Mary, Mark, Judy, Kim , Kristi, Niall, Bob & Sherry (who have their own pig sanctuary "Ruby Ranch" but came to help) Vanessa, my daughter Angela, granddaughter Alyssa, & son-in-law Dony who did a ton of work.
Thank you !!!! Next year anyone???!!