Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary

Mohawk’s early morning grin signals the arrival of spring in Stockton.

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7947984.stm:

A woman from Oxfordshire has started knitting sweaters for rescued battery hens that have lost their feathers.

Jane Blaine, of Eynsham, said when a friend first asked her to knit jumpers for chickens she thought it was a joke.

Ms Blaine, who has previously made coats for dogs, said: “When I saw these poor battery hens without any feathers, I thought I’d give it a try.”

The jumpers are made from eyelash wool and were specially designed after the chickens’ measurements were taken.

Ms Blaine said measuring the chickens was problematic.

“Obviously they have quite small necks and big bodies,” she said.

“And I had to make room for the wings. It was a bit like knitting a funnel.”

Puppy the Rooster arrived on the Stockon scene last May. We received a phone from a family in Tracy seeking permanent shelter for this young cockerel. The family found Puppy, who was only a few weeks of age, abandoned on a rural roadside in San Joaquin County. They thought he was a baby turkey. When he arrived at Harvest Home, it was clear this turkey was, in fact, a chicken. So, we thought it would be proper to further confuse this young bird’s identity by assigning him a canine namesake. Puppy is quite the bird!

Beautiful little Nola, a white rabbit with a severe head tilt, just got sponsored by Judy Tam. Thank you Judy!

This morning, the chickens are holding an important meeting to discuss the ramifications of President Obama’s new stimulus package as well as the proposed budget. They are hopeful that chickens will be included.