Rescue & Adoptions

In Loving Memory

June Bug

In a very strange case of abuse, two men found June Bug after she was tossed over a backyard wall in Brooklyn. Apparently, she had been made an unwilling participant in a cruel religious ritual -- a ritual that, for June Bug, culminated in a frightening flight into the air and a very hard landing.

Although June Bug must have felt grateful when her "rescuers" first scooped her up off the ground, she soon learned that they made less than ideal caretakers. The two men had little knowledge of how to properly care for a chicken, and though they meant well, they ended up causing little June Bug further harm. To prevent her from escaping from their yard, the two men knotted a string around one of her legs and tied the other end of the string to a tree. When they discovered that the string she had been tied with had dug into her skin all the way to the bone, they simply tied the string to her other leg.

After leaving June Bug tied to the tree for six months, the men finally realized that they could not provide for the hen the kind of home she needed. They brought her to our New York Shelter, hoping to give her a better life. We happily welcomed June Bug into our sanctuary family and immediately examined her for injury or illness. The string that had confined her and restricted her movement for more than half a year had left deep, painful indentations in both of her legs. Thankfully, though, with treatment and lots of extra love and attention from our staff, she recovered quickly.

Here at Farm Sanctuary, June Bug learned to trust people for the first time. Shy and a little skittish when she arrived, she grew into a very outgoing and affectionate little hen. She always enjoyed her life here.Grateful for the gifts of companionship, comfort, and freedom, she spent her days making new friends, roaming our large, green pastures, and running and roosting anywhere and everywhere she pleased. When she scampered across the barnyard and scratched excitedly in the dirt, June Bug reminded all of us that chickens want only to live safe, peaceful and unrestricted lives, just as we do. Every chicken deserves to live such a life.