Rescue & Adoptions

2006 Featured Rescues

Butterfly

This fall, Farm Sanctuary came to the rescue of 26 young turkeys, and saved these innocent young peeps from Thanksgiving dinner tables. Raised on factory farms, the birds have all been detoed, cutting off the first joints in their toes, and have been debeaked as well. Just eight weeks old, the birds are still babies needing special care.

The smallest bird, who has just been named Butterfly, arrived tiny, weak and sickly. She received sub-q fluids three times a day, and was hand-fed a mash to help give her strength. The young turkeys took cautious steps when they were introduced to their new grassy pasture at our Emergency Rescue & Rehabilitation Center, as they had never before lived within an outdoor space, or had grass beneath their feet.

The birds are in need of a check-up by Cornell Veterinary Hospital doctors to assess their health, and blood work needs to be done to test them for contagious diseases. Once they have received a clean bill of health, some of the birds will join Farm Sanctuary’s main flock in the turkey barn, and others will travel in the Turkey Express to loving adoptive homes this Thanksgiving.