True to her name, Billie Eilish adores music. After being rescued from a slaughterhouse in her final hours, she joined the flock at Farm Sanctuary, where she lives free from harm and can enjoy music anytime she wants. She’s even been known to play a tune herself!

Billie has truly found her groove at the sanctuary. The nerves she felt when she first arrived have all but disappeared, replaced by curiosity, joy, and the freedom to be herself. Billie’s transformation can be attributed to the love and stewardship of our sanctuary caregivers, and to the healing power of music.

When we open her barn each morning, Billie comes running out, excited for the day. “She seems to enjoy going from crumble-bowl to crumble-bowl, as if she can’t believe the bounty of food,” caregiver Taylor Flannagan observed.

Billie is also the first to show interest when caregivers arrive with musical instruments. A big part of our enrichment program, music keeps the animals’ minds engaged and helps them to feel comfortable and relaxed. Every time caregiver Taylor plays his thumb piano or rain drum in Billie’s aviary, she eagerly struts over to him, bobbing her head with each step. Joe Boo—the rooster of the aviary and Billie’s unofficial boyfriend—quickly follows.

Billie and Joe Boo have been a dynamic duo since they met. Billie claimed the perch next to Joe’s and sleeps there every night. They spend their days foraging, dust-bathing, and jamming out together to their hearts’ content. Joe Boo enjoys pecking at Taylor’s musical instruments, trying his hand—er, beak—at making a melody for his own enjoyment and to serenade his beloved Billie.

While Billie enjoys listening to the piano and drums, she takes a more interactive approach to the bells and wind chimes that her caregivers hung in the aviary. From the nearby shelter office, the staff frequently hear Billie playing music, reveling in the beautiful sounds produced when she nudges the chimes with her beak. “There’s something so visceral about witnessing her joy and curiosity,” said Senior Wellness Manager Brooke Marshall.

At sanctuary, Billie has all the bells and whistles. She lives a full life, complete with care and safety, flock friendships, and, of course, groovy tunes. Billie barely escaped a much darker outcome, though—one that is unfortunately as common as it is tragic.

Animals raised in the food system suffer every day of their lives—and whether chickens are exploited for meat or eggs, they ultimately meet the same heartbreaking fate. On their final journey from factory farm to slaughterhouse, birds like Billie Eilish endure overcrowded conditions for long distances, with no food, water, or protection from the elements. Many die in transit. The rest meet a cruel and inhumane end inside a slaughterhouse at as young as six weeks old.

After several brutal weeks in a factory farm, Billie Eilish suffered the arduous journey to a slaughterhouse in Orange County, California. She would’ve faced slaughter the next day, if not for the powerful presence of a small group of activists and one man who changed his tune.

One night in October 2025, a group of activists from Orange County Animal Save stood outside the slaughterhouse, holding one of their frequent vigils for the millions of chickens killed there every day.

A transport truck drove up, filled with chickens in their last hours of life, including Billie Eilish. When the driver stepped down from the truck, some of the activists recognized him. They had spoken with him on a similar night several weeks prior. Their message had struck a chord, and the man had quietly expressed sympathy for the chickens and mused about surrendering a bird for rescue one day.

That day had arrived. The man handed over a chicken—Billie Eilish—to the activists. After receiving temporary refuge with the family of an Orange County Animal Save member and a clean bill of health, Billie came to her forever home at Farm Sanctuary.

Because people cared enough to advocate for chickens, Billie Eilish was saved from slaughter and now lives the life that all animals deserve: one filled with freedom, compassion, and joy. Billie’s rescue gave new meaning to the phrase “face the music,” shedding light on what would’ve been a tragedy and transforming it into a beautiful life of peace and—quite literally—harmony.