All grown up now, some of our animal residents are lucky enough to have been born at our sanctuary and only know a life where they are loved and appreciated for the individuals they are. All of the mothers of the individuals pictured were pregnant when rescued from slaughter.

Watch out world! Panda Bob knows how to cute.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy this video of rescued piglets zooming around their yard.

Magnolia excels at the act of being adorable. Did you know when a female calf is born with a male twin, she is sterile? The milk industry considers sterile female calves useless. Like male calves, they are often denied colostrum - that first milk, full of antibodies - and sold as "drop calves" at auctions for anywhere between $5-50. Magnolia was malnourished when we rescued her and is still in great need of weight gain. While we work on that, we hope (if you have not already) that you will work on transitioning toward friendlier foods...like soy, coconut, almond, or cashew based milks, cheeses, and ice creams. 

The two troublemakers, circa 2013...only marginally less troublesome now.

Day 8 of Turkey Talk - Born to be Bold

Wild turkey babies are classified as “precocial,” which means that they’re born in an advanced stage of development relative to other birds. When hatched, they’re already covered in fluffiness and able to fully walk, run and feed themselves. They still stick close to mom for protection, but are independent when it comes to food.

From the egg, turkeys spend their days foraging, dust bathing and exploring. Their natural curiosity has earned them the title of “detective” among many turkey caregivers at sanctuaries. Unfortunately, these behaviors will never be expressed among turkeys born to be someone’s dinner. In hatcheries, eggs are hatched en masse in trays and babies never meet their moms. They go from tray to barn to slaughter.

Day 7 of Turkey Talk - Turkey Babies and their Turkey Mamas

It's hard to believe our turkey ladies were ever this small and adorable. Now they are big, bold, and beautiful. Enjoy this short video of them as one-month old poults exploring their new yard. One of our volunteers Lori has a video of them a little older! They lived with the boys until it became evident they were girls and then they moved into the turkey hen stall only to annoy Marjorie, Hope, and Piper!

Turkey babies need their turkey mamas, and turkey mamas are very devoted mothers. Young, groundnesting birds like turkeys and chickens do not naturally separate from their mothers. This differs from songbirds and raptors, whose mothers leave for extended periods of time to gather food and take it back to the nest. Because turkey babies feed themselves, mothers have no need to leave their side. In fact, young turkeys, called “poults”, will even panic if separated from their mothers. They find shelter and comfort under her warm wings and will readily let out their “lost call” when they need more lovin’.

Despite what we know about the maternal bond in turkeys, those raised for their flesh have their motherhood drastically undermined. Following a process of artificial fertilization and hatching eggs by the thousands in hatchery shelves, turkey mothers never get to meet their young.

Animal Place is trying out something new: BuzzFeed! Check out our first post to learn about VERY important, irrefutable proof that piglets make the perfect playmates.