A Week At Eastern Shore Sanctuary
This is Loca, but I call her Bowie because of her mismatched eyes. And her trend setting ways.
I’m at Eastern Shore Sanctuary for the week, watching Pattrice Jones completely demolish oppression while I cruise the internet and take photographs, with the occasional cooking and dish washing thrown in. I can’t imagine what kind of world we would live in if everyone worked as hard as Pattrice does. Probably a world with lots of happy chickens.
It’s amazing to watch these birds interact, and to hear Pattrice tell their stories. Michael and Christopher drove up to Brooklyn to pick me up along with four hens and a rooster. The hens are already acclimating to sanctuary life. Here they are on their first day. Well, one of them, and the feet of the others.
It’s a myth that you can’t have more than one rooster around hens. There are maybe 40 or so here. And they all have their own personalities, you’d have to be working really hard not see it.
The fighting roosters learn to get along with one another. The “broiler” hens learn to trust. Dogs lick cat’s faces. Ducks talk to humans. When they say that they’re just stupid animals they are lying. Unless they’re talking about humans.
Just up the street 40,000 chickens are crammed into a shed. Watching one chicken here at the sanctuary living her life, pecking at her food and nuzzling her friend or even having a little tiff, it is mind boggling to imagine the cruelty that humans are capable of. I could never hurt these little guys and of course I can’t see killing one. I guess most people just don’t know, or don’t want to know. Of course some don’t even care.
The thing is, if you open yourself up to it there is suddenly beauty everywhere. And if beauty isn’t your thing, how about freedom?
January 15th, 2008 at 5:08 am
Awwww they’re all gorgeous! I’m way jealous of you being able to spend time there. As far as I know we don’t have any animal sanctuaries here.
January 15th, 2008 at 6:39 am
Awesome visuals & words. I can’t fathom not caring for animals & I’m always perplexed by those who choose to turn a blind eye to cruelty.
January 15th, 2008 at 8:29 am
I’ll bet the roosters pick up hens and cruise around the sanctuary in that old Buick on the weekends.
January 15th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Great blog, Isa. I’d really like to have my own animal sanctuary.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:46 am
what do they do with all the eggs?
i used to have a pet chicken and she was the world’s happiest, best-treated chicken. i had no problem eating her eggs, since she laid them regardless and didn’t have much use for them, herself.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:35 am
What an insightful post. I think you really hit the nail on the head about people not wanting to know about the cruelty…. they’d way rather hang out in their own little heads without a thought for anyone else.
Bowie is beautiful. Are you bringing her home?
January 15th, 2008 at 11:40 am
That black rooster is especially gorgeous. I don’t usually like to point out spelling errors in people’s blogs, because I know I have plenty. But I’m just afraid someone is going to say that with your spelling “Eatern” in the title means you have some hidden desire to eat those chickens. Enjoy your week!
January 15th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
josy - many people who run sanctuaries feed the abandoned eggs back to the chickens or to other animals. Apparently they love it.
Dawn - thanks for pointing out the spelling error! It was late, what can I say!
January 15th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Isa modestly neglected to mention that she’s been cooking up a storm, entirely undaunted by things like wildly tilted countertops and baking powder that expired ten years ago. (When she noticed that the pancakes weren’t rising due to the dead baking powder, she added a few things and — presto! — fluffiness.) The broken-down Buick is our feed shed. (We’re pretty freegan around here.) The birds don’t go cruising in it but some of them do use it as a jumping off point to get up into the trees at bedtime. I’m hoping Isa can get a picture of that!
January 15th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
lovely post.
is there an online guide to animal sanctuaries in different places?
January 15th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
wow, love your blog!
Is Loca/Bowie in need of a home perhaps?…if so let me know, I live in washington dc area and would love to take her!
January 15th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
This is so beautiful. Whenever people ask me why I don’t eat eggs (and think they’re introducing me to the concept of free-range), I try to explain about the real lives of chickens in hatcheries, and people just don’t want to believe it. I think most people would be appalled at the cruelty if they could see it, but they’re happy to remain in willful ignorance.
Not to be nit-picky as well, but you have an extra http in the link to the sanctuary’s website. It makes the link not work, though it’s easy to fix.
January 15th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Loca is very happy here with the extended family of cats and dogs who extended love and care to her when she arrived as an orphaned kitten last fall. (You can read all about it here.) But I’m sure that, wherever you might be, there’s a Loca-like cat or kitten at a nearby pound or shelter.
January 15th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
does this organization take donations? how can i give them?
January 15th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Ducky, I am so glad that you asked! I hope to do some fund raising for the sanctuary in the near future. For now, please go to their website:
http://www.bravebirds.org/
And there is a donation link at the bottom of the page.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
A lot of people don’t realise just how soft chickens are. Especially the feathers underneath the chin/beak area, and then they close their eyes and start clucking softly. What lovely creatures.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
^uh, edited to add, if you stroke them underneath the chin/beak area …oops.
January 16th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Isa and Patrice you are both inspiring. The animals are all so beautiful. This blog entry made my day.
January 16th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
I am curious what Isa used to get the pancakes to rise in lieu of active baking powder. My nephew has a bunch of allergies and cannot eat yeast or baking powder. So, what is left to leaven things like pancakes?
January 16th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Oh man! I would have so much trouble keeping myself from stuffing Loca in a pocket and kittynapping her! What a beauty! Love the chickies!
January 16th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Pattrice–Just looked at your blog about Loca’s adjustment to her new home. Made me sniffle terribly. (I just lost one of my two in December.) I’m happy she’s in a happy home!
January 17th, 2008 at 1:20 am
Vegan Dad - I used baking soda and vinegar, which makes me think your nephew will still be allergic to that solution.
January 17th, 2008 at 4:06 am
I’m hoping Loca has a messed up grill to match those eyes.
January 17th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
What a great experience. SO nice to see happy, living animals.
January 17th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
what they’re doing up there is just awesome. the pictures on their site you linked are amazing! i had no idea that roosters liked to perch in trees. i’m so glad that those guys and gals have a safe comfortable home!
January 18th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
What a great entry. The pictures are beautiful and you express yourself so eloquently. If I wasn’t already vegan, this would inspire me to become one.
January 19th, 2008 at 11:08 am
such a wonderful, heartwarming post - the Eastern Shore Sanctuary should definitely be commended for their efforts!!
January 19th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
[…] posted a lovely account of her visit on her blog and also posted some photos on Flickr. If we lean on her a little bit, I bet we can get […]
January 19th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I watched the “Earthlings” movie last month and swore off meat forever. It actually made me ill for DAYS. I had no idea what went on in the meat industry. Thank you guys for showing us great alternatives rather than killing off our fellow earthlings.
Bless you guys.
January 19th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
That cat is sooooo beautiful! I loved seeing pictures of the animal sanctuary.
January 20th, 2008 at 1:39 am
I love that cat! And the chickens. Roosters always look so proud to me.
January 20th, 2008 at 5:11 am
“Roosters always look so proud to me.” Ha ha! I’ve always thought so too - they look like they’re saying “Check it out, ladies!”
January 20th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
They’re so beautiful! I love the way roosters strut around.
January 20th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Some roosters think very highly of themselves, others not so much. Dancing and feather display is a part of the courtship ritual for all roosters but, otherwise, there is a lot of variation, both between kinds of roosters and within those kinds. Big “broiler” roosters tend to be gregarious and goofy. Little bantam roosters tend to be hyper in the same way that small dogs can be hyper in the same way that small dogs can tend to be hyper. The stereotyped “cocky” rooster does exist but is just one of many different personalities… and doesn’t tend to be preferred by the hens. They like to hang around with the nice guys instead.
January 21st, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Hi Isa,
In the last few months, you may remember receiving an email invitation to become a part of the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher Program. With all the recipe-writing and food photography to be completed, we know emails can easily get lost in the shuffle, so Foodbuzz would like to re-extend our offer of inviting you to be a part of our food blogger network. I would love to send you more details about the program, so if you are interested, please email me at Shannon@foodbuzz.com.
Cheers!
Shannon Eliot
Editorial Assistant, Foodbuzz.com
shannon@foodbuzz.com
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:21 pm
bowie rocks my world - can I take him home with me?
January 23rd, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Ooooh, I don’t think I could survive a second so close to a chicken plant (on account of I’m a big wussy), but it would be worth it to hang out with these little creatures and absorb some of their awesomeness. I’m referring to the chicken and human people at the sanctuary.
January 25th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Seeing things like this further confirms my belief that consuming animal products is in know way justifiable. I would love to go spend a week at a sanctuary.
January 30th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
that is a nice animal sanctuary, and nice photo.
February 5th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Adorable chickens! Having worked with many many free-ranging chickens on a couple of different farms, I can vouch for the fascinating personalities chickens have. This sanctuary sounds amazing, and as a Marylander I would love to check it out.
I also think it is really important to realize that yes, chickens love to eat eggs for the calcium in the shells and the nutrients in the eggs themselves. However, they generally don’t eat them as frequently when they aren’t craving the nutrients the eggs provide, and don’t mind when the eggs are respectfully shared with their human friends. If at least some of the eggs aren’t eaten, they will be often be eaten by snakes and other predators. Not who chickens want to have on their side of the fence!
I think factory farming is always wrong, as are corporate “free range” farms that are just glorified factory farms (think:most of the “free-range” products available in chain grocery stores). But many (though of course not all) small farmers have incredibly deep and complex relationships with the animals, even at times when eggs are used and even (believe it or not) when some of the animals end up being killed. Check out what Derrick Jensen says in “A Language Older Than Words”.
I’m a vegan chef, but I just wanted to give y’all a different perspective. Thanks for reading this long post!
February 8th, 2008 at 12:05 am
I visited this sanctuary too before graduating from the nearby university last spring and though I had been a vegetarian for 2 years prior to that it really changed my perspective on chickens. I held one for the first time there. It’s a wonderful place and I agree that it is extremely in contradiction to the culture of treatment for chickens on the Eastern Shore. Keep up the good work Patrice!
May 6th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Will you eat their eggs?
September 11th, 2008 at 10:10 am
[…] vegan Isa Chandra Moskowitz spent some time at the sanctuary early this year, blogging about it here and posting more photos here. Sanctuary volunteer Deb Durant came down to help out with early […]
April 20th, 2010 at 11:36 am
All my respect goes to those suffering, be it you personally or a loved one. My hope is for a major development in the near future to help all those in need.