Spring has sprung and Trixie needs some special enrichment during flock-down.
You might be asking, “what is flock-down?”
In 2022, an avian influenza outbreak devastating wild & domestic birds in Europe made its way to North America.
Since then, more than 80 million domestic birds and millions of wild birds have died or been killed due to avian influenza. Because the fatality rate is nearly 100% in chickens and turkeys, and state officials generally mandate all birds in an infected flock be killed, we chose to take extraordinary precautions to protect our beloved feathered friends.
For the past two years, the birds have been kept indoors with covered outdoor access. While their outdoor space is sufficient, it is still a fraction of what it used to be.
While we work to expand their covered outdoor areas even further in the future, I’m reaching out to you to help Trixie and her friends today.
Your $10 gift buys one bag of grass seed!
What’s a graze box?
If you garden, you probably already know what a graze box is! It’s a raised bed garden converted to grow fresh grass for chicken friends.
A sturdy, bird-safe grate is added to the top so that the grass can grow through and the chickens can nibble it at their leisure.
This is a great form of enrichment that safely reconnects our bird friends with greenery and nature.
I’m hopeful you see the benefit and joy graze boxes would bring to Trixie and her entire flock. We’ve done our best to keep costs down – a group of animal lovers has volunteered to build and install the graze boxes.
Each graze box will be 4×4 feet and will cost around $300 per box. But this investment is well worth it!
Trixie is one of 600 hens we recently rescued from an egg farm. While many of these hens have found forever homes, Trixie is one of the hens who arrived with health problems. Nearly 10% of the chickens suffered some form of reproductive disease, requiring them to remain at sanctuary.
For these hens, a graze box will provide them with enrichment and enjoyment for whatever time they have left.
Today Trixie enjoys hanging out on the chicken playground, another volunteer enrichment project for the chickens! She is good friends with Kenzi, another hen from the farm, and loves exploring.
Flock-down is tough for the birds, and graze boxes will make it less so. Keeping our chickens enriched is critical to their happy, healthy lives, and your gift toward the graze boxes today will make this possible.
With compassion,
Jess Carroll
Executive Director
PS: Your $10, $20, or $40 gift will buy grass seeds, soil, and wood to build all the graze boxes!