Morgan on my shoulder; look at those feet, and understand exactly how horrible toe amputation would be
It’s always fun when new residents arrive at the sanctuary, and it’s especially fun when the new residents are baby chickens. Baby chickens tend to do things like climb on people as if people were trees, and the feel of those tiny little baby bird feet walking across my back is one of the sweetest things I’ve ever experienced.
They are so trusting, those little peepers. So curious and adventurous and so full of personality and life.
The new residents this week are two baby roosters named Morgan and Stanley. They are Rhode Island Reds, an egg-laying breed. Since they are males, it’s something of a miracle that they survived their first day without being killed, discarded by humans. They were found in the city so we can only speculate as to their story in between hatching and coming to the sanctuary, but to a certain degree it just doesn’t matter what the story is, because we know it wasn’t good.
Morgan and Stanley, perching on Nathan
That they are alive today is a series of almost impossible odds. That they weren’t killed as soon as they were sexed, that they survived their first few weeks, in whatever situation they found themselves in. That they survived wandering in the city, in danger from people, and cars, and many predators. That they are now safe at an animal sanctuary.
Sometimes when I watch little miracles like Morgan and Stanley, dark thoughts creep in. I watch them sunning, and I listen to them peeping, and I feel their little baby feet walking across my back, and I know that there are those out there who see these little babies as things. Things to be bought and sold, things to be discarded, things to be killed.
There are people who could see these babies sunning, listen to them peeping, and kill them.
Morgan sunning
It is something I have a hard time comprehending.
Life is precious. Their life is precious. And I am so happy that there are places like Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, where these precious lives can be lived. I am so lucky that I live close enough that I can volunteer every week, so that I can share in the beauty of these precious lives for at least a few hours every week.
Morgan and Stanley are great examples of why vegetarianism isn’t enough, if your goal is to live with compassion, to avoid killing, to cause as little harm to others as possible. Eating eggs means killing babies just like these little peepers. That’s the reality of the egg business. So, for Morgan and Stanley, go vegan.
Invisible Voices 
Great post, Deb, and awesome photos as well! Morgan and Stanley were the first chickens I saw today and Leesa and I couldn’t resist picking them up. Their peeps are so cute!
Great post and photos Deb! I just want to add that Morgan and Stanley are Rhode Island Reds, the breed that most “free range” or “cage free” farms use to produce brown eggs. Because the boys can not produce eggs all the cute little peeping male chicks are killed in horrible ways as soon as they hatch, even on these so called “humane” farms. We are seeing more abandoned chickens than ever before since so many people are now raising them in their backyard for eggs. People order female chicks from a hatchery to start their flock. But for every female they receive in the mail there was a male counterpart that was killed at the hatchery. Sometimes they use the male chicks as “packing material” in the shipments and I think this might be why Morgan and Stanley were discarded. It really is a miracle that they somehow survived and made it to the sanctuary.
Great post, Deb! Brought tears to my eyes!! I’m so happy that Morgan and Stanley were rescued:)
thank you for this post Debbie, but please do not use veganism and vegetarianism interchangeably especially in a post about the horrors of egg production. Let’s be proud of who we are and spread the word about the only diet that approaches compassion: VEGANISM.
Thanks for the chastisement, Nannie, but if you read the post you will see that your comment makes no sense.
Life is precious. Morgan and Stanley are beautiful birds whose lives are precious. Stop the killing. Go vegan. Thank you Deb.
Too cute!
@ Terry … Thanks for the information on ‘free-range’ eggs. I, and probably others, never thought about what would happen to the male chicks after they’re hatched. I suspect there’s a lot of misinformation on free-range products being made available to the public.
Morgan and Stanley are absolutely handsome, gorgeous birds! Yes, for them, and for the countless billions of “invisible” ones – Go vegan!
I made a chicken mug…
~laughing~
I was inspired~
*wink*
I can’t wait to see it!!