Strong, lady in charge, intelligent, watchful. This is Florence, aka Lady Flo.
Marches to the beat of her own drum, independent, cautious, curious. This is Sally Sue.
Born to make babies
Florence and Sally Sue were born into a world very different from where they now live. They were born to have babies. That’s it! The girls are of the game fowl breed and as such who knows what would have become of their babies? Often, male game fowl are forced into cockfighting or killed for their feathers. Females would likely go into the same industry as their moms – becoming a factory to make chicks.
Rescue and life of sanctuary
In July 2019, Florence and Sally Sue were only 2 of almost 80 chickens seized from a site in western Washington. The girls were adopted by Noble Animal Sanctuary, where I met and adopted them a little over a year later. At Noble, the girls’ family expanded to include Tito, a rooster who also now lives at Tumbleweed. The girls, especially Florence, are always by Tito’s side. Florence is the top hen and Tito is her world. Sally Sue, on the other hand, is best friends with Frederick the duck. Sally Sue and Frederick sleep beside each other and are often found standing by each other when Florence and Tito are busy exploring in the yard.
Unlike most hens, who lay eggs throughout the year due to breeding or industry pressure, Florence and Sally Sue only lay eggs from April until August. Since laying eggs takes a lot of energy, is physically demanding, exhausting, and can be risky, we are all much happier when egg-laying season is over. For the rest of the year, the girls explore the aviary and yard, have dust baths, forage in the yard, and enjoy life.
