Christmas 2019 Seasons Greetings to our Friends and Supporters, We all know when the Christmas season is getting close, the shops erupt with everything Christmassy, including that Christmas Anthem, “and here it is Merry Christmas� being played at full volume in Supermarkets. In September? Before the last of the twinkling fairy lights have cleared the shelves Easter Eggs make their appearance? When Christmas finally does arrive most people are fed up to the back teeth with it, but then, fed up as we are, we have the New Year to look forward too. We never know quite what to expect as every day can be different, new animals are sure to arrive, new friends to make, maybe this will be the year that someone will win the Lottery and think of us? LOOKING BACK on the year, for once early weather conditions were reasonably kind. There was one stormy period when George the pig saw his house blow away across his paddock. George probably wasn't too concerned as he has a habit of moving his house on a fairly regular basis, and at least it stayed in his paddock so he still had a roof over his head. Spring came earlyish, the mud began to dry up, the sun came out, the grass grew, haymaking started early, (oh joy!) and sheep were beginning to peel their fleeces off ready for the shearer. There was just one blot on our landscape? Late last Autumn we were asked if we would collect a stray sheep who was wandering around a car showroom just outside Worcester, as they do? She was a sad looking little soul, very grubby, looked as though she hadn't had a proper feed for a long time. We weren't able to put her in our isolation stables as they contained four Pygmy goats waiting for their passports to be completed to enable them to travel to France and rejoin their owners, and two newly rescued sheep, Harold and Hilda, so the little ewe was put into her own pen in the big barn. We called her Octavia, (she was perusing cars in a Skoda showroom), we wormed her, treated her for lice, trimmed her feet, gave her vitamins and three feeds a day. Reg Charity 702287
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Contact us: Manor Orchard Farm School Lane Middle Littleton Evesham Worcestershire WR11 8LN 01386 834500 info@thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Follow us:
Visit us:
Carols in theBarn 7th December 4pm Refreshments Gift stalls Sanctuary merchandise, calendars and cards Festive music
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
What we couldn't see was that she was carrying visitors, in the form of sheep scab mites. In the thirty odd years we've been going we have never brought in a sheep with scab, to find it in the flock is every sheep owners nightmare. It's taken us over 9 months and a precious amount of money to get this under control, we tried all the veterinary recommended injections, nothing worked, the mites by then had migrated from the sheep in the barn and infected the sheep out in the fields. As the sheep were rubbing their fleeces away we were tearing our hair out. We found the answer in a fairly new invention, to us anyway, a Sheep Shower! The sheep, the goats and the Alpacas all lined up fairly nicely in the sheep race to have the first
shower of their lives. Despite our misgivings, would the alpacas become hysterical? would the pensioners cope? All went well. Some of the lambs leapt about a bit (Scruffy, Dumbo and Jake) when the water sprayed them from underneath, (not heated unfortunately but it was a warm day). The Alpacas were not amused, spitting was expected but wasn't carried out, the goats just looked bemused? They were only in there for a few minutes, by which time they were thoroughly drenched, and it worked! No more itching, no more rubbing against the fences, no more new bald patches, the nightmare was over. Thank you little Octavia, it all cost us a fortune and a lot of worry, but we did save your life and you are more than worth it.
More New Arrivals. In March we were asked to take in two very sad individuals, a ewe named Queenie and a lamb named Feather. Both came from a farm where neglect was practised with great success. Queenie had a hideously swollen, dirty and infected back leg, Feather was undernourished, small for his age, grubby and unable to walk. He had the brightest little face, he was interested in everything going on around him and loved all the attention we were giving him, he always had a big smile on his face He was given massage and other treatments, a dog harness and a baby bouncer were adapted for him so eventually he could stand and walk on his short zip wire. Our dreams for him were broken when he became ill and within a very short time we lost him. We'd had blood tests carried out when we realised he was slowing down, the results showed that his kidneys were failing, there was no way or treatment we could have used to save him, so sad for everyone who had worked so hard to make him happy. Queenies' treatment went on for months, although she was initially very frightened of us she was very patient, eventually learning that she could trust us, she's now out in a paddock with other sheep, confident enough to run up with the others for a biscuit. Next arrivals were lambs Elliot and Ava. Elliot had been found dumped in a paddock when he was just a few weeks old, healthy and in good condition, why would someone do that? Jen, who works here was on her way into work one morning when she came across a small lamb running loose on the busy A435. She managed to grab her, there were no ear tags, no markings, no identification, no choice other than put her in the car and bring her to work. A little friend for Elliot. Reg Charity 702287
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
Then, handsome friendly Orlando the sheep who avoided the slaughterhouse by virtue of the fact that he was a sick lamb, brought up on the bottle so became super friendly. Handsome Baa had also been found as an orphaned lamb, taken into care by a couple who loved him so much he lived in the house with them. His favourite spot was lounging about in the conservatory, admiring the view of the garden. Baa grew and grew, the day came when his foster mum and dad realised that a big mature sheep shouldn't be spending the rest of his life living like a large pet dog, lounging about sharing their food, sharing sleeping quarters etc. It took him a while to settle down with us, he was obviously missing his foster parents, and also missing room service, now he's just one of the lads. In his group are Handsome Herriot, Willy and Big Scruffy, Poppy and Panda, all had been much loved pets until their owners circumstances changed. Sheep kept coming. Four little chocolate coloured Soay sheep whose owners were no longer able to look after them, lambs Yogi, Dopey, Tilly and Tiny, all born on a very large commercial farm where over 1000 ewes were lambed each season. These four were born at risk, they Reg Charity 702287
needed very intensive care to keep them alive, which was provided by a local girl. Tamar couldn't bear the thought of them all going off to s l a u g h t e r, instead she bought them and brought them to us. At first they missed their Mum but they also loved food and biscuits, the way to all sheeps' hearts are through their stomachs. Last to arrive was Freddie the lamb, who was also born on a small commercial farm. He had problems at birth which meant he needed one to one care, and, as sometimes happens on farms, lambs like this grow up to behave like pets, so much harder then to send them for slaughter. Freddie is a friendly boy, now part of Yogis' gang, all of them so lucky to now be able to look forwards to the life they so deserve. Percy pig the Roadhog, found in a comatose state on the M42, made his arrival in an animal ambulance designed to transport injured racehorses. Percy made it very clear very quickly that he was very happy to be with us, he loved his house, his garden, his treats, his belly rubs, it could have been such a different story for this stray pig, somebody somewhere was looking down on the lovely Percy.
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
To round up this years intakes we've had Victoria the hen, three little Bantam chicks, two more hens with no names, Helga the hen and her friend Mimi the turkey, and Roxie, the shy little goose who has been partnered with Paul, our bachelor gander. Oh, and four ducks. And finally, I found a beautiful, fat, lime green, brown striped caterpillar hurrying across the Lino being hotly pursued by Zero the puppy. It's now living in a small box, the caterpillar, not Zero, and has gone into the chrysalis stage, it's going to be fascinating to watch it emerge, we know it's a moth, but not which type. Fingers crossed, I've never reared a moth before.
“Sheepover Success”
In August we held our first ever "Sheepover". We invited people to camp out in one of the sheep paddocks, with the sheep. Not everyone expected to find themselves putting up a tent helped by two lambs, or have their belongings rummaged through by Larry, who was only looking for food. It went well, the sheep behaved as we thought they would, they visited tents, they walked of with various items, bags, clothing etc, one unlucky camper woke up to find a lamb peeing all over his sleeping bag. A very good time was had by all, we'll be doing it again next year so if you are thinking of trying a new experience, book early!
Reg Charity 702287
“Open Day Success”
Our Open day, held in September, was the best ever. We had over 1200 visitors and raised almost £4000. Matilda the turkey spent all day being worshipped, sheep ate a glut of Rich Tea biscuits, and the pigs ate so many apples and biscuits they didn't need dinner. As always, mixed fortunes. We felt fortunate that we had the space and facilities to take in those animals who came knocking at our door. We feel sad when we lose any animal, whether it's to natural causes or to an illness that can't be cured, but knowing that we've done everything we can to give them the best life, lives that were respected, whether a chicken or a cow, does make it easier. And, of course, it leaves a space to be filled by another animal in need.
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
The animals themselves give the people who work with them, staff a n d volunteers, so much pleasure, that's why they continue to put up with all the uncomfortable bits, the mud, the floods, frozen pipes, leaky wellies, the list goes on. It was a joy to watch the Alpacas, staring suspiciously at a large paddling pool that had suddenly appeared in their paddock, until curiosity got the better of them. One by one they dipped their toes in, then drank some, finally climbing in and rolling about in the warm water, pure bliss! Many thanks to the supporter who donated this, the alpacas will be forever grateful! Now that it's windfall season again the pigs are enjoyIng a feast of apples, kindly provided by neighbours. We hear a higher pitched grunt when they know that apples are on the menu, Colin, Pete and Percy manage a little dance, Freda is more refined, George begins to eat his fence in anticipation, Boris and Bertie have a mud wrestling match, trying to push each other away from the gate. Pigs don't ever do anything quietly. And the sheep. Rich Tea biscuits are the way to their hearts. Every evening, on hearing the click of the gate latch Gordon, Snowdrop, Larry and Dolly have their noses poked out from the barn gate in expectation. Within seconds they're joined by 100 plus other sheep who've smelt the biscuits. Animals can be easily pleased. Reg Charity 702287
This year we've had a record number of visitors who booked in for the Saturday Farm Tours. Visits started in May and went on until September, in that time we've had over 400 people who've been able to spend two hours or more seeing and touching our animals at close quarters. They are the best ambassadors for their cause, they trust people, they're friendly, they're obviously contented in their surroundings, why would anyone want to eat them after meeting them? We've also had visitors from across the world. Two Professors from a Vietnamese University came to observe how our pigs were kept. They had both become vegetarians, they were researching pig behaviour, not in the hope of stopping pigs being raised for food in their country, which they realised was an unreachable target, but to at least to make it enforceable to provide the pigs with the best environment until the point of slaughter. Small steps can lead to bigger steps? We've also had visitors from Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and Japan, people who wanted to set up sanctuaries in their own countries who wanted advice. The whole situation for the welfare of farm animals throughout the world is changing, but not quickly enough, frustrating, but we have to be patient and continue to help those that we can.
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
I can't finish rounding up the year without mentioning Zero. Not a farm animal, but a terrier puppy. The last thing we expected to be taking in was a puppy, her story was heartbreaking, all efforts to find her a suitable home following major surgery had failed, she was living at the Vets surgery where she'd been taken after being found in a park, inside a box, on a freezing cold, wet day. She was taken to the Vets who had to perform surgery on her to save her life. She was pooing and peeing from the same exit, so was totally incontinent, she was covered in diarrhoea and had a bladder infection. She was also tiny and very undernourished, not a good candidate to undergo surgery. She survived that, then went on to undergo two more operations to correct her rear end malformation. It all went well, the infection cleared up, she was bright and cheerful, playful, energetic, affectionate, but still poo incontinent. The Vets did all they could to find a suitable home for her with no success, there were suggestions from dog rescue organisations that it would be better if she was put down, as no one would want an incontinent puppy? We're very often "the last resort" for animals of all kinds , so Zero was brought to us by Natalie, the Vet who saved her life. The Vets practise was in Surrey, the remarkable thing about this story is that the Vets Practise actually raised the money to pay for this little waif and strays' operations, the Vet brought her too us with several large bags of her special diet food and lots of love from all her friends. We all love her to bits, she's disobedient, obviously has a long life battery as she's on the go from morning to night, she chases chickens, sheep, visitors, totally ignores all commands, but is loving, cheeky, and we wouldn't be without her.‌
Wishing everyone a peaceful and pleasant Christmas, please stay with us for the sake of all these lovely animals, and give a thought on Christmas morning to our lucky turkeys, Matilda, Joy and Mimi, who have all survived to enjoy another year.
Reg Charity 702287
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE