Lefty’s Place is a small animal refuge in the Macedon Ranges, Victoria. We love chickens. Operating since 2011.
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We rescue, rehabilitate and tell the stories of suffering animals everywhere. DONATIONS ALWAYS TRULY WELCOME
FOR DIRECT BANK DEPOSITS:
ACCOUNT NAME: Lefty's Place Inc
BANK: NAB
BSB: 083-451 ACCOUNT NO: 74-132-0298
OR VIA PAYPAL:
paypal.me/leftysplace
Today’s LP News - Tontine being shadowed by her huge Goth force friender edition.
Tontiney is starting to get a bit freaked out about her very conspicuous stalker and is wondering if she’s trying to rob her for the old bits of corn stuck to her beak or just wants a friend she could use as a little “Weekend At Bernie’s” prop sometimes…Either way, Tontiney is worried and photo four is now the vision she sees in her nightmares.
The moment Pickles realised she may have made a mistake wanting to share a meal with her favourite friend, Mrs Mangle. Mrs Mangle shares food with no one.
Thanks to Alba for purchasing so many treats for the animals via Happier Pets! Their favourite treats in the world.
A slow walk out this morning with many staying in bed late. Here we have the early birds - The Henderson Kid, Blue Jean, Beatie Bow, Crackers, Young Einstein, Brolga, Roger Ramjet, Sussusudio, Hills Hoist Snapper, Aisle 9, Gean Jeanie, Parsnip, Diamond Dogs, Plumcake, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Gwen, Sparrow, Fashion, Newstart and Kite.
Today’s LP News!
Chicken vet day today. Lots of acupuncture for lots of chickens with pain, implants and a healthy dose of chicken drama thrown in.
Today was a big appointment costing $2,600. I’d like to thank those of you who donated this week! Also to the anonymous person who put $1,000 on my vet account - THANK YOU!! So bloody grateful! You saved my week (and life 😬) ❤️❤️🙏
Photo One - Pickle’s first acupuncture ever.
Photo Two - Weird Al being just beautiful
Photo Three - Sweetest chicken in the world, Tontine, loves her acupuncture.
Photo Four - Huge thanks to Liz and Sally today for cleaning all my coops whilst i was with the chickens and their doctor! So helpful and made the rest of my arvo so much easier than usual. Liz also delivered a little coop that has been donated!
JULY WISH LIST!
As I do my chores out in the elements all day, I often wonder how I don't end up looking like the end shot of Jack in The Shining (I also wonder how I don't go crazy like him too), but we forge on through the mud. Here's some things that would really help -
*Contribution towards vet appointment tomorrow for lots of chickens here. We need about $500 to pay for our appointment tomorrow.
*Contribution towards acupuncture appointments tomorrow for Tontine, Elton, Mrs Mangle, Skittles, Pearl, Vince, Smurf and more - Any amount appreciated!
*Contribution towards small wire enclosure from Bunnings to accommodate new or unwell chickens (all my other enclosures are full)
*Chicken food. Sheep food. Horse food - unlimited, never-ending supplies of funds needed.
*Hay. Running out of hay and lucerne fast.
*Cans of corn (via Coles or Woolies gift cards)
Donate here via PayPal - https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=M3GWHD97MERN6
Or via bank deposit -
ACCOUNT NAME: Lefty’s Place Inc
BANK: NAB
BSB: 083-451 ACCOUNT NO: 74-132-0298
Or send anything to -
Lefty’s Place
P.O. Box 392
Romsey VIC
3434
PLEASE WRITE WHAT YOU'D LIKE YOUR DONATION TO GO TO.
Thank you with all my heart! Your help means everything to the animals here. 😍🥰😘
Pictured - Vince Noir. Arrived in May from another "sanctuary" whose idea of care of chickens is oceans apart from mine.
Today’s LP News!
Photo One - Finally. After a month and a half of being here, Vince Noir, Mrs Pelham and Obsidian Blackbird McKnight are finally choosing to sleep with their new flock up on the perch instead of in the Eglu. Always a triumph moment for me.
Photo Two - Thunder misses Covid, where Ruby had to stay 1.5 metres away from him.
Photo Three - Sussusudio now weighs this much. When Liz from MCR picked her up she was so starving she only weighed 1.4kg and had only stones in her crop that she was hoping was food.
Photo Four - At 5pm every night, Inspector Gadget, hops in this nesting box in the coop and attacks every hen she hates to stop them going to bed peacefully. She waits and watches for Artax, Ruby hen, Particle Man and Crackle and runs them out of the coop constantly. When Tamara arrives wearing her cape (revolting jacket) everyone can get to bed without being attacked by this crocodile with some serious grudges.
Today’s LP News! - Tontine’s Sunday Edition.
Photo One - Determined selfie pretending she’s from the wrong side of the tracks (she’s not).
Photo Two - Pretenfing to be tough with tough dog in the background.
Photo Three - Freaked out because Morticia Addams loves her and always hangs out with her.
Photo Four - No longer tough. Please save me from huge goth chicken who wants to become best friends way too fast.
This was Sussusudio’s first time venturing out of the enclosure! She arrived two weeks ago after being found dumped in a park completely emaciated. She’s put on so much weight, is integrated in to the flock, is laying eggs (that get fed back to her) and is the happiest, chattiest hen now. Never again will she be hungry or feel unsafe. First part of my job done. ✔️
A big thank you to Connective Instincts Inspired by Coco who has sent Tontine so many wonderful little pillows via her Winter Blanket Drive. Tontine now has enough pillows to see her through the year. 😍
*Tontine is a sweet hen who is unable to walk due to her legs that never formed properly due to poor nutrition and lack of sunlight. She was hatched by someone in the suburbs, then dumped in a front yard. She cannot walk so there is no way she escaped a backyard. She was then thrown over a fence by a man who was asked if she was his. She's gone through so much in her short life and she is absolutely the most divine little lady who just loves her corn cobs and the comfort her pillows afford her.
Can you help Shear Existence Sanctuary pay their vet bill for their beloved Fenrir?.
https://shearexistencesanctuary.org/fenrirs-fight-for-life/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2Bo4BlDUFT-m56ToVOCx6N6olr1LwEexA30KPIWI5_r142x3xVCsZG6bs_aem_8cVjuaIunxaTnwASYWkz5g
Services If you follow us on social media, you will know that one of our precious big Turkey boys 'Fenrir' is unwell and currently fighting for his life. On Sunday morning Fen barged out of bed like nobody's business with his 2 brothers ready to seize the day, he had…
Meet Sussusudio (old name “Sid”). She was found dumped in a park in Coburg absolutely starving a few weeks ago. She weighed 1.4kg when Liz from Melbourne Chicken Rescue took her in and was suffering from a case of fowl pox. Sussusudio was kept with Liz until her comb cleared up and she’s now been introduced to my flock that has had fowl pox before. She’s put on heaps of weight and just laid her first egg here, that was then fed back to her. She’s a very happy, chatty lady who seems overjoyed to now be in a large flock with the most handsome rooster in the world.
You hear Newstart before you see her. She always has something to say. Even sitting on her perch, she has something to say. It's not outraged talking, it's not old lady complaining about day old bread at the bakery talking or creepy man who sits next to you on the tram talking, it's more her talking to herself about things that she loves. Reminding herself of how lucky she's been.
Newstart arrived in December of last year. She was found walking around behind a job seeker office in the inner suburbs. She had a big terrible wound near her tail and was a worried lady. She came to me via Melbourne Chicken Rescue and has since flourished and is such a beloved member of the flock now.
Some chickens get lucky and get to come to a place where they are safe and can truly be chickens, but most aren't. Please reconsider your decision to get chickens if you cannot keep them safe, give them vet care or if you don't know anything about them. Get a plant instead.
Tuppence (Of Tuppence) arrived in 2020 from a cage egg farm. Tuppence has always suffered from a chronic respiratory illness and she requires a lot of care, especially in Winter. I often make plans to have her put to sleep when she’s at her worst, but she always gets back up and says “not yet, not yet”. Tuppence currently sleeps in front of the fire and goes outside on the days that aren’t bitterly cold. Tuppence has such a will to keep living, she absolutely loves her life - especially when it includes corn.
Hills Hoist Snapper has just bounced back from a dramatic moult and she’s so beautiful now that I can’t stop watching her. She’s so full bodied and glistening! When Snapper first came in she attacked me constantly. She was so angry. So, so angry. She was a stray who was found perching on a clothesline and whatever had happened to her was obviously so traumatic and it’s stayed with her. She’s doing so well now, is calmer and is Roger Ramjet’s number one hen and they are ALWAYS together.
New perches in Bobby’s World Coop One. Everyone approves! Larger branches are much more comfy. Thanks to dad for putting them in.
Chickens use their wing feathers for many reasons - flight, balance, running, escaping predators and for fun. The amount of chickens who arrive here with their wings clipped really upsets me. These birds don’t have really anything to make them feel safe from predators apart from their wings and so many people cut them so they can’t fly. If you have a chicken who is flying out of your property, your chicken doesn’t want be there. Think about not having chickens or roofing your enclosure , don’t cut their wings. Make their home as wonderful as possible so they don’t want to leave, don’t cut off the one thing that makes them feel safe.
Pickle’s best part of the day is when she first sees Mrs Mangle and then when they get carried inside together at bed time. Mrs Mangle’s best part of the day is when she is eating and when she is in her cosy crate grumbling about other chickens.
Vince Noir is the funniest little guy. He pretends to be so tough, but he really isn't. He came in with his two hens, Mrs Pelham and Obsidian Blackbird McKnight and they are all taking a while to integrate in to the large flock. In fact, I don't think they ever will. They just want to be with each other. Vince's biggest problem right now is dealing with my Hamburg rooster, Roger Ramjet. Roger is obsessed with Vince, but not in a bad way. Roger is dancing around him all day long and Vince is unsure what the hell is going on.
Skittles (aka Fat Buddha) likes to travel like this, with her toes wrapped around your fingers. She only has one foot, so I believe this must make her feel safer.
Skittles arrived as a stray after she ended up at the lost dogs home. She had her wings crudely cut off and one of her legs had been cut off, leaving her with one foot. She was a scared little girl for a while there, but now she’s one of the most spoilt, entitled and cherished chickens here.
Beatie Bow got this piece of penne from the dinner bowls today. She ran seven laps of the enclosure with it whilst yelling that she had it. She dropped it four times in the dirt, but hung on to it for dear life until she ate it.
Beatie Bow arrived in late 2021 with broken toes and a broken wing straight from a cage egg farm.
I love me a frosty morning. This is the first time in ages I’ve made myself go out with my proper camera (these are just phone photos here) and do some real photography work with the frost and the sun. It reminded me who I am and reminded me how lucky I am to be in this magic spot despite how hard I work here daily.
Today’s LP News!
Photo One - Tontine had snacks lined up in the sun today. What a time to be alive.
Photo Two - For those of you who remember Whiteface, yes she’s still here, attacking me daily. That’s her day job.
Photo Three - This is Mrs Pelham. She really loves sunflower seeds and eggs, but is still pretty suspect about me.
Photo Four - Mrs Mangle is finding winter hard. She is so sore despite pain relief, red light therapy and acupuncture. Today she went outside when the sun was out, but Bullseye got in to her area. Mrs Mangle sprung in to action and fully punched her out. This is her post fight mode. Poor old lady and her sore body, but nothing will stop her disciplining the hens she finds disgraceful.
Did a few carloads of feed purchases yesterday and I’d just like to thank those donators out there! You are so important to these animal’s lives. It costs a fortune. Constantly. There isn’t a day that goes by that I am not grateful to you all.
*Martini doing the product checks. She’s taken over from Razor Blade who is so missed.
Still won’t let me touch him yet except for a few pats when he’s eating, but wherever I go he is lurking somewhere just stalking me. I hear his little feet behind me all day long.
*Gremlin (the cat who chose the property with the flashing neon sign out front that says “all animals welcome, owner is massive soft touch with no boundaries”.)
Hills Hoist arrived here so angry. She would attack my hands constantly. She would puff herself out and just run at me.
She was found as a stray, perching on somebody’s clothesline at night. I’m unsure why she was so angry, but I have a feeling she went through some terrible things.
These days she only attacks me when she thinks I’m hurting one of her family members (when I’m medicating someone)
Today’s LP News!
*Not included here is new arrival “Sid” and the 13 bags of feed given to me from Melbourne Chicken Rescue 🙏❤️
Photo One - Hi, our names are Skittles and Pickles. We have nothing really wrong with us at the moment, but we scream and scream and scream until she takes us inside each night to our special beds. We think she needs to work harder, she looks so untired…
Photo Two - Hi, my name is Vince Noir and I really enjoy my special dinner bowl each night.
Photo Three - Hi, our names are Triangle Of Happiness, Electric Blue, Kingswood Country, Burger Ring Door and Obsidian Blackbird McKnight. We love to completely trash Righty’s bedtime area because we just can and he smells like a wet rug.
Photo Four - Hi, my name is San Remo Al Dente. Today I refused to come in to the enclosure at dinner time. Then I went in when she wasn’t watching. Then I got out again when she opened the gate. She swore. I ran off laughing. It got dark. I freaked out. I couldn’t get back in. She was sitting waiting for me in the shed so that was good and she put me to bed. That’s her job anyway.
I need a holiday…😂
Dumpling Air Supply usually looks like the image on the left. Yesterday, after his mud bath, he sported a new rock star look of “covered in mud”.
Dumpling was a rooster from the January 2023 silkie meat farm rescue and he then went to live at another “sanctuary”. A volunteer saved him from being attacked to death by others and brought him here. When it comes to chickens, not all sanctuaries are quite the same…
The age old question - where will they cross the little lake?
P. O. BOX 392
Romsey, VIC
3434
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A slow walk out this morning with many staying in bed late. Here we have the early birds - The Henderson Kid, Blue Jean, Beatie Bow, Crackers, Young Einstein, Brolga, Roger Ramjet, Sussusudio, Hills Hoist Snapper, Aisle 9, Gean Jeanie, Parsnip, Diamond Dogs, Plumcake, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Gwen, Sparrow, Fashion, Newstart and Kite.
Chickens use their wing feathers for many reasons - flight, balance, running, escaping predators and for fun. The amount of chickens who arrive here with their wings clipped really upsets me. These birds don’t have really anything to make them feel safe from predators apart from their wings and so many people cut them so they can’t fly. If you have a chicken who is flying out of your property, your chicken doesn’t want be there. Think about not having chickens or roofing your enclosure , don’t cut their wings. Make their home as wonderful as possible so they don’t want to leave, don’t cut off the one thing that makes them feel safe.
Hills Hoist arrived here so angry. She would attack my hands constantly. She would puff herself out and just run at me. She was found as a stray, perching on somebody’s clothesline at night. I’m unsure why she was so angry, but I have a feeling she went through some terrible things. These days she only attacks me when she thinks I’m hurting one of her family members (when I’m medicating someone)
The age old question - where will they cross the little lake?
Smurfy sleeps inside now due to it being winter. She’s a very thin hen who doesn’t put on weight, most likely due to her heart condition. Every morning she waits for her favourite treat - her tomato. She loves tomato more than anything. Smurfy and her two Isa Brown sisters arrived just before Christmas from a backyard. Smurf’s feet were so badly ravaged by scaly leg mite that she had to have quite a few toes removed. She’s doing great now and runs around without a problem. Her resilience is amazing. I keep most of the hens who arrive here and only rehome to people I absolutely know and trust because I know exactly how most chickens are treated in backyards and how they are casually neglected. They are left to suffer and die in pain, they are fed inappropriately, they have their wings crudely cut off, they are never taken to a vet and they are never seen for who they are. The suffering chickens in backyards can endure is horrendous. Always thankful that the ones who arrive here can live their lives out in complete happiness.
A bit cold, but absolute magic❄️
The daily swearing that happens between Skittles and Weird Al. 😂
I constantly catch all the hens licking Spartacus, but as soon as he realises I’m filming, he pretends it never happened. Here he is with OPSM.
Meet Vince Noir. Vince and his ladies moved in just over a week ago. Vince was originally part of a hatching project and ended up at another sanctuary down by the sea. He’s now here with his girls and I’m trying to integrate him (and his two hens)in to a flock of ten hens he doesn’t know and it’s a slow process at the moment even though he’s so dashingly beautiful. *Personal note - I currently have quite a few hens I’m intensively nursing and one in particular who is very special to me and I’m finding it very emotionally hard, so please be understanding if I don’t answer your messages asap. It’s not personal. I’m just one person and my energy goes to the animals here first and foremost. If you need advice on your chickens health, my answer is always - take them to a vet.
This is It’s A Knockout Babe. Her special skill is racing me to her enclosure every time. It’s A Knockout was found wandering suburbs as a stray. She’s a real character and will yell every night until I close her family’s coop door.
Bellatrix Lestrange is just here being the smart one with her face in the bucket, whilst everyone else listens to Dumpling telling them where the worms are 😂
A little snack before real breakfast here in the land of the freezing mornings.
Cordelia was a unwanted backyard hen. Spartacus was a chick who had been sold at a market and surrendered by the person who purchased him. Spartacus arrived and was so upset, searching for safety and a mum everywhere. He chirped in distress the entire first night beside my bed. The next day I introduced him to a broody Cordelia, who loved him straight away. She taught him everything and kept him safe. Hens are the most incredible mothers, yet most chicks in this world are hatched in an incubator. Denying chicks the magical love of their mum is the ultimate sadness for tiny babies who just want to feel safe under a hen’s wing.
Yes, chickens know their names. They register their names, your tone of voice and your energy- just like your dog does. Tontine likes to be called Ton-Ti-Tiney (or similar versions of that), she listens out for her name all day long. Tontine was found dumped in a front yard with completely abnormal and painful legs due to not being feed properly and most likely being kept in a shed. She can’t walk but attempts one or two hops. She was also thrown over a fence by a man who was asked if she belonged to him causing her more injury. She’s on constant pain relief but she is a happy little darling who loves the sun, her food and dining with Mrs Mangle.
Today is International Respect For Chickens Day! Chickens are smart, funny, clever, shy, extroverted, introverted, sweet, jealous and everything else you and I can be, yet they are the most used and abused animals in the world. Please enjoy a few of my favourite videos of my favourite little dinosaurs in the world! ❤️
Roosters don’t just crow in the morning hours, they crow all day long. If you live with multiple roosters, you’ll observe that every rooster will answer the first rooster who crows. In this video, it’s just Johnny Two Hats answering Spartacus because all the other flocks are currently out and free ranging (ie very busy), but usually every rooster here will answer the crow call and it can often go on for some time. I personally love it and prefer it to barking dogs.
Here’s a proper video of little Smurfy running on her feet with very few full toes. Smurf was a surrendered backyard hen whose toes were dead due to untreated scaly leg mite. She had those toes taken off when she arrived here.
I was five minutes late this morning and all I could hear was this as I walked down to the enclosure. As soon as they realised I was there, they stopped.
Was trying to take video of little Smurfy (white frizzle) and how good she is on her feet now, until Mr Baboo saw me…
Three of the four horses who live here (Thunder was just waiting to be moved from the other paddock). Ron, brumby. Ruby, ex nanny mare foal at a racing stud and expert at being a chestnut mare and India (in the rug), 30 years old and still keeping up.
Lefty’s Place is a small, registered not for profit animal refuge in the Macedon Ranges, Victoria, run by photographer, Tamara Kenneally. Named after her beloved sheep named Lefty who passed away in January 2013, it is home to rescued sheep, chickens, ducks, turkeys, peahens, dogs and cats from a variety of backgrounds. The main goal of Lefty’s Place is to document each animal’s life from their time in farms/abattoirs etc through to their new lives at Lefty’s Place. Tamara is committed to portraying these animals as the individuals they are and providing viewers with each animal’s true self and story so they can be aware that farm animals are so much more than just a food source.
Dr Susannah Hawke, Embley Equine Practice
Embley Court
