Abbey's Acres

Abbey's Acres Welcome, friends! Thanks for following my happy micro-sanctuary in the city ♡

For an animal loving girl, it does NOT get any better than a cute guy surrounding by critters 😍 So thankful to have a pa...
01/26/2025

For an animal loving girl, it does NOT get any better than a cute guy surrounding by critters 😍 So thankful to have a partner who supports all of my crazy rescue dreams.

One of our smallest friends had his first vet visit today! Ed has had a runny nose 🤧 and some unusual breathing, which o...
01/15/2025

One of our smallest friends had his first vet visit today! Ed has had a runny nose 🤧 and some unusual breathing, which of course pointed to a respiratory infection. The vet confirmed my suspicion and started him on antibiotics, but not before giving him a few "emotional support apples" for being such a brave little boy 🥹

The vet said he is otherwise in great shape, besides being on the thin side due to illness related weight loss. I went over his cage size, diet, and enrichment options to make sure I am doing everything right and she was happy with everything! She did note that I should increase his greens a bit, so I'll be getting more to choose from next grocery trip. Now we just have to hope whatever he has doesn't spread to his brother, Not Ed🤞

12/15/2024

A little puppy crunchin' ASMR for your Sunday morning. We absolutely love the selection of raw food and single ingredient treats at Wild Whiskers! Today the dogs are having Gunni's Wolffish Skin Shorties and the kitty had a minnow scavenger hunt using minnows from Northwest Naturals.

Highly recommend trying wolffish if your dogs love fish but you hate the scaly mess cod skins leave behind (I know I do). Wolffish is also a little more of a crunchy challenge than cod, which starts to become soft and soggy pretty quickly.

09/01/2024

If you are a rescue worker, or perhaps you just have a large animal family, you know how stressful it can be to find help if you need to travel. I am fortunate that my little brother is always willing to help us, but traveling for my sister's wedding put us in a bind since the whole family was going.

My new friend Aubri appeared just when I needed her. I saw her post offering farm/home/pet sitting in a local group and messaged her right away. Not only was she willing to take on my huge crew, but she had years of prior experience with nearly every species at the Acres! She did a fantastic job, following all of my instructions exactly and sending regular updates. We would absolutely book with her again!

Aubri services the Dayton, OH area and has given me permission to share her number for anyone interested. Text is best and the number is (937) 974-5329. Tell her Abbey sent you!

Ruth is enjoying a leisurely epsom salt float to take pressure off a sore leg tonight 🛀 She's been doing a lot of limpin...
08/22/2024

Ruth is enjoying a leisurely epsom salt float to take pressure off a sore leg tonight 🛀 She's been doing a lot of limping and laying around over the past few days, but the leg feels/looks normal, so I'm thinking it's a simple soft tissue injury. An epsom salt soak is great, but a float is even better since it allows her to take all pressure off the leg. Swimming is also beneficial for the healing process, so to the bath we went! Hopefully a few of these floats will have her back to normal in no time 🤞

The most peaceful way to spend a weekend morning. Bathed the birds and got them situated in different windows to watch t...
08/17/2024

The most peaceful way to spend a weekend morning. Bathed the birds and got them situated in different windows to watch the world go by as they dried. They are listening to bird chatter on Spotify while I drink my coffee on the couch and, for this moment, absolutely everything is right in the world. We all hope you have this perfect of a Saturday too!

Cathy 🧡I spend time with Cathy every day to make sure she has an opportunity to eat without competition. This morning, I...
08/11/2024

Cathy 🧡

I spend time with Cathy every day to make sure she has an opportunity to eat without competition. This morning, I took her for a breakfast date on the front porch.

New treat day is the best day 😋 Thanks, Wild Whiskers!
08/10/2024

New treat day is the best day 😋 Thanks, Wild Whiskers!

It's been a while since I shared the smallest of our furry family members! If you're unfamiliar, meet Ed (brown and whit...
08/04/2024

It's been a while since I shared the smallest of our furry family members! If you're unfamiliar, meet Ed (brown and white) and Not Ed 🤣 We adopted Ed first and, when his friend came along, we just couldn't think of a name that suited him. For weeks we just said "not Ed" when differentiating between them. Eventually we realized that was a pretty hilarious name and it stuck!

These boys are mostly pretty hands off, but they are such fun and cute friends to have around. They live in the basement and have learned that when they hear the door open, it might be mom! They start wheeking like crazy hoping I'm coming to bring them a snack. I can never resist popping in to say hello 😍

The only positive of losing one of my friends is the fact that it opens up room to help more. The recent losses of Esthe...
07/20/2024

The only positive of losing one of my friends is the fact that it opens up room to help more. The recent losses of Esther and Poppy have given me the opportunity to welcome two new girls to sanctuary. Please help me welcome Cathy (because she is a very chatty Cathy) and Harmony (because she is a gentle friend to all) to the Acres!

Cathy is another crossbeak queen 👸 She has the same condition as little Jovie, but hers is far less severe. This means she can safely live with the outside girls and can eat a normal diet as long as her beak is groomed regularly. Unfortunately, she had to compete with 14 other hens and did not receive grooming at her old home. As a result, she arrived dramatically underweight and always eats like she is starving. I am offering a pellet based mash supplemented with scrambled eggs to give her a protein boost and help her gain weight. She is otherwise in good health and received her first beak trim today, courtesy of our friends at Sugarcreek Bird Farm.

Harmony has no issues as far as I can tell. She was missing a small amount of feathering, likely due to being picked on. She is very gentle and passive, so probably sat pretty low in the pecking order. Her gentle nature made her a perfect companion to accompany Cathy, because she never bullies or competes, always allowing Cathy first dibs on food. She is an absolute sweetheart and such a beauty!

The new girls have completed their quarantine period and will join Tootie and Iris tomorrow. Their quarantine pen has been within site of the main pen throughout this time, which has allowed them to see and talk to their soon to be flockmates. I believe they will integrate well.

Thank you to our friends Haven at Foxwood Farm for allowing us to help these girls!

Watermelon time is the best time 🍉Good Sprout Rescue and Sanctuary
07/19/2024

Watermelon time is the best time 🍉
Good Sprout Rescue and Sanctuary

Sad news to share. We recently had another unexpected death at the Acres. Little Poppy died suddenly and with no signs o...
06/22/2024

Sad news to share. We recently had another unexpected death at the Acres. Little Poppy died suddenly and with no signs of illness. Her timing was simultaneously horrible and perfect; the day before we were leaving the state to visit family. It was horrible for the obvious reasons, but perfect because if it had happened while we were gone, we couldn't have taken her for necropsy. Instead, we were able to take her with us on the road and stop at the vet on the way. We received the results same day because her cause of death was immediately obvious at the start of the procedure. Poppy's liver had ruptured due to unknown fatty liver disease.

I was shocked by this diagnosis as I have always associated fatty liver with animals on a poor diet. I went over every detail of what I feed and how frequently. The vet confirmed I am feeding a great diet and that the girls are likely getting plenty of exercise in their huge run. She said that this is likely yet another consequence of humans breeding chickens to be egg laying machines. Fatty liver is apparently a pretty common cause of death in laying hens (especially during their active laying season, which is now) because estrogen levels are increased, stimulating the liver to hold more fat for yolk production. Holding onto excess fat causes the liver to dramatically increase in size which, in turn, increases the risk of rupture. The fact that humans have bred chickens to stay in a near year round state of high estrogen production means that even the best fed and most active hens may not stand a chance during their laying years 💔

There are 3 things I took from this experience. First, I now have a little more knowledge on chicken health. Second, I have some solace knowing what she had was not contagious and that, according to the vet, she likely felt pretty good right up to the time of rupture and likely didn't suffer much before death. Third, people are the worst. Chickens and other traditionally farmed animals are sentient beings, just as deserving of kindness and respect as any other being. They are not here to be used for our benefit or gain. They don't deserve the way humans have exploited them.

Goodbye, Poppy. I know you were not my biggest fan, but I enjoyed our love/hate relationship nonetheless. I loved watching you boss your sisters around, despite being half their size. You were the fastest and trickiest little girl, always finding ways to get away when I needed to catch you for any reason. The bugs in Heaven don't stand a chance!

05/11/2024

Two pals having a salad 🥗 It's not just chickens, ducks, dogs, parrots, a pigeon, a cat, and fish around here...we have piggies too! Guinea pigs should never live alone, but these boys were both adopted as stubborn lone adults and didn't take well to sharing their homes. I knew they needed the companionship of their own kind but didn't want them hurting each other, so I built them a custom cage with a shared wall where they can eat together and visit without enough contact to get in a tussle. Tonight's dinner included a delicious salad of romaine and spinach along with their pellets and hay 😋

Little Jovie the wonder hen!
05/03/2024

Little Jovie the wonder hen!

Jovie is holding a sit in for her wrongfully imprisoned comrade.
04/28/2024

Jovie is holding a sit in for her wrongfully imprisoned comrade.

04/28/2024

Gave Joanie a cod skin for the first time and I don't think I have ever seen her happier or more engaged! She is still under a year old and is always into trouble, so we are on a constant hunt for ways to keep her busy that don't involve destroying all of my houseplants and decorations 😖 Cod skins are definitely a winner and I highly recommend for any kitty!

It's a beautiful day to be a kitty on the windowsill 🪟
04/27/2024

It's a beautiful day to be a kitty on the windowsill 🪟

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Dayton, OH

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A little puppy crunchin' ASMR for your Sunday morning. We absolutely love the selection of raw food and single ingredient treats at Wild Whiskers! Today the dogs are having Gunni's Wolffish Skin Shorties and the kitty had a minnow scavenger hunt using minnows from Northwest Naturals. Highly recommend trying wolffish if your dogs love fish but you hate the scaly mess cod skins leave behind (I know I do). Wolffish is also a little more of a crunchy challenge than cod, which starts to become soft and soggy pretty quickly. #supportlocal #smallbusiness #womanownedbusiness #rawfeddog #enrichment #rescuedog #rescueanimals #sanctuary

Two pals having a salad 🥗 It's not just chickens, ducks, dogs, parrots, a pigeon, a cat, and fish around here...we have piggies too! Guinea pigs should never live alone, but these boys were both adopted as stubborn lone adults and didn't take well to sharing their homes. I knew they needed the companionship of their own kind but didn't want them hurting each other, so I built them a custom cage with a shared wall where they can eat together and visit without enough contact to get in a tussle. Tonight's dinner included a delicious salad of romaine and spinach along with their pellets and hay 😋 #guineapig #guineapiglove #piggies #cavies #dinner #dinnertime #bros #friendship #healthyeating #healthylifestyle #rescue #sanctuary #sanctuarylife #makeitwork #friyay #friyayvibes

The girls don't really like leaving their coop when the weather gets cold and grey, and I don't blame them! However, I know it's important for them to still get fresh air and exercise, so I try to give them incentive (in the form of snacks) to come out. This peck toy from Omlet is a great way to make them work for their treats! Also, listen close at the end for a cute "hey honey" from my sweetheart 😍

Happiness is receiving a gentle head massage, snuggled warm in your mama's lap, and wrapped up in her cardigan. Hard to imagine Freddy spending his first 5 years of life trapped in a crate with no love, but I'd like to believe we are making up for lost time now.

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