Figgy Farm Animal Sanctuary

03/13/2025

Happy Thursday from beautiful, sleepy Irene 😌🩷

03/11/2025

Some moments from today ☀️🩷🐷🐑

03/11/2025

Hoof & tusk trimming day was a success!

Thank you so much to Freedom Acres Ranch for being so kind and gentle with our babies. And to our amazing community for yet again showing up for us when we needed you most. We raised enough to cover the entire bill! 🥰

I only got a few pictures between the business of it all, so here they are. Upsidedown piggy faces 🙃

03/10/2025

🐗 Tomorrow is Hoof Trimming Day! 🐗

We've been absolutely swamped with repairs—our HVAC needed fixing ($650), our hose spigot had to be replaced ($730), and the barn has become an endless money pit, requiring thousands for insulation, walls, stalls, and more. While we’re covering as much as we can on our own, we need our community’s help with one crucial expense: hoof trimming for our pigs.

Each trim costs $35 per pig, and we still need support for 7 pigs.

Hoof trimming is essential to their health, ensuring they can walk comfortably and allowing us to check for any issues with their hooves, eyes, ears, and mouths while they are flipped. This is done at least twice a year to keep them in top shape.

Instead of a fundraiser through the donate button, we’re collecting donations via PayPal, as that’s how our trimmer accepts payment.

Huge thanks to Andrea and Kat for covering three hoof trims and Bo’s tusk trim! 🥰

Thank you for helping us provide the best care for our babies.

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=655UE52N4FR6Y

03/09/2025

Hey everyone,

We just want to take a moment to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your patience and support during this difficult time. Your kindness—whether through messages, wishlist gifts, or generous donations—has meant the world to us. Knowing we have this incredible community behind us has been a source of comfort and strength.

After some much-needed time to rest and grieve, we’re beginning to feel a little lighter. The arrival of warm, sunny days has been healing for our spirits. The pig and sheep people are feeling it too; soaking up the sunshine, munching on the first hints of Spring grass, and enjoying time outside their sheds.

We have many updates to share soon, but for now, here are some photos of our beloved family. Thank you for standing by us through it all. We are so grateful for you.

03/06/2025

In the dairy industry, calves are taken away from their moms shortly after birth. It's time we call for stronger protection for baby cows! 🐄 Add your name at https://thl.link/3Xounnp

03/03/2025

Happy Monday from Irene bean 🐷🩷

03/01/2025

Happy National Pig Day 🐷💕

My hope is that one day the world will see pigs for the beautiful, intelligent, affectionate souls they truly are. Rescuing them has been one of the greatest joys of my life—watching them heal, trust, and embrace the love they’ve always deserved. Pigs are family, friends, and individuals with so much love to give. Today and every day, we celebrate them.

03/01/2025

Happy 🐷

I see a spark in you,
You’re just like me
Longing for kindness
For a place to be free

How do people not see it?
How can they do this to you?
You can feel the pain
Just the same as they do

Is it easier to ignore?
Bury heads in the sand
Look away wanting more
Paying for your bitter end

I see a spark in you
A soul mirrored in your eye
Just a peaceful being
Looking for a peaceful life

You’re just like me
I’m just like you
A tiny spark of life
Glowing for a moment or two

_______________________________
Illustration & Poem Credits: Bubi The Bear

🐾🐷🐖🐑🐐🐮🐄🐓🐔🐣🐥🦋❤️🙏💚🌱

02/27/2025

🐷 One Year of Figgy Farm 🐷

This month marks one year since we moved to Kentucky and officially became a nonprofit. It’s been a year of growth, resilience, and incredible moments.

In just 12 months, we’ve built three beautiful pastures, added multiple shelters and a barn, endured both a brutal summer and winter, dug countless wallows, insulated pig houses, and forged meaningful connections with local businesses. Most importantly, we’ve rescued so many incredible souls—and mourned the loss of a few precious ones.

Through it all, we’ve gained an amazing community that has made every step possible. Your support, kindness, and generosity fuel our mission every single day. We truly couldn’t do this without you.

While this month has been heavy with the heartbreaking loss of our dear Silco, I couldn’t let it pass without celebrating this milestone. One year of hard work, love, and life-changing rescue. One year of Figgy Farm. And here’s to many more.

Thank you for believing in us.

02/23/2025

"I loved my friend.
He went away from me.
There’s nothing more to say.
The poem ends,
Soft as it began,—
I loved my friend."

Your gentle spirit, soft and true, brought light to skies once gray and blue.
Though you've left us, far away, your love will guide us every day.
Forever cherished, never apart, your memory lives within our heart.

I'm so sorry for your loss Figgy Farm Animal Sanctuary 🥹💔🌈


🐾🐷🐖🐑🐐🐮🐄🐓🐔🐣🐥🦋❤️🙏💚🌱

02/20/2025

It is with immense sorrow that I have to share that, after consulting 4 different veterinarians, we were advised to let Silco rest and finally find peace. His little body had endured too much, and the pain became too great. Asking him to keep fighting would have been selfish when all he had left was suffering.

For nearly 3 weeks, we did everything in our power—countless vet visits, testing, antibiotics, pain management, holistic treatments, nebulizer therapy, and endless love. But despite our efforts, Silco continued to decline. He ate less each day, his body growing frailer, his strength slipping away.

As a last resort, I took him to UTVMC, hoping for a miracle. After many tests, Dr. Garcia told me his lungs were the worst she had ever seen in a calf. Severe pneumonia had ravaged them, leaving behind irreversible damage. Even the simplest acts—drinking his formula, taking a breath—became painful, exhausting battles.

When we rescue an injured soul, we can’t erase the harm they endured before they came to us. It’s possible Silco was tubed incorrectly by his previous owners, filling his lungs with liquid and sealing his fate before he ever had a chance. We are choosing to have a necropsy done to find answers, to understand what truly happened.

It’s easy to turn to anger, but instead, I choose love. Love for the beautiful soul who graced my life, even if only for a short time. Silco brought light, joy, and hope. I longed for him to overcome the pneumonia, to regain his strength, to take his first unassisted steps—but the damage was too great. Even standing for a few moments drained him completely.

Letting go is the hardest thing to do when every fiber of your being wants to hold on.

My dearest Silco,

Knowing you has been one of the greatest joys of my life. Our time together was too short, but no amount of time would have ever been enough.

I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you. I hope you felt, and still know, just how deeply you are loved. You are my perfect, strong boy, and I am so proud of how hard you fought.

Now, my angel, you can rest. You can run free, without pain, without struggle.

I will love you forever. A piece of my heart goes with you.

To everyone who donated and offered kind words, I cannot thank you enough. Your generosity allowed us to give Silco the highest level of care at the university hospital, ensuring he was seen by some of the most skilled and compassionate veterinarians. Knowing we did everything possible for him brings me a small sense of peace in the midst of this heartbreak. And not having to carry the weight of his final medical costs is an incredible relief. Thank you for standing by us when we needed you most. Your kindness means more than words can express.

02/18/2025

We urgently need to get Silco to the University of Tennessee vet hospital. Our original plan was to raise funds first and then take him in for an evaluation of his legs and potential physical therapy. But now, there’s a more pressing issue: he’s not eating enough.

Every time he tries to eat, he has violent coughing fits and struggles to breathe. Despite having an appetite, eating has become too painful, and he’s only drinking tiny amounts. I suspect there’s an issue with how the milk is going down, and it’s clear that this is beyond what our local vet can handle.

To get Silco to UT for testing, monitoring, and the care he desperately needs, I need to raise at least $2,000. He will likely need to stay for several days. This feels like an impossible amount, but I have to try. If anyone knows of emergency grants or generous organizations willing to sponsor his treatment, please reach out.

We are a small sanctuary, and we took Silco in knowing the odds might not be in his favor. But I have fallen completely in love with him, and I am not ready to give up. We have to find a way to get food into his belly so he can gain strength and fight for his ability to walk.

Please share this far and wide. And if you’re able to help, no matter how small, it makes a world of difference for him.

I need him to make it.

02/14/2025

🎀 Happy Valentine’s Day! 🎀

Celebrate love by sending a Valentine to your favorite Figgy Farm resident! For just $5, you can make their day extra special with a delicious treat from their Valentine—you! 🩷

Simply send a $5 donation and let me know who your Valentine is. Every gift brings joy to our residents and helps support a great cause!

All proceeds will go toward Silco’s physical therapy treatment.

Stay tuned for photos later today of our sweet residents enjoying their Valentine’s surprises! 💌🐽

Wishing you all a day filled with love and kindness! 🥰

02/13/2025

🖤 Vet Updates 🖤

Smokey and Fiona had an important vet visit this week for testing and a much-needed hoof trim!

First, on the advice of our friend Amy we decided to test the girls for malignant catarrhal fever—a disease that often shows no symptoms but is highly contagious to cows. This isn’t a routine test most vets mention, so we had no idea how crucial it was. Huge thanks to Amy for educating us and for sponsoring the testing!

We’re keeping our hooves crossed for negative results so that one day, Smokey and Fiona can safely be with Silco. ❤️

Smokey also had a major hoof trim. Since her rescue, our vets and I have struggled to trim her deformed hoof. Regular sheep hoof trimmers couldn’t cut through it, so we tried cow hoof nippers, which worked okay, but it was difficult to gauge how far back to go. Over time, her hoof hardened even more, making it impossible to trim with nippers alone.

So, we loaded up the girls and headed to the vet’s office, where our incredible vet used a cow hoof sander to carefully buff it down. The results were amazing! Her hoof has never looked better. We’re sure she’s feeling so much more comfortable now.

Lastly, I want to thank you all for helping us cover Silco’s vet visits so far. We’re still fundraising to get him into a facility for physical therapy, and we’re actively in talks with a few different places. We’ll keep you updated on the plan as it unfolds!

Thank you for your unwavering support; it means everything. Because of you, we can provide high-quality, consistent vet care for all our residents. I’ll be posting the vet bills in our stories for transparency.