Once Sebastian made it through the night, we knew he had a good chance of recovery - though it would be a slow process.  Once he had a little more energy back, we brought his best friend Sebastian in to visit him.  We could tell how much it cheered him to hear his friend (though he still couldn't see him due to his eyes being swollen shut) and to do "normal" chicken things again.  They hung out for a bit and ate dinner near each other.  Hearing Jareth eat made Sebastian hungry and helped him to find his food on his own, though he still required hand feeding and watering for a few more days.  

Finally, one of Sebastian's eyes opened and his head started to heal.  He was becoming restless inside, so we let him have some time in the sun with Jareth.  

Hi, Jenna here…

I don’t really understand why everyone doesn’t automatically get me as their secret Valentine this year. I mean, what’s better than secretly knowing you’re getting a Valentine while also secretly knowing it will be me?!? 

Exactly.

I would be an excellent Valentine. I am warm, loyal, emotionally available when not distracted by carrots, and I show up every single day needing hugs. The surprise alone would be worth it. You’d spend everyday wondering who your Valentine is and then BOOM it’s me. Best day ever.

I have been told, however, that Valentine’s Day is about sharing love, and that I cannot keep all of it for myself. So fine. I will reluctantly agree. And mom and dad tell me this is very wonderful for me to do. They seemed surprised… likely because they know how right I am about my original thinking.  

Still, let’s be honest with ourselves. In spirit, I am still everyone’s Valentine.

Sebastian had a bad day yesterday.  Probably the worst day of his life.  It was a very bad day for us too.  When we found him, he was unconscious.  We genuinely thought he was dead.  Tia the turkey had snuck into his area with her kids Rachel and Betty - something she had never done before.  Tia and Sebastian have had a long-standing feud for reasons we still don’t fully understand. While these tensions have existed for some time, we have taken steps to mitigate their ability to see each other through fences, which has helped tremendously.   However his outcome was far more serious than anything we had ever expected.

Dear Diary,
​
Today, I saw Huckleberry standing there. 
Soft, round, unsuspecting.

​I told myself, “Edna, you are new here. You must resist.”

Over the past few weeks, many of you have been checking in about Odin, and we wanted to share an update on how he’s doing. Odin has been dealing with a combination of back pain and laryngeal paralysis, which has meant a period of strict activity restriction, pain medications, and steroids to help his body heal and reduce his discomfort.  Because of his kidney disease, he is limited in the medications he can take, which complicates things a bit.

Quincy took a trip up to Bionic Pets (the same place that made Bonnie's leg brace!) to see if they could help him walk more comfortably with his amputated toe.  Derrick was happy to help and straight away began making a mold of his foot.  The mold will be used to create a silicon "shoe" to help distribute the weight across his two other toes and his foot pad to make sure his remaining toes don't have too much pressure on them.  He is still taking a daily pain medication and we hope that with the right footwear he can come off of it.  When the shoe is ready we will be taking a trip back up to see Derrick for his fitting - so stay tuned!

It’s that time of year - orange noses and happy munching everywhere.
Thanks to so many generous pumpkin donations, pumpkin season is officially in full swing around here, and no one is complaining. Pumpkins are being enthusiastically devoured and stolen.  Manners are out the window.  There have been pumpkin heists, sibling disputes, and more than a few “that was my piece” moments.
Fall has arrived, and it tastes like pumpkin. 🎃🧡

Our Kindness is the Bass-line campaign with Rachel Bolan of Skid Row was a huge success!  We raised our goal of $20,000 and Rachel and his wife ditched turkey this year, in honor of his feathered namesake Rachel the turkey.  They got to try the Field Roast celebration roast and loved it!  It's a win for animals all around.