FARM SANCTUARY HELPS ROOSTER DUMPED IN LIMERICK FOREST

A chicken is more than just a bird to Lynn Kennedy. The owner of Contented Clucks Farm Sanctuary in Oxford Mills has been rescuing chickens since 2016.

Kennedy, who cares for 15 birds currently, explained each one has their own story. The most heartwrenching, she added, is about Roy the rooster.

"I got a message on Facebook and this local couple said they found a rooster in Limerick Forest," Kennedy said. "They thought he was severely injured and needed vet care."

Roy was barely more than a baby at the time, she noted, and had been dumped in the woods during the winter of 2022.

"At that point, he still had feet — they were turning that brown, dead tissue if you've ever seen frostbite," she said.

Both his feet and the top of his comb were impacted by exposure to the elements, according to Kennedy.

"So I got him into the vet right away," she continued. "In the meantime, he was bright, active, drinking ... he drank a lot; he was really dehydrated."

Roy, a heritage breed of Faverolle, underwent surgery and ended up with two stumps where his feet should be.

"He's done really well — he's taken a year to heal," Kennedy noted.

But Roy isn't out of the woods yet and Kennedy is raising funds to have prosthetic feet made for him, along with a modified coop.

"It takes a lot of energy for him to move around and I kind of tell people, if you were to put on ballerina shoes with wood at the end, that's what it's like the whole time," she explained. "And he works so hard to balance, like treading water."

Contented Clucks Farm

Sanctuary is running an online auction in support of Roy, through its Facebook page. Kennedy said she's selling a little bit of everything, from artwork to household items and antique furniture.

"Pet Valu in Kemptville donated to the auction," she added. "They gave us a cash donation to get us started."

When asked why it's so important for her to help Roy, Kennedy responded, "I don't see him as any different from my cat or my horse or my donkey.

"When people get to know chickens, they get to see that they're each unique — they each have their own personality — they have feelings, they have joy and they have grief," she continued. "I've always been one for the underdog."

Kennedy stressed Roy deserves a chance just like everybody else.

"He deserves to have as good a life as he can."