Barn News

~ by Carmen Mandel ♥ News about compassion to farm creatures ♥ Places to get involved and make a difference.

A Trademark Call

Kid

The Goat joins an elite group of mammals —which includes humans, bats and whales— known to adapt a vocal sound in response to the environment .

Pygmy Goat kids have ability to modify a sound, rather than make calls limited by genetics. This is done in accordance to their social surroundings and could be thought of as developing the group's specific 'accent'. 

Kid6

Kids develop the 'accent' of their social group.

Kid3

Goats live in complex social groups that split during the day and reunite at night. Having a trademark call helps the group to recognize members and come back together. 

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(adapted from Goat kids can develop 'accents' )

Visiting Ionia

It was a much anticipated visit. News about mom and kids settling down in the neighbourhood created quite a stir. Ionia is beautiful and her kids have insatiable energy. Welcome the lovely Nigerian Dwarf Goat family of East Lexington, Massachusetts.

Ionia_collage_for_patch


A lovely family

All images ©Carmen Mandel

During an afternoon visit to the LexFarm Goat Yard, we were introduced to the family members. Ionia, the beautiful goat doe, is mom to three of the four frolicking kids. Her pretty doe kids are Sapphire, Naya and Ella. The handsome young buck is Jasper, born to another doe in the herd where Ionia comes from. 

We heard interesting facts about the goats, the yard activities and the idea behind this initiative. The herd shares a habitat of tiered ramps and round logs for their climbing needs, set against the peaceful scenery of Arlington Lake.

The lovely goat family let the visitors pet them and feed them delicious dry twigs and leaves. Ionia and the kids grazed, jumped, skipped and played with contagious energy. 

Every now and then, a mischievous somersault made us all laugh. Their luscious coats are of individual patterns; their curiosity, endless!. Bright kind eyes glance sweetly.

It was a wonderful time in a pastoral environment, enjoying the company of these beautiful residents while goose flocks flew by under the setting sun.

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♥ My new line of products featuring the goat family:

Capture

Barn Friends

Home décor, stationery and more. All sales proceeds suppport LexFarm

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Celebrating with the Turkeys

A compassionate holiday season. Being thankful and preparing for the joyous holidays. Extending our compassion to all creatures with vegan and delicious dishes.

Let Us Celebrate with the Turkeys

2008 CA Celebration FOR the Turkeys

♥Adopt a turkey and save a life♥

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How the Turkey Got its Name
(Adapted from Infoplease)

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Christopher Columbus thought that the land he discovered was connected to India and believed that the bird he saw, the Turkey, was a type of peacock. He therefore called it tuka, which is peacock in Tamil, an Indian language. Actually, the Turkey is a type of pheasant.

The Native American name for Turkey is firkee; some say this is how turkeys got their name. When a turkey is scared, it makes a "turk, turk, turk" noise.

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Learn more facts about this gentle bird.


 Delicious Vegan Dishes!
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Sheep Prefer Smiling Faces

Lamb

Sheep can tell whether you're feeling happy or sad

via BBC Newsround

Scientists found that sheep preferred smiling human faces to stressed ones. They also preferred being around happy animals.

The research worked by giving the sheep a choice of doors through which to get food. One door showed a happy human or a sheep, the other showed grumpy faces.

"They vastly preferred the smiling human or the image of the animal that had just had a meal," researchers said.

Earlier research by the team found that sheep could recognise 50 individual sheep faces and remember them for two years.

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♥ It is time to change the human misperception on farm creatures

 

Face your Choice | Carmen Mandel

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"Face your Choice" collage  | Text, images and artwork © Carmen Mandel-Cesáreo
Calf . Snow Leopard . Deer . Crocodile . Horse . Turkey . Jaguar . Otter . Sheep . Geese . Swine . Dove.
Click image to open in my gallery                  

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Face your Choice - For a humane and balanced lifestyle
 ~by Carmen Mandel

“Look at the face of these creatures. Face your choice. Opt for food, garments and products that do not carry suffering, abuse and death.

“While acceptable alternatives exist from non-animal source, these creatures and many others, are being systematically and brutally slaughtered”.

“Voiceless victims of varied industries such as food, garment, personal care, art and crafts materials, pharmaceutical, household products, fashion, furniture, automotive and décor, in order to live they rely on your humane choice.”

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♥   I donate 100% sales proceeds from sales of Face your Choice (print or t-shirt) to:  Vegan Action - Dedicated to helping animals, the environment and human health by educating the public about the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.

Barn Owl Rescue

via blog.paws.org  

Barn Owls in raptor mue 052811 KM (11)

"Animal intake at the PAWS Wildlife Center increased sharply in May as a wide variety of orphaned birds and mammals came through our doors. Among the orphans received were six young Barn Owls. Other than a little dehydration, all owlets were in decent shape on arrival."
 
Over the past few weeks the Barn Owls have been eating and growing, shedding their white, downy feathers for more adult looking flight, tail and bodyfeathers. All six have been sharing a large outdoor aviary and have become capable flyers. When caretakers enter the cage, the owls tend to huddle together and put on elaborate displays of "mantling" and "toe dusting." 

"Mantling is a display in which the birds spread their wings, puff out their body feathers and spread their tail in an attempt to look larger than they really are. Toe dusting is often done in conjuction with mantling, and it involves the owls dropping their heads toward the ground and swishing them back and forth quickly."

Barn Owls in raptor mue 052811 KM (20)

"The combined activities are meant to deter a potential predator from coming any closer, and the impressive wing spread combined with the bizarre movements really can be intimidating.  The effect is amplified when several owls are doing it together.  I took some video recently when I entered the cage to check on the birds, and in it you can see the rhythmic movement and rapid head sweeping of toe dusting behvior. 

"By the end of June all of these Barn Owls should be ready to return to their home in the wild."

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♥ Thank you PAWS!

Hens Feel Empathy

Henpups

A number of controlled procedures were carried out which involved ruffling the feathers of chicks and mother hens with an air puff.

When chicks were exposed to puffs of air, they showed signs of distress that were mirrored by their mothers. The hens' heart rate increased, their eye temperature lowered - a recognised stress sign - and they became increasingly alert. Levels of preening were reduced, and the hens made more clucking noises directed at their chicks.

Researcher Jo Edgar, from the School of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Bristol, said: ''The extent to which animals are affected by the distress of others is of high relevance to the welfare of farm and laboratory animals.

''Our research has addressed the fundamental question of whether birds have the capacity to show empathic responses.

''We found that adult female birds possess at least one of the essential underpinning attributes of 'empathy', the ability to be affected by, and share, the emotional state of another.''

Under commercial conditions, chickens regularly encounter other birds showing signs of pain and distress ''owing to routine husbandry practices or because of the high prevalence of conditions such as bone fractures or leg disorders'', said the researchers.

via telegraph.co.uk

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♥ Birds possess empathy —the ability to be affected by, and share, the emotional state of others.

Ravens Show Emotions

Source: www.birds.com

Once a fight had occurred between the birds, bystanders that had a relationship with the victim would console each other.

The act of consoling a victim also seems to bring peace to the flock. Relationships between birds can also blossom through the act of consoling, bringing the flock together again. Emotional acts that were once only attributed to humans can now also be seen in birds, and the study of the ravens has confirmed this fact. 

Read more in my blog About Raven

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♥ Ravens toboggan, ride other animals and spy their enemies.

 

 

Ethical Yarns And Textiles

My_ewe_2
Traditional crafting materials like wool, jute (coconut fiber), silk, linen and cotton are popular for their versatility and hard wearing qualities.  However, those that are animal-based, as wool and silk, raise ethical questions.
Animals raised for wool production suffer many of the same indignities as those raised for meat — they are selectively bred to have unnatural and often distressing physical characteristics such as very thick wool, which can make their lives unpleasant. Sheep can suffer wool blindness or heat exhaustion because of excessive wool growth.
source www.onegreenplanet.org
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Shearing produces great stress in the animals as they struggle against the rough handling. The use of sharp shears brings the risk of cutting the flesh of the animal. Shearers are usually paid by volume, not by the hour, which encourages fast work with less regard for the welfare of the sheep. 
The CSIRO in Australia has developed a non-mechanical method of shearing sheep using an injected protein that creates a natural break in the wool fibres. After fitting a retaining net to enclose the wool, sheep are injected with the protein. When the net is removed after a week, the fleece has separated and is removed by hand. 
Animals are also ear tagged, prodded electrically and eventually sold to slaughterhouses when their wool production declines.
Sheep are often ‘mulesed‘, a cruel process involving slicing a large piece of flesh from the behinds of animals without using anesthesia to prevent flystrike.
Silk, on the other hand, is produced by the cocoons of the metamorphosing Silk Worm. In order to remove the silk from the cocoons, the worms are steamed to death, never achieving their life-cycle potential.
Silworm_cycle
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♥ What you can do:

Bamboo, soy, banana, corn and other cellulose-based fabrics and yarns are now available.

Choose ethical yarns that are biodegradable, animal-free and that require minimal chemical processing. 

Sheep

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♥ Read more about these humane alternatives

The Sick and the Weak Need Protection

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via onegreenplanet.org

Subject to extreme cruelty, our farm friends need our voice.

Those too weak or sick to go into the meat market are further and severely abused.

The No Downers Campaign advocates to end these inexcusable practices. Important progress has been made – including passage of the first state law to protect downed animals at stockyards and slaughterhouses in California.

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♥ Learn more at Farm Sanctuary

♥ The Federal Drug Administration/Dep of Agriculture is seeking public comment on the proposed humane law. Add you voice!.

 

 

Inspiration

We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfume flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle: these are our brothers. All things are connected like the blood which unites one's family.
~Chief Seattle

Cordero_perro
"If slaughterhouses had glass walls the whole world would be vegetarian."
~Linda McCartney

Kittycity_1840_2867915
"As custodians of the planet it is our responsibility to deal with all species with kindness, love and compassion. That these animals suffer through human cruelty is beyond understanding. Please help to stop this madness."
~Richard Gere

Calf

 Nothing more strongly arouses our disgust than cannibalism, yet we make the same impression on vegetarians, for we feed on babies, though not our own. 
~Robert Louis Stevenson

Lucky - bantam hen - miniscule chicks
Now I can look at you in peace; I don't eat you any more.
~Franz Kafka 

White Tail Deer In Winter 13
The basis of all animal rights should be the Golden Rule: we should treat them as we would wish them to treat us, were any other species in our dominant position. 
~Christine Stevens

Turkeys chicks Aug 09

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Quotes via animalrightsafrica.org

Free Donkey Care Course (Stage 1) | The Donkey Sanctuary, Ireland

Basic Donkey Care Course

Our basic donkey care courses are held at the Sanctuary in Liscarroll and at venues around the country starting at 10am and finishing at 4pm. Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity; learn the basics from the experts at The Donkey Sanctuary. The training courses are absolutely free, but voluntary donations are always gratefully received.

2011 diary dates

  • Friday 4th March - Liscarroll
  • Saturday 9th April - Belvedere House, Mullingar, Co Westmeath
  • Friday 6th May - Liscarroll
  • Friday 1st July - Liscarroll
  • Friday 2nd September - Liscarroll
  • Friday 4th November - Liscarroll

For more information and to book a place on the course, please contact Sinéad on 022/49013 or send an email.

via thedonkeysanctuary.ie

Hello, I Love You

Media_httpadvocacybri_sqdfl
via advocacy.britannica.com

Dorothy and Chico were not rescued together. They live in a herd of more than 100 sheep and goats.

But Dorothy recognizes Chico from the other end of the barn. They seek each other and, when they meet, they exchange adoring greetings by rubbing their heads against each other. They spend hours each day grooming, playing and snuggling together.

♥ ♥

One Green Planet

For a compassionate vegan lifestyle: food, clothes, accessories and more.

Tips, ideas, recipes, thoughts.

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Guide: No One Goes Hungry! Inside The Vegan Fridge

vegan substitute food starter

So you're thinking about giving up meat and dairy and embracing the health & environmental benefits of a plant-based diet? Or maybe you've started to realize that no living being should have suffer or die to feed you? Awesome! But does this mean your health or taste buds have to suffer because you only eat plant-based food? No way! Great tasting food is something that you never have to give up as a vegan and you will achieve the best of health if you do it right. The following are suggestions on what you should consider filling your refrigerator with to make every meal delicious, satisfying, and nutritious! 1. Fruit & Vegetables Duh! Fresh fruit and vegetables should take up AT LEAST 50% of your refrigerator space, 70% if you truly want to be healthy. Yes, a plant-based diet is in principle healthier than any other diet (especially those that include lots of animal flesh), but you can be unhealthy if you eat way too much processed food, such as refined starches and deep-fried foods, even if they are vegan. Ever

Read More
via onegreenplanet.org
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