Alfreda

This chick is our inaugural resident, and her sanctuary story is pretty unique!

Prior to the existence of Happy Cow and Friends Hangout, our founder, Elizabeth, lived in Texas. One day, she heard her dogs making a ruckus in the backyard and found them playing tug-o-war with a chicken. Elizabeth presumed the chicken was deceased but when she got closer, she saw the chicken move! Elizabeth rushed the chicken to the vet clinic where she worked. The veterinarian determined that the chicken was in shock. She was prescribed crate rest and anti-inflammatory medication. After some time, it became apparent that the chicken was okay, but she had sustained an injury to her leg. Another veterinarian performed a chiropractic exam and referred Elizabeth to a physical therapist for further care. During the physical therapy evaluation, the doctor showed Elizabeth exercises to improve the muscle strength in the chicken's leg. For the next few weeks, the chicken lived in the bathroom at Elizabeth's house. When the chicken showed frustration with the exercises and the bathroom, it was time to find a flock for her to join. Fortunately, one of Elizabeth's co-workers already had hens and ducks, and she offered to take the chicken, whom she named Alfreda!

Alfreda lived happily in this home for about a year and a half. Around this time, Elizabeth and Ryan had founded Happy Cow and Friends Hangout and planned to relocate to Alabama. Elizabeth reached out to her co-worker, and offered to take Alfreda in as a sanctuary resident if they were unable to care for her. A few months later, her co-worker told Elizabeth that the other hens in Alfreda's flock had passed away. About two weeks after that, Alfreda was loaded up with Elizabeth and Ryan's personal pets and they all made the journey to Alabama.

Alfreda is a talkative and sassy hen. She enjoys fruit snacks and is affectionately called a "fruit raptor" because of her quick and ruthless technique at pulling blueberries off the bush. She enjoys digging for bugs, but she isn't interested in small bugs, like ants. When the sun is setting, she hops onto the tallest perch and squawks, reminding us that she must be in her coop before nightfall! Alfreda is also very clean. She prefers to wait until she is outside of her coop to go to the bathroom. While she is not snuggly, she is warming up to sharing a chair with us, and she wraps her foot around your hand when you carry her in your arms.