Have A Heart Farm Heart-Beat

Back Yard Chickens: Sometimes People Can Be Clucks

2012-02-20T18:23:00.003-06:00

With what seems to be an increasing amount of urban dwellers - who are non-animal rescuers - wanting back yard chickens, Have A Heart Farm notes the downfalls associated with such an endeavor and in addition to the issue of routine exploitation, how it too often ends in problems for both the chickens and those who do farm animal rescue:

There are issues of what becomes of these chickens when they are ill and/or not wanted any longer for whatever reasons.

Too often, these requests come not from the bird owners, but from others who have found these birds - often ill and/or injured - dumped and abandoned in various locales. There is only a limited segment of the population of those who keep back yard coops who are willing or able to spend money on veterinary care when chickens become ill, which is often the case in extreme weather climates, finding it cheaper to just replace the ailing birds with new ones which often results in inhumane outcomes for the ailing birds. Those who wish to act responsibly often find it difficult in urban areas to even find veterinary care for chickens.

Also, just the word "coop" often attests to the cramped and inadequate conditions of many back yard impromptu chicken housing units that are thrown together when some people are suddenly inspired but ill-prepared to have their own chickens.

An additional issue is when gender-typing goes awry and the expected egg laying hen turns out to be a crowing rooster, again resulting in an unwanted bird.

And, while the issue of the number of dogs and cats being dumped at shelters is a major issue in animal welfare, there are at least shelters in urban areas that will take dogs and cats. This is not the case for chickens, who often at best end up in animal control facilities that are unable to keep even healthy birds more than a day or two before euthanizing them. Those of us in farm animal welfare are often expected to have some kind of "magic" sanctuary to send these birds to, which is often not the case due to the limited number of farm animal rescue sanctuaries in existence and the number of rescued chickens they already have. Additionally, many sanctuaries are not even equipped for chicken rescue and are unable to take any in at all.

Also, people often become de-sensitized and therefore dismissive to chickens in ways that they would not be so to dogs and cats, often viewing chickens in terms of eggs and/or meat. Like the plight of so many animal species, chickens are often emotionally unappreciated and not recognized as the highly sociable and intelligent sentient beings that they are.

Those who rescue chickens and/or care for them on a daily basis can attest to the challenges involved in caring for them responsibly, especially in climates that have hot and cold temperature extremes. As with any living beings, great thought and planning has to go into caring for them with the main thought and intention being what the reasons are for having chickens to begin with, and whether these reasons primarily benefit the chickens or the people involved.

The planned Have A Heart Farm sanctuary will be including rescued chickens in its animal family roster. For more information about Have A Heart Farm and how the public can help and participate, please see our web site at www.HaveAHeartFarm.org

Geese-Control: Responsibility-for-Humane-Outcomes

2012-01-26T11:12:00.002-06:00

www.wagnerfarmrescuefund.org
www.haveaheartfarm.org
www.eyeonwagnerfarm.com

A recent news story (below) was published in the Journal & Topics newspapers about control of geese on public property managed by the Glenview (IL) Park District.

The following response is made by Have A Heart Farm which, along with its sister organization Wagner Farm Rescue Fund, is a 501 (c) (3) animal welfare organization based in Glenview:
___________

In regard to the Glenview Journal story, "Dog Gone Solution" (week of January 8, 2012), it is imperative that any geese control implemented be humane not only as far as not injuring the geese, but in the addressing of the issue of geese being scared off during nesting and post-nesting season and potentially abandoning soon to hatch eggs or newborn chicks. Additionally at risk are goslings, who are unable to fly and therefore both unable to follow their fleeing parents or quickly escape from menacing dogs.

Also to be noted is that many of these geese management companies intentionally addle the eggs (shake or coat with oil so that they don't gestate even though the parents still unwittingly sit on and care for the eggs). Companies who practice this inhumane procedure should not be hired by either public or private entities. It is even more so the responsibility of municipal entities in particular who are paying for geese control with tax payer funds to ensure that any kind of inhumane and life-threatening methods are not utilized.

The Urban Wildlife Coalition, an established Chicago urban wildlife protection organization, has issued the following response:

***************

Canada Geese

Here in the Midwestern United States, it is now a common sight to see Canada geese, even in dense urban environments. Yet, as recently as the late 1950s, these birds were driven to the brink of extinction. Despite lessons of the past, today human beings feel inconvenienced by the presence of Canada geese and again seek to “manage” their populations.

Urban Wildlife Coalition, a community-based organization founded to help preserve our treasured urban wildlife and find peaceful ways to coexist with them, opposes the practice of addling eggs and using dogs to scare Canada geese as methods of population control. Addling eggs is an inhumane practice, and using dogs to scare geese may drive adults from their eggs or hatchlings. Moreover, these methods may not lead to sustainable population control. Populations in adjacent areas may multiply in response to diminished numbers in the “controlled” area.

Instead of these inhumane and ineffective practices, Urban Wildlife Coalition proposes the use of humane methods to deter Canada geese from visiting and nesting.
Canada geese are attracted to short grasslands. Those who wish to deter geese should leave grass at least four inches high.
Incorporate tall plants, situated closely together, to create a barrier between food and water. The less-than-optimal placement will encourage geese to go elsewhere.
Geese are attracted to low, flat landscapes; adding clumps of taller plantings to break up a flat terrain. Geese will be suspicious of clumps as hiding places for predators.
Consider strategically placing flags, balloons, and Mylar® tape, owl/snake decoys which discourage, but do not terrorize Canada geese.

Canada Geese: Droppings and Hygiene
Scientific studies do not show that goose droppings pose particular health threats. Let basic hygiene practices prevail – wash hands and leave shoes at the door if coming in contact with goose droppings.

************************

There are many ways of addressing co-existence between humans and animals that are humane, environmentally friendly, cost-wise, and do not involve the potential for causing animal deaths. The Glenview Park District has numerous resources at its disposal, including people ready and willing to help to establish and ensure humane outcomes.

Debby Rubenstein
Founder / President
Wagner Farm Rescue Fund
Have A Heart Farm
501 (c) (3) non-profit corporations

www.wagnerfarmrescuefund.org
www.haveaheartfarm.org
www.eyeonwagnerfarm.com
__________________

http://www.journal-topics.com/news/article_65dd5048-3d4a-11e1-841b-0019bb30f31a.html

Dog Gone Solution - Journal & Topics Newspapers Online: News
Dog Gone Solution
By HEATHER HOLM | Posted: Thursday, January 19, 2012 12:18 pm

Have you ever noticed the sometimes unusually large number of geese that like to call local parks home?

The Glenview Park Dist. provides a few unique, preventative measures to control the number of friendly fowl.

One such measure includes sending out border collies to the community's two park district golf courses, the Glenview Park Golf Club and the Glenview National 9 Golf Club.

The dogs are dispatched through a company hired by the park district called Wild Goose Chase, according to Ken Wexler, park planner for the park district. Border collies are sent out through this organization to scare geese away during golf season, which usually lasts April through November.

Wild Goose Chase, located in La Grange, also covers other areas in Glenview including commercial property, retail property and residences.

"If you have open water, you could have a goose related issue," said Susan Hagberg, president of the company. "It's mostly a spring and fall issue. This winter it's an issue because it of the nice weather."

Hagberg started the company in 1998 when looking for solutions for the Canada goose problem in the Chicago-land area.

The 27 dogs that work for the company are home-based and cared for out of several locations between Chicago and Milwaukee.

Contracts with the company usually end in December and start again in February. If a place has natural landscaping, geese are drawn to it.

The park district also has noisemakers to drive geese off athletic fields when needed.

"They don't like areas with tall grass, but you have to cut the grass on sports fields so that is why they are drawn to them," said Wexler.

These fields include Community Park West, Flick Park, West Fork Park and Gallery Park.

"However, both of these are temporary measures because the geese do come back," added Wexler.

In addition, the park district discourages residents from feeding geese or picking up goose droppings. The Glenview Park Dist. regularly cleans sports fields and golf courses for droppings.

Geese like well-manicured areas and places without tall grass, such as golf courses, neatly-mowed lawns, business parks and recreational fields especially those with ponds, lakes and water reserves.

Creatively Caring: Nurturing Children And Their Families

2011-12-13T14:56:00.000-06:00

One of the growing gems of the metropolitan Chicago area is the non profit social services organization, Creatively Caring.

Creatively Caring conducts hands on - literally - projects dedicated to helping advance the well-being of children and their families through numerous endeavors, including arts and crafts projects and their current book drive, all which contribute in various ways to social service needs. All the Creatively Caring projects provide an opportunity for children and adults to work together in collaborative efforts.

Upon the founding of the Creatively Caring organization, the Have A Heart Farm organization named it to be the social services organization to help oversee the social services projects of Have A Heart Farm. Knowing the dedication behind the founding of Creatively Caring and its ongoing and proven dedication, Have A Heart Farm can see no finer organization to address our own projects than an organization who is equally dedicated to contributing to the well-being of others.

Founder & CEO of Creatively Caring, Anne Hoffman, was asked the following questions:

Q) What kind of needs in particular inspired you to start CC?

A) " I wanted a group in which I could bring both children, where we would feel accepted. Something for all types of families."

Q) What segments of the population does it serve?

A) "We serve the Greater Chicago area, including the North Shore, the northern Cook County suburbs and the southern Lake County suburbs."

Q) What are your ultimate goals?

A) "To get families more involved with community service. To inspire local businesses to give back. To work with other non-profit organizations in raising awareness. To help people, animals and the environment."

Q) What are the particular needs that inspired the book drive?

A) "I wanted to increase the exposure for Creatively Caring so more of the community could learn about our organization since we are still new. I also wanted to give back as we were doing it."

Q) Who are the books coming from? What kind of books? Who are they going to?

A) "Our Creatively Caring volunteer team is very resourceful. We intend to donate children's books from our own collections as well as those from family, friends and colleagues. We also can find some through Freecycle or garage sales. In addition, Wings Resale usually carries a good selection of children's books; most costing only 25 or 50 cents."

One of the current Creatively Caring projects is one that everyone who uses Facebook can easily participate in to help contribute to the stimulation of the hearts and minds of children. All it takes is clicking "like" on their Facebook page. As the "likes" increase, so do the number of books donated to children in need.

Please help Creatively Caring reach their goal of donating 100 books. For every 10 new "likes" Creatively Caring receives from 12/09/11 through 12/31/11, they will donate a book to Bernie's Book Bank.
www.berniesbookbank.org/

For more information about Creatively Caring, please see their web site at: www.creativelycaring.org
**********************************

For more information about Have A Heart Farm, please see our web site at:
www.haveaheartfarm.org

Have A Heart Farm is the sister organization of Wagner Farm Rescue Fund. Please see our web sites at:

www.wagnerfarmrescuefund.org
www.eyeonwagnerfarm.com

Anne Hoffman and HeartDrive: Both Giving and Receiving From The Heart

2011-12-09T15:45:00.000-06:00

Our good friend and much valued Have A Heart Farm and Wagner Farm Rescue Fund team member, Anne Hoffman,
has just started a campaign on Facebook in support of our vegan HeartDrive food donation program.

Anne has generously offered to donate 5 cans of food for every 10 "like"s of Have A Heart Farm's Facebook page.

Those who already know Anne know that her extraordinary generosity is characteristic and reflective of her loving heart and desire to help others.

Those of us in animal welfare know that far too often, the news that we have to publicize is not of a pleasant nature. The HeartDrive food donation program gives us the opportunity to both give to others and to publicize uplifting news, especially during these particularly challenging times nationally that are affecting us all in many ways; even more so to those who are having personal challenges such as job loss.

Have A Heart Farm asked Anne the following questions:

Q)What inspired you to want to give so generously to Have A Heart Farm's HeartDrive?

A)"I wanted to increase exposure for Have A Heart Farm, but in a positive way."

Q)How did you come up with the idea for 5 cans for every 10 likes?

A)"I thought, how can I increase the "likes" and "give back"?"

Q)How would you encourage others to give, also?

A)"Keep spreading the word!"

Our collection of canned, non-perishable food allows us to conduct a food drive with the collection and storage capacities that we currently have. For those who have asked about the collection of fresh produce from local suppliers, when Have A Heart Farm has obtained land and we actually have the sanctuary established, we will then explore this option in addition to canned goods!

We also welcome the participation of others in the current collection of canned goods!

As Anne said it best, "Keep speading the word!"

And, please watch for our upcoming blog on Anne's own wonderful organization, Creatively Caring, and see Anne's newest project on Facebook to help others through Creatively Caring.

Have A Heart Farm is proud to work with Creatively Caring and their wonderful team in collaborative efforts and to have Creatively Caring as the official social services projects organization who will help oversee projects at the Have A Heart Farm sanctuary.

Thank you, Anne, for being the loving person that you are!

www.haveaheartfarm.org
www.creativelycaring.org

HeartDrive..Giving and Receiving with Love

2011-12-03T14:58:00.000-06:00

Have A Heart Farm introduces its new program:

HeartDrive..Giving and Receiving with Love

HeartDrive will be conducting various needs drives - such as food, clothing, and small furniture - that will collect specifically vegan items for an ongoing, year-round assistance and support drive.

One of our primary objectives is to help our fellow vegans in need, many who are currently out of work, who may have difficulty obtaining humane food and clothing through traditional means and assistance programs. We will also be helping the environment through re-purposing, and we give special encouragement to the donation of any fair trade items as well.

The ease of being able to obtain such items as canned fruits and vegetables makes participation simple and open to everyone, and also makes an excellent project for children to participate in.

We will initially be serving the Midwest, with a primary focus on Illinois and Wisconsin, though will expand as needed and resources allow.

We are currently looking for IL and WI volunteers to provide homes and businesses as collection points for donations, along with the collection of non-perishable, vegan items (i.e., in addition to food such as canned fruits and vegetables, we also ask for clothing and small furniture items not made with any animal products or by-products).

Together we can give special help to people with humane lifestyles who are in need and have limited sources of support to turn to.

To volunteer to help with HeartDrive, please contact Have A Heart Farm through Facebook, or Debby@HaveAHeartFarm.org

Have A Heart Farm Heart-Beat..Coming Soon!

2011-12-01T14:22:00.000-06:00

The Have A Heart Farm Heart-Beat blog will be replacing the professional newspaper column that Wagner Farm Rescue Fund / Have A Heart Farm founder Debby Rubenstein wrote for seven years between 2003 and 2010. Writing in this format will provide not only the opportunity for a larger following, but will also provide the opportunity to publish more comprehensive animal welfare and rescue information, and on a more timely basis. The Heart-Beat will keep readers up to date on news regarding our Have A Heart Farm multi-species animal rescue and community services sanctuary plans.

The Have A Heart Farm Heart-Beat will be written in conjunction with the blog of our sister organization, Wagner Farm Rescue Fund, which is the Wagner Farm Rescue Fund Animal Prints.

The Wagner Farm Rescue Fund Animal Prints will provide ongoing information about the animal welfare issues at the tax payer purchased and supported Wagner Farm in Glenview, IL.

Please watch for our upcoming editions!

Have A Heart Farm and Wagner Farm Rescue Fund

General Info: Have A Heart Farm & Wagner Farm Rescue Fund

2010-11-24T07:36:00.000-06:00

WAGNER FARM RESCUE FUND
&
HAVE A HEART FARM501 (c) (3) Non-Profit Animal Rescue & Sanctuary Organizations
www.WagnerFarmRescueFund.org
www.HaveAHeartFarm.org

WAGNER FARM RESCUE FUND
Wagner Farm Rescue Fund (WFRF) was founded in 2002 from a need to locate humane placement sites for animals that would have otherwise been slated for slaughter from the Glenview (IL) Park District’s Wagner Farm.

WFRF welcomes support from individuals, corporations, and foundations to maintain their ongoing efforts to encourage and promote humane treatment, good living conditions, finest available medical care, sanctuary placement, transportation and lifetime care for the Wagner Farm animals.

To date, WFRF has rescued 13 cattle, 60 chickens, and 2 geese that would have otherwise been sold for slaughter or gone to other questionable outcomes.

It is a goal of WFRF to encourage Wagner Farm to become an exemplary and humane farm environment.

HAVE A HEART FARM
Have A Heart Farm (HAHF) was founded in 2006 from a need to establish a permanent and humane placement site for the unwanted animals from Wagner Farm. Target area for location of the HAHF sanctuary is in south-central Wisconsin in order to serve the Chicago, IL and Madison, WI areas, as well as the rest of the Midwest.

It is also a mission of HAHF to be a multi-species placement site, both temporary and permanent, for other animals with special needs, including animals who need placement due to illness or death of their human companions.

Additional plans for HAHF include an education center on animal welfare and environmental issues, an organic crop area, an animal rehabilitation facility including for wildlife, and a temporary lodging site for animals and their rescuers who are traveling long distances and need a rest stop in the mid-section of the U.S.

The HEART Coalition (Helping Each Animal Receive Time)
WFRF and HAHF are also working with other organizations in conjunction with multi-species animal rescue.

For more information, including how non-profit organizations can join The HEART Coalition, please contact:

Debby Rubenstein
Founder / President

Wagner Farm Rescue Fund
debby@wagnerfarmrescuefund.org

Have A Heart Farm
debby@haveaheartfarm.org

www.eyeonwagnerfarm.com
PO Box 2815, Glenview, IL 60025

Both Wagner Farm Rescue Fund and Have A Heart Farm also gratefully accept tax deductible donations online at:

www.justgive.org

or at:

PO Box 2815, Glenview, IL 60025