The Chocowinity Chicken Sanctuary

The sanctuary began unofficially in 1996, when the founder saved a chicken that had fallen to the roadside from a truck bound for the slaughterhouse.  Pearl grew into a lovely rooster, and he was our first experience with the sad plight of the commercial ‘broiler” chickens.  He was with us six months when he died of heart failure.  Before his death, and for some time after, we were able to obtain “spent” hens (hens intensively confined in the commercial egg industry) periodically, and they add much liveliness to the sanctuary.  They are so full of life and seem to enjoy all weather, as if just glad to be outside.  Sadly, because of the avian flu scare, the commercial egg industry has not released any spent hens in our area for several years.
As word spread, we began taking in chickens from various circumstances.  We have worked together with United Poultry Concerns in Virginia, the Eastern Shore Sanctuary in Maryland, sharing information and experiences with each other, and also sharing chickens if there is a rescue in which one sanctuary cannot easily house all the birds.  At the beginning of this year, we adopted our first turkeys, rescued and driven down to NC by Farm Sanctuary on the “freedom train.”
Since 1996 we have expanded our original chicken coop substantially, from one 32 ft2 coop to eight individual facilities totaling 2,100 ft2, as well as providing access to foraging areas outside the coops.  In January 2006 we incorporated as a nonprofit in the state of North Carolina, and in March 2007 we received our letter from the IRS informing us that we are a 501(c)(3) charity.