BLOG – Page 19 – Tamara Kenneally Photography

Sunny Sunshine

In May, 2013 a little hen lay on the cold concrete floor of a huge shed. All she could see were the cages towering above her. Every now and again she saw men come in and grab her friends out of the cages. Her friends screamed and flapped their wings and a few fell on to the concrete floor just like she did. She lay there with a broken wing for a week. Her body was bruised and she found it hard to walk. She watched as the workers emptied the entire shed. 80,000 hens who had lived in that shed in tiny cages for 18 months were all being sent to slaughter because they were no longer deemed “productive”.

One night, about 8 days after she fell to the floor, she heard footsteps. She was so delirious that she couldn’t see who it was, but she felt them coming closer. The next thing she knew, she was being picked up and then she felt cold air on her face. She had never felt such cold air before as she’d never been outside before. Her life had been one small cage with 5 other chickens for 18 months.

Sunny came to live with me at Lefty’s Place. She was always such a happy girl despite her broken wing and sore body. She walked around chatting all the time. Her happiness was infectious so I named her “Sunny Sunshine”.

Sunny loves her life so very much. She loves the earth, she loves the sky, she loves the grass and most of all, she loves her freedom.

Oda Mae Brown

Oda May Brown found herself at an animal shelter in May, 2015. She and her best friend (Miss Hannigan) were surrendered due to their owners not being able to care for them anymore. Sadly, chickens are viewed as incredibly dispensable in our society when every single chicken is so special and so desperate to be able to live.

I picked up Oda May Brown and her friend from the shelter and took them back to my parents house. They both felt so confined at my parents suburban house! They paced and were so frustrated with their lack of space. These two were born to live in the country, so that’s where I took them next.

I named her Oda Mae Brown after the character in the film, “Ghost” because she is a little bit crazy and a little bit off centre.

As soon as Oda Mae and Miss Hannigan got to Lefty’s Place, they were so happy! They spend their days running around and doing serious chickening business.

Oda Mae Brown is a very friendly girl who loves to chat, she’s always chatting and walking around with me.

Please don’t use my images without permission. All images are Copyright Tamara Kenneally

Scrunky

It was the last day of duck season, June 2015. Whilst the hunters bagged up their morning duck bodies, lambs were being born in the dead of winter all around the state. Driving past a paddock, two duck rescuers, on their way to another lake, saw a pile of white on the paddock horizon. They decided to stop and check out what was going on. One of the rescuers walked in to the paddock to find a pile of dead lambs all gathered together. The paddock smelt of death, death from hyperthermia. One little lamb was still alive amongst the pile. She struggled to get up and was so weak. With no ewes in sight (even with the use of binoculars), this little lamb was bundled in to the warmth of the car and in to the drivers seat of this duck rescuer’s heart. Fifteen million lambs die within the first 48 hours of birth in Australia each year. This is a horrifying fact for most people who have never thought about it. Most die from exposure, some die from not getting enough nutrients from a ewe who has given birth to more than one lamb and is stretched to feed them all and the rest die from predator attack.

She was named, “Scrunky” because her little face was so scrunchy and wrinkly. She grew up being bottle fed in a household full of dogs, cats, chickens and love. She even ended up going to Sydney for a while and went on numerous trips to shops around town where everyone fell in love with her.

Her bond with her carer was so very strong. When it came time for Scrunky to come and live at Lefty’s Place when she was two months old, it was with a broken heart that her carer left Scrunky with us and it was with a broken heart that I watched their parting. Their parting is something I wish didn’t have to happen, but the suburbs is no place for a sheep to be a sheep.

Scrunky was upset for days after her carer (who she thought was her mother) left, but she soon made firm friends with Banjo. Banjo was a little put out at first about another lamb stealing her limelight, but they are now the best of friends and are always together. Two sisters and best friends who will get to be together for the rest of their lives…..something that never happens in the sheep industry.

Scrunky is a sweet girl who loves affection. She desperately craves being patted and loves company.

Please don’t use my images without permission. All images are Copyright Tamara Kenneally

Crazy In The Coconut

I picked her up at an animal shelter in Keysborough in early June 2015. Miss Hannigan and her friend had been surrended to the Australian Animal Protection Society shelter. Their previous owner could no longer care for them, so they were surrended to the shelter.

When I went to pick them up, I knew straight away that Coconut was a character. A big, beautiful cream coloured hen with splashes of brown. She looked very much like one of our roosters, Popeye. In her carry cage on the way home she foraged and chatted the whole way. Coconut likes to talk. She talks about her day, she talks about the sky, she talks about food, she talks about what others are doing….she just talks all the time. She has a lot to say and would like to you listen….constantly.

I first named her “Miss Hannigan” after the character in “Annie” because she is a bit crazy, talks a lot, is hilarious and loves her freedom, but her name gradually progressed to “Crazy In The Coconut”. I named her beautiful brown friend “Oda Mae Brown” after a character in the film, “Ghost” for similar reasons! These two girls stayed at my parents place in the suburb for a week. They went stir crazy there. A backyard is in no way enough for these ladies, they wanted more space and more freedom and up at Lefty’s Place, that’s just what they got.

Coconut quickly settled in and fell in love with rooster, Popeye. Popeye and Coconut are Lefty’s Place’s celebrity couple. They have such similar colouring, they seem a perfect match. They are always together, Coconut has even left her old friend Oda Mae Brown behind to spend time with her new love. Popeye and Coconut spend the days foraging together, flying over fences together (they are both great flyers) and they sleep huddled up together at night. Three’s a Crowd. Coconut and Popeye only have eyes for each other. There’s no point anyone else trying to join their party because they are only interested in each other. Popeye 4 Coconut 4EVA.

Please don’t use my images without permission. All images are Copyright Tamara Kenneally

Alice

After about four years of being a constant breeding ewe, Alice finally got her ticket to a life without being having to show her worth through her reproductive system. Alice found sanctuary at Lefty’s Place in early June, 2014. She was no longer wanted by the people who made money breeding from her as they wanted to start breeding alpacas. Her and her four Suffolk friends were destined for the abattoir. A friend of mine stepped in and secured all four Suffolk sheeps rescue.

Alice is a quite girl who likes the simple life. She likes to doze in the sun and lie in clean straw. She likes people, but likes sheep more. Her best friend is Angry and they chat all day long.

After so many years giving birth to lambs who were then sold and sent away, Alice now gets to enjoy her life in peace with her friends.

Please don’t use my images without permission. All images are Copyright Tamara Kenneally