The Browns' Microsanctuary

06/04/2026

Some moments are bittersweet. The top is Finnegan with baby Russell in 2020. The bottom was Fern with little Forrest-Edward-Eileen today. Our beloved Russell and Finnegan are no longer with us but we still feel their love and presence. Especially when we see similarities like today.
We're lucky our pups have always been the best babysitters. Finnegan was so wonderful at helping keep our anxious baby Russell feel safe back when he always wanted to be by someone's side. ❤️

Fern wants so badly for wee Forrest to get up and run around with her. 😆

06/02/2026

05/29/2026

The brace and the cross pins are out!! The video and x-ray shows what it looked like before. The bone has healed really well and everything is looking great!!

Yesterday, as he was coming down from his meds, we just sat in the sunshine together and cuddled. He was purring the whole time. He could not be more adorable!

We opted to leave the pin in that runs the length of the bone. The wee baby is still learning to walk and that should give him good support while he builds his strength. We'll return in a few weeks to have it removed too.

This was an auspicious day! One I feared we might not make given our previous battles to help three babies with this condition. I could not be happier for this wee love! I cannot believe it!

Wee Eileen got his name from the lovely volunteers with Carlisle Creek Farm, who originally pulled him out of a neglectful situation. They thought he was a girl and "I lean" seemed like a fitting moniker.

Now that he's getting strong and more stable, we wanted to mark this day with his official name! We did a lot of polling. The top contender was "Steady Eddy".
..then yesterday his vet poked her head in and suggested another: Forrest.

To me, that seems to be a better fit. And it honours our other three beloved babies, who were named Maple, Oakley, and Walnut/Walter.
..but there's been a lot of contentention. People are advocating for one side or the other.

What do you think?

"Steady Eddy" or "Forrest" ?

He's the most loved wee boy either way! We could not be more proud of everything he's achieved.

05/22/2026

Today marked three weeks since Eileen had his surgery and look at him standing so strong!! He's leaning against the side of his wheelchair for support but we see so much improvement every day. If he's not leaning and trying to get up, he's already learned go use his feet a bit to try to get up.

In one week. Eileen will return to the hospital to have an x-ray to confirm that his bone has healed well and then hopefully have the pins removed. Then he should have a better range of motion.

This wee doll is doing so well building strength and wrapping his head around everything. It's truly remarkable what this community has been able to do for him!!

05/20/2026

FYI to those within the vicinity of Guelph, there is a vaccine clinic this Wednesday! Get your babies protected!

Vaccination clinic date for May

Wednesday May 20th
6-8 pm

This will be a vaccination pick-up only.

Location: Campus Estates Animal Hospital, 1460 Gordon St - we will be working out of the specialist clinic beside us.

How to sign up:
Respond to this post with the answers to the questions below, and I will provide a time to pick up the vaccines.

Information we need: If you have been to us before, I will just need your first and last name.

Name
Address (include your postal code, please)
phone number
email address
number of birds in your flock
previous health concerns
diet

What vaccines are you looking to get?

Here are the vaccination options and costs;
Option 1 - this includes Mareks, +- ILT, e coli, salmonella +- Newcastle bronchitis
1-20 birds $13.50/bird
21-40 birds $12.50/bird
> 40 birds $10.50/bird

Option 2 Boosters only, NO Mareks - so this would be ILT or Newcastle bronchitis, e coli and Salmonella
40 birds $6.50/ bird

Option 3 is Marek's alone
40 birds $5.00/bird

I will have dewormer available - Panacur Aquasol, along with Ectiban for mite/lice treatment.

05/19/2026

He needed a morning cuddle. How precious is he!?

05/18/2026

HUGE PROGRESS happened this weekend! I still cannot believe it! He was able to stand on his own two feet for the first time in his whole life!!!

Eileen had surgery 2.5 weeks ago to correct a leg deformity. His right leg was basically backwards. He couldn't walk. For the first 3 months of his life, he was just left laying in a cage. Thankfully the good people at Carlisle Creek Farm intervened. Together with a team of volunteers they cared for him before reaching out to us for extra help.

We had 3 babies in 2024 with this exact condition. We had different vets & treatment plans then. Unfortunately, all three babies passed from heart failure before we could do corrective surgery. My heart was bracing for more pain when I first met baby Eileen and saw he was dealing with the same thing.

We took him immediately to meet Dr. Taylor at Campus Estates Animal Hospital. They performed the surgery on April 30th. Eileen's tibia needed to be fractured, rotated, and pinned back in the correct place with special attention to all of Eileen's soft tissues. He has a fancy acrylic brace holding it all together while he heals.

Eileen never learned to use his legs in any way that would resemble walking. We are having to do everything from scratch. He also became used to lying in certain positions so lots of physio has been necessary to keep his joints flexible and strong.

Since his surgery, Eileen was either in his wheelchair or being carried. His favourite place was zipped up in my hoodie. ❤️

It hasn't been an easy road. There was a lot of figuring and adjusting to keep him comfortable.

To see him standing on his own with minimal assistance has me over the moon!! After the heartbreak we went through in 2024, I truly never thought this possible.

So many people were a part of getting him here!! We had so many wonderful people come together to pitch in for his surgery. We had people helping to drive us to and from his appointments. His vet care team... Just, ...everything! Eileen has known only tremendous love and support!

He's got this!!



Weird update: I spent all day trying to recreate yesterday's success. I couldn't get him to stand no matter now much stretching and physio we did.
I had given him a bum wash before we went outside so he was going commando while he dried. It wasn't until the end of the day when I was putting his p**p pouch back on to get ready to go inside that he finally stood for me without issue! Apparently a crap pack is the key to standing success! I don't get it but I'll take it! Funny wee birdie ❤️