Halfpenny-Farm Animal Sanctuary

01/09/2025

We were very concerned about Belle after losing Bumble and then Bournville in less than a month. Belle was very bonded to both and had lived with them for the 8 years we have had her.
She was suddenly on her own, so we put the big boys next to her yesterday, to take her mind off losing Bournville and introduced them today.
Thankfully it seems to have gone very well, although we will monitor them closely. They had a very short run around and then started grazing close to each other. Hopefully this eases her loss and is one less concern for us.

31/08/2025

I really don’t know how to write this ‘Goodbye’, because it’s one I hoped would never happen.
I lost my big, beautiful boy, Bournville at 2am on Sunday morning.
He collapsed and died after seeming to get a little better from the colic he had earlier in the day.
Bournville was my horse, I bought him when he was under 4 for £2500 as a ride and drive horse, he would have been 28 in October and had been in our lives for 24 years.
He was the best horse in the world, who would carry children on his back without putting a foot wrong and then try to jump canter poles when I was on him and pull a cart effortlessly with Mike driving.
He was a small, fluffy cob, called ‘tarantula legs’ by Mike.
He was a cob but he was fit and flexible and fun, my only horse and I could not have wished for anyone better.
We have so many funny stories about him, he made me smile everyday and even when he got to the point where I couldn’t ride him, he was still the sunshine in my life.”
We lost him, when he seemed to be doing really well, we lost him when I was planning how we would manage him over winter, we lost him so unexpectedly that I can’t believe it’s happened and I hope it’s a nightmare.
Halfpenny won’t be the same without him, it would not have happened without him.
The only thing I can take away from this, is that he spent nearly his whole life with the same people, in the same place, with a constant herd.
He was loved and admired and appreciated for what he was. He wasn’t fancy, he wasn’t a big, tall warm blood, but he was kind and willing and cheeky and his coat shone like a black diamond.
He is irreplaceable and I will love and miss him til the day I die.
My beloved Bourneo, Bo, Bourneeeeville!

30/08/2025

It’s been a very stressful day so far.
When feeding the guinea pigs this morning, I noticed Garnet was quiet, on exam I found a large lump over one of her mammaries.
Vet exam confirmed a mammary tumour, so she is in on Wednesday for its removal. They are apparently very quick growing so we need to remove asap.
When I got back, Bournville the horse, wouldn’t eat his lunch and kept lying down.
A vet call out and it looks like he had the start of colic. We are obviously very anxious after losing Bumble to colic a few weeks ago. We have no idea why we’ve had 2 colics close together, especially when we have barely had any colics over our 24 years of owning horses.
He’s feeling much better after meds, but is being closely monitored in case he regresses again. It’s going to be a very anxious day.

30/08/2025

We have a stall at the Kintore Street Party today, in the Kintore square.
Come along, say ‘hello’ and find out more about what we do or if you are interested in volunteering.
Thanks to Leanne and Janice for getting it set up.

29/08/2025

Congratulations to Val, who volunteers here on a Tuesday and Thursday. She’s such a talented lady!

28/08/2025

Both Ruby and Pearl the guinea pigs were in for a vet check today.
Ruby has been losing weight and Pearl has been wet at the side of her mouth, often indicating dental issues.
The vet found nothing obvious with Ruby, other than she was lean and has some spurs on her teeth but nothing too bad.
Pearl may have ovarian cysts and the vet couldn’t check her teeth as her mouth was full of food!
They are both back next Thursday for scans/ full exams and possibly blood tests to see if we can figure out what’s going on. It may be something as simple as a dental or maybe something more complicated.

28/08/2025

We had a quick interview on Radio Scotland this morning in regards to our nomination for the Animal category in the Make a difference awards.
Halfpenny would not be what it is, without our wonderful volunteers, past and present and all those who have supported us in any way.
Thank you.

Stephen asks, do we need better behaviour on public transport?

27/08/2025

Tuesday is full clean out and health check day for the guinea pigs, usually done by Ellie and Niamh.
Mavis seems to behaving well for her weekly weigh in.
In light of checking weights, we have Ruby in for a vet visit tomorrow as she has been slowing losing weight recently.
Weight checks are a great way to catch issues which may be slow to show noticeable symptoms.
Photo by Ellie.

22/08/2025

Many thanks to Ken Banks who came out to visit and write the article about Halfpenny and our nomination to ‘The Make a Difference Awards’s’

Halfpenny Farm Animal Sanctuary in Aberdeenshire began life almost by accident more than 20 years ago.

22/08/2025

I’m sad to let you know, we have just had Shamrock put to sleep. He did not improve overnight and was in pain, even with op**te painkillers. The vet thinks it was a tumour in his gut and there was nothing more we could do.
Shamrock arrived here about 6 years ago, with his daughter and grandson. They were kept in a hutch on a communal grassy area.
When someone set fire to the hutch, their owner felt they could not be kept safe and asked us to help.
Shamrock was a lovely old man, we are not sure how old he was but I’m guessing he was somewhere between 8-10 years old.
Sleep well old man, so many will miss you, we will miss your joy and sweet nature.

21/08/2025

We are very worried about our wee man, Shamrock. He was not eating and seemed quite listless today, so we took him to the vet.
Unfortunately it looks like he has a blockage between his stomach and small intestine.
To give him a chance the vets have him on fluids and pain relief, in the hope that the blockage may move, however they cannot tell if it’s something like a hairball or a tumour. His treatment is more complicated due to him having a heart arrhythmia, causing his heart rate to plummet if he gets stressed.
If he has not improved by tomorrow morning, we will have to let him go.
Please keep him in your thoughts, as he’s the sweetest of rabbits.

19/08/2025

Little Kiwi, our African pygmy hedgehog, popping out to say ‘hello’, while Jessica cleans him out.
Photo by Jessica.