Lowveld Poultry Sanctuary

07/06/2026

We welcomed this pretty little lady to Lowveld today.
Her name is Frankie, and her owners regretfully decided it was in her best interests to rehome her, where she would have company of her own kind.
Guinea fowl are highly sociable birds who need to be in the company of others.
We are confident that she will thrive here 🥰

06/06/2026

We have lots of help at Lowveld today, which is terrific.
Ellie, Sarah and Rebecca have been shovelling bark chippings, amongst other things, and Steve is re felting a shed roof - love you guys 🥰
It was supposed to be raining all day today, but fortunately it’s held off so far 🤞
This cheeky lady decided to go for a wander, but the offer of a tin of sweetcorn was too much to resist, and she soon came down again 😂

04/06/2026

Back at the beginning of May, i went to put some fresh bedding in an old disused wooden coop, with the intention of using it temporarily for a poorly hen.
There was a big pile of leaves and moss in the next box, which i lifted up, and much to my amazement, there was a hedgehog nursing babies.
I quickly put the bedding back and top and then worried that she would abandon her babies because i had disturbed them.
So i left it well alone, however i did begin to put food and water in the run underneath the coop each day, which i noticed was being eaten overnight.
Last night i actually saw two babies, about the size of an apple, in the run.
Such a relief to know they are thriving!
The second photo is the Mom, who we regularly see at night snuffling around the coops.
We have been feeding hedgehogs for more than 15yrs, and have seen babies twice before 🥰🦔

03/06/2026

Beauty was sitting on these 3 eggs.
We have seen some weird eggs over the years, but never a mini torpedo like this one!
I cracked it and there’s is a little yolk inside.

03/06/2026

Our friends Tracey and Jenny have sent us an Omlet Insulated Chicken Waterer, as an Anniversary gift, which will be an absolute godsend in freezing temperatures.
Thank you both so much! Xx

Stanley hopes the sun breaks through soon, it’s so cold today isn’t it? We have 50 plus drinkers and every single one was frozen solid this morning 😱

01/06/2026

I’m a bit late thanking everyone who sent us these fantastic parcels last week, from our resident’s Amazon Wish List.
I do apologise, because gifts like these mean such a lot to us, and we really appreciate each and every parcel 🥰
Sweetcorn is standing on all the fabulous Sail Shades, which we so desperately needed, and i think we had all the current stock from Amazon sent to us 😃
Also there are plenty of treats, Black Sunflower Seeds, Sunflower Hearts and Tinned Sweetcorn to keep our residents happy.
Thank you all so much! 🥰

01/06/2026

I just went to clean out the cat litter tray in Felicity’s overnight shed, and got a surprise.
The good thing is there are no cockerels with the hens in this area, otherwise i would have been in a bit of a panic 🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣😱

31/05/2026

Today is mine and Rob’s Ruby Wedding Anniversary 🥰
When we first met, never in a million years did either of us (Rob in particular 😂) think we would be running a sanctuary for unwanted chickens, ducks, geese etc, for what is now almost 20yrs.
But here we are, still as committed as ever to each other, and to our feathered residents too!
We celebrated yesterday by holding an afternoon tea party in our garden with family, and we will be having a curry night with friends after our next hen rehome in June.
Today was business as usual for us this morning, but we are taking it easy this afternoon before we begin shutting up for the night.
We’d like to thank everyone who offers support in any way for Lowveld, it’s you who encourage us to keep going, try harder, and do more for those who have nobody else ❤️

28/05/2026

Our residents are having fresh pineapple this morning as a very special treat, rich in vitamins, and very kindly provided by Auntie Sarah 🥰
Here’s Teddy and his ladies enjoying theirs, he wont eat until they have had all they want, he will stand and watch over them.
It smells to good it’s making my mouth water, i could eat that myself!
These chickens eat better than we do 😂

27/05/2026

Dear Sweetcorn is such an intelligent little hen, she’s figured out that it’s nice and cool to sit on the top of the cold water containers on a hot day.
If there’s something she wants to do, or somewhere she wants to go, she will find a way, despite her mobility difficulties. She’s amazing 🥰
I’m so glad she now has the opportunity to make lots of choices in her daily activities, it must have been a very sad and miserable existence for her in the commercial farm, where there was nothing to do except eat, sleep and lay 😔