Good Sprout Rescue and Sanctuary (2026)

08/06/2026

Happy Pride 🌈

Q***r love transcends species. We care for so many animals here who share beautiful romantic relationships with their same-sex partners – Neil and Tieria, Leto and Randy, Henry and Leon, and more! Here in sanctuary these individuals have the opportunity to be their truest, fullest, most authentic selves, and are free to love whomever they wish ❤

At a time when our LGBTQIA+ community is being threatened more than ever, we feel it is vital that we loudly express our unequivocal support for our q***r friends and neighbors, both human and nonhuman alike. At its core Pride is a protest, a riot, a joyous celebration of love and identity in all of its forms. We are proud to celebrate q***r love every day, but especially during Pride 🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

07/06/2026

We received the results of Clovis’ bloodwork, and sadly they confirmed our suspicions. Clovis has cancer. Lymphocytic leukemia.

Even though this wasn’t at all the answer that we were hoping for, the good news is that Clovis is still active, spunky, and enjoying his time. His appetite is robust (to say the least!) and he is showing us every indication that he is not in pain or experiencing discomfort. Lymphocytic leukemia is not well studied in birds, and, from what Clovis’ doctor was able to find in her research, has never been studied in Coturnix quails. However, in humans, this type of leukemia progresses quite slowly, and so there is a real chance that Clovis might be able to enjoy quite a bit more time with us. Clovis started a steroid medication to slow the cancer’s progression and keep him feeling his best, and our plan is to just take things day by day for now. Clovis is a very expressive, communicative person, and we have no doubt that he will let us know when it’s time to say goodbye. But he’s not telling us that yet, and we’re hoping that day is a long, long way off!

We are so proud to provide our residents with high quality, individualized medical care, and see it as one of our greatest purposes here. It is almost unheard of for farmed animals (and particularly farmed birds) to receive the kind of medical care our residents receive. On farms, even idealistic homestead/backyard farming situations, animals are seen as products. Running critical diagnostic tests like bloodwork and X-Rays are expensive to say the least, and we hear all too often that farmers would “never spend that kind of money on a two dollar chicken/duck”. While this line of thinking is horrific when you consider the individual animal who suffers as a result, it has a much more extensive effect in that we know practically nothing about farmed animal health. Clovis’ veterinarian could not find any literature pertaining to lymphocytic leukemia in his species, and so unfortunately there was no road map for how best to treat him. We are figuring it out as we go, which is simultaneously both exciting and terrifying. Exciting, because Clovis is a pioneer! As his doctor learns more about his cancer and follows along with his experience, she can apply that knowledge to future patients and use it to help untold numbers of birds even after Clovis himself is already gone. And terrifying, because every decision we make for Clovis is nothing more than an educated guess. We hope it will give us the results we are wanting for our boy, but we can’t ever be 100% sure. After all, this has never been done before.

Sanctuaries around the world are doing such vital work, not only for their individual residents but for farmed animals everywhere. It is sanctuaries that are pushing the boundaries of what is possible for farmed animals, by prioritizing their health and wellbeing over profits. Clovis is one of the lucky ones, and we are so beyond lucky to know him, love him, and walk with him on this journey – one that we hope will continue to help people like him for years to come ❤

01/06/2026

Thank you so much to everyone who came out for our volunteer day on Saturday! In total, volunteers moved six yards (over 12,000 pounds!) of dirt into the mixed flock aviary, filling in all the muddy low areas! The aviary looks absolutely incredible and the birds are much happier now, too!

Besides the aviary getting a fresh new look, the volunteer day was eventful for another reason, too. During the event, one of our peahen residents, Rathian, slipped out of the aviary. She immediately started booking it across the yard and hopped into a tree, which she used as a launching pad to fly all the way across the sheep pasture and into the woods. Rathian is a very independent, agile, and intelligent girl – and proved it to us over the next four hours as we worked to bring her home again. Thankfully, after quite the adventure, we were able to catch our thrill seeker and deliver her back to her aviary safe and sound 😮‍💨

Having Rathian slip out of the aviary was a terrifying experience, and one we never want to repeat again. We certainly aren’t perfect, and are always trying to improve our infrastructure, caretaking, etc. to keep our residents safe and make their lives better! Our cockfighting survivors and chukar partridges have an antechamber in their aviary that we built in order to prevent anyone from slipping out, so we could ensure that there was always a second, closed door between our flightiest residents and the outside. We plan to build an antechamber for our mixed flock and pheasant aviaries as well, so we can keep our residents safe and protected – especially our more mischievous friends who might see an open door as a fun challenge!

While the day certainly did not go according to plan, we are so grateful to have had help from so many wonderful people! Special thanks are in order for our dear friend and board member Sarah, who held down the fort while we worked to bring Rathian home. We hope to put together another event soon, albeit one that is a bit more boring this time around 😅 If you are interested in attending a future volunteer day event, just shoot us an email!

23/05/2026

Our little buddy Clovis was taken to the veterinarian on Thursday because we noticed that he was beginning to stumble a bit while walking. The veterinarian took X-Rays which showed that Clovis’ liver is a bit enlarged and there were some suspect spots in his gizzard which may be heavy metal, but overall nothing glaringly obvious was found that could explain his symptoms. We decided to have some bloodwork run to check his liver values and hopefully give us some more insight as to what might be going on internally with Clovis, and have started him on medication for heavy metal toxicity just in case the spots the doctor saw on his X-Ray were indeed heavy metal deposits.

At five years old Clovis is quite elderly for a Coturnix quail, but he is still very much his spunky, energetic self and we hope that we can keep him that way for as long as possible! Clovis came to us in 2021 after the farm he was living at was struck by a tornado. Miraculously Clovis survived the tornado, and was one of a few lucky quails who were scooped up by activists in the aftermath and taken to safety. If a tornado had not destroyed that farm, Clovis would have been killed at merely 6-8 weeks of age. Instead, Clovis found sanctuary and has had the opportunity here to experience something that so few individuals of his species ever get to – growing old. Many of our residents, including Clovis, are aging. And while at times caring for an aging population is extraordinarily difficult, there is a sense of peace that comes with knowing that the residents here are able to age with dignity. That they are able to age at all. The vast majority of farmed animals are killed when they are still just babies – 6-8 weeks of age for quails and chickens, 5-6 months of age for sheeps and pigs, and 12-18 months old for bovines. An elderly quail like Clovis, much less one who is taken to the veterinarian and cared for appropriately, is a true anomaly in this world where individuals like him are seen as nothing more than commodities. We are so lucky to be Clovis’ people and give him everything he needs to stay happy and comfortable through his golden years ❤

20/05/2026

Yesterday evening, while he was laying in the grass enjoying a big bowl of all of his favorite foods, we said goodbye to our dear friend Flecha.

Flecha joined our family in August of 2020 after being rescued from a pop-up slaughterhouse. He was merely six weeks old then, and was already a spunky, bossy guy! I fell in love with him instantly, and I wasn’t the only one – everyone who met him immediately liked him. Flecha was just that kind of person. He was so approachable, so friendly and welcoming. Even after his autoimmune disease diagnosis in 2023, when his symptoms first began rearing their heads, his flockmates continued to look to him for guidance. Their respect and admiration for him was apparent, and it only grew as the years went on. Flecha kept all of the rowdy boys of his flock in check, and made sure that the more gentle and quiet members were kept separate from any shenanigans they may not want to be involved in. He was the first person to exit the coop each morning and the last to enter it every evening. His energy and excitement for life was electric. Not a single day of Flecha’s life after his rescue went by that wasn’t lived to the absolute fullest ❤

A few weeks ago, I noticed that Flecha was spending more time laying down. His autoimmune disease caused severe osteoarthritis in his feet, and thankfully we were able to manage it with steroids… but steroids come with a cost, and that cost is extreme strain on the heart along with a very suppressed immune system. When we started Flecha on steroids, we knew we were only going to be buying him time and that eventually the side effects of the medication would create a problem that we weren’t going to be able to fix. In the meantime, however, Flecha’s pain would be managed. He would be comfortable and able to enjoy all of his favorite activities. The greatest gift we could give Flecha was not more time, but the assurance that the time he had left would be gentle, comfortable, and full of love.

Flecha was laying down more because his heart was struggling, and as a result he was growing tired more easily. Additionally, his feet had begun to show signs of swelling, a sure sign that his autoimmune disease was flaring again. Typically we treated Flecha’s flares with more steroids, but with his heart already struggling to keep up with his daily maintenance dose, we knew that this just wasn’t an option for him this time. The last thing that we ever wanted for Flecha was for him to be in pain, or to experience discomfort. This wasn’t a problem we could fix, as much as we wanted to so badly. And so last night in the soft grass, at home with his family near him, Flecha gently fell asleep for the last time.

Goodbye, sweet boy. We will love you forever.

07/05/2026

Hope is home from surgery! We spent some time this afternoon taking a walk around the backyard so that he could get some exercise and enjoy his favorite activity – searching for yummy things to snack on 🥰

In three weeks he will return to the veterinarian to have his sutures removed. In the meantime, we will be closely monitoring his surgical site for any signs of re-infection and will keep him comfortable with pain management medications. Hope is in good spirits, and we are very hopeful that this will be his last surgery!

Thank you so much to everyone who donated towards Hope’s care 🥹 We were able to raise $180, which was a huge help towards his $628.60 bill! 🙏 We are so grateful for your support that enables us to give animals like Hope the life and care that they deserve. Thank you ❤

06/05/2026

Our sweet Hope is having surgery today. For over a year now, Hope has been dealing with a bumblefoot infection. He has had a total of five surgeries to debride, clean, and disinfect the wound, as well as tried a number of different antibiotic treatments, but unfortunately the infection has always managed to return. Last fall the lesion was cultured, which revealed the source of the problem and explained why the infection has been so resistant to treatment – the bacteria causing his infection is pseudomonas, a very aggressive and stubborn bug that is resistant to most antibiotics. In addition to this bad news, the culture revealed that Hope’s strain of pseudomonas is resistant to all of the “go to” options, which are already extremely limited as it is.

But there is some hope for Hope, and after consulting with his veterinarian yesterday we are proceeding with a plan that we think just might work. This afternoon, Hope will have surgery once again to clean out his wound. Afterwards, as he recovers over the next few weeks, he will receive a combination of antibiotics that all showed they are effective against the specific bacteria that Hope’s foot is growing. His veterinarian is confident that with surgery to completely clean and sterilize the wound and an aggressive antibiotic protocol on board, the bacteria will not have an opportunity to recolonize Hope’s foot as it has been able to do previously 🤞

Having one of our residents undergo surgery is always stressful and nerve-wracking, but Hope has been telling us that his foot is uncomfortable and painful for him and we know that this is the best chance he has to feel better. But to be completely frank with you, this surgery is an unexpected medical expense and we are humbly asking for your help to make it happen. We are still thousands of dollars in the red from the cockfighting case, and unfortunately donations have slowed significantly since its official conclusion which makes us very nervous that we will not be able to recover these vital funds – funds which were pulled from our medical and emergency funds that typically help us cover expenses like the one we are facing today with Hope’s surgery 😭 A dwindling medical fund, however, does not mean that our residents are not still in need of medical care, and so we are humbly asking for your support today to make sure that we can get Hope everything he needs to start feeling better. Hope's surgery will likely cost around $500, not including the cost of his prescriptions. Our community is amazing, and we are sincerely grateful for your generosity and kindness! Please keep Hope in your thoughts today, we are really hoping this plan works! 🙏

30/04/2026

Today is National Animal Advocates Day, and we can think of no better way to celebrate than to unveil a very special project that we’ve been working on behind the scenes! In 2023, we moved our sanctuary from Ohio to a much larger property in Pennsylvania that was once the site of a dairy farm where hundreds of cows were made to endure unimaginable suffering. Since our arrival, we have been slowly but surely transforming this land that was once the site of tremendous cruelty into a place of compassion. Turning what was once hell on earth for farmed animals into a refuge for them.

It turns out that turning a dairy farm into a sanctuary from the ground up is a lot of work, and before we knew it time had gotten away from us and our website had become a bit outdated 😅 We have fully revamped it, and would love for you to check it out at www.goodsproutrescue.org 🥹 On our new site you can find all of our financial information including our most recent 990 and budget breakdown, meet all of our residents and team members, and learn about all the different ways you can give to support our mission! We have also reworked our logo with the help of Liberation Design! It now features three of our beloved residents, Sunshine, Delilah, and Flower, and we’re so excited to announce that you can now grab this new logo design in our Bonfire store at https://www.bonfire.com/good-sprout-rescue-and-sanctuary-logo/ ❤

Happy National Animal Advocates Day! Thank you for being here with us and helping us transform cruelty into compassion 🌱

17/04/2026

Conrad hasn’t been feeling well lately 😞 We noticed that his crow sounded a bit off, a bit more strained, and decided to take him to the veterinarian. We originally thought that he most likely just had a cold, but after listening to Conrad’s heart the doctor told us that he suspected that much more was at play. We decided to do X-Rays, and unfortunately they revealed that Conrad’s heart is extremely large – a telltale sign of heart disease.

The doctor also saw that Conrad’s throat was inflamed, so Conrad is now taking antibiotics to address a respiratory infection. Thankfully (if that’s the right word to use here) Conrad’s wonky crow and the respiratory infection that caused it shed light on the much larger issue of his heart disease. On top of antibiotics, Conrad was also prescribed two separate medications to help his heart – and the results have been absolutely phenomenal! Conrad feels SO much better, and it feels so good to see him enjoying himself despite this very scary diagnosis.

We took Conrad to the veterinarian just a few months ago for an ear infection (which we cultured, and is now healed after the culture helped us find the right medication to treat it with!) and at that time the doctor did not note anything wrong with Conrad’s heart. The fact that he has developed such a severe murmur in such a short amount of time is very concerning, but we are just going to take things day by day and do our best to keep Conrad comfortable and happy.

Conrad joined our sanctuary family in 2023, after a Good Samaritan contacted us to let us know that a rooster was abandoned in her yard. When we got there to rescue him she told us that Conrad had been attacked by a bobcat, but miraculously managed to escape with only a few scratches! We got Conrad all healed up, and our original plan was to find him a forever home as we were in the process of moving our sanctuary from Ohio to Pennsylvania. When our moving date arrived, however, and Conrad was still in our care, we knew that he had stuck around because he was meant to be a permanent member of our family 🥹❤ We’re so glad that he’s here, and hope that we can keep him happy and feeling his best for many years to come!

Good Sprout Rescue and Sanctuary

08/06/2026

07/06/2026

01/06/2026

23/05/2026

20/05/2026

07/05/2026

06/05/2026

30/04/2026

17/04/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share