We are deeply attached to the rescues at the Sanctuary. Each and every one has a unique personality. We get to know the personality of some of them really well, others prefer their autonomy and privacy, so they remain a little more enigmatic.
Anyone who has had a companion animal in their life has a little sense of how variable lifespans can be. Someone with a healthy small dog might find that dog living well into the late teens. Some dogs with brachycephalic (compacted nose like pugs and bulldogs) or “Great breeds” (large dogs like Great Pyrenees or Great Dane) usually have lives considerably shorter. My first cat, Koushka, lived healthy and well to twenty two, but I have also lots cats to internal cancers on the spleen or kidney disease.. House rabbits can live a dozen years, but hamsters and pet rats live only a handful of years. Your parrot or tortoise could outlive you!
At the Sanctuary, the Pyrenees have lived a range of nine to eleven and a half (Bundle and Shiro). That is never long enough of course, but the goal is always the most joyous life we can manage. Among the bovines, the Highlands have a good chance to be in their twenties, while Holsteins have a reduced chance statistically (average of eight). Goats can reach near fifteen, our Orchid Llama is 20 now. Pigs are all over the map, with some potbelly pigs usually living longer than the bigger pigs with all other things being equal (weight, arthritis, cancer, spay/neuter etc)
We work hard to keep the CAE, CLA and Johne’s diseases of ruminants away from our herds and soils. Pigs are vulnerable to Johne’s as well. Meningeal worm is a menace seen more on grassy paddocks, as are ticks and all their diseases.
Of all our rescued species, the birds here are the shortest lived, with the possible exception of some geese. Egg laying females have calcium loss from laying, reproductive cancers, egg yolk peritonitis, or become egg bound. I have witnessed a healthy appearing rooster who was stopped in his tracks by a coronary event and died.
Sweet Handsome Paul turkey passed suddenly this year (with no symptoms we caught, despite his being observed by us constantly). Ziggy Stardust bantam rooster was estimated to be close to ten when he passed, a respectable age for a rooster. Jared and Jessica Geese were in their 30's.
We rescue many birds, and they begin their journey here in the quarantine space of the Healing Haven Barn. We accept that the hidden and dormant issues will become part of our flock (viral, or mycoplasma gallisepticum, etc) but we can treat each bird for internal and external parasites to start. With viral respiratory illnesses, they can lay dormant until times of stress. This can be true of mycoplasma as well.
All of this leads up to the sad news that at just before 4am this morning, Roo the Rooster passed as I held him. He had classic symptoms of mycoplasma, perhaps enhanced by the onset of cool evenings. This is not a diagnosis from a lab test, simply a strong possibility from experience and direct observation of sneezing, lethargy, darkened combs (reduced oxygenation) and disinterest in eating. He had a vet appointment scheduled Tuesday, but with the global rise of HPAI (avian influenza) the emergency protocols at veterinary hospitals are strict and have pre-screening that we had not yet reached for today.
Each and every one of our farm animal rescues live longer than their industrial lives. You all know that for us, we want their lives to be enriched and comfortable, not just long. Roo was beloved by everyone, and his larger than life personality will be cherished and he will be remembered.