A Day in a (Rescued) Life: OohMahNee Animal Sanctuary

Climbing out of a car, we crunch along the gravel lot, walking toward some buildings and a dirt road lined with barns with heart shaped windows. Other than occasional rooster crowing, and splashing from the duck pond, it is eerily quiet, in comparison to the din of the city. Three friends and I have arrived at OohMahNee, a 236-acre animal sanctuary located an hour east of Pittsburgh in Hunker, PA, OohMahNee, a play on the word 'humane,' is a farmed animal sanctuary dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitative care, protection and placement of abused, abandoned, neglected or displaced farmed animals, as well as advocating a compassionate lifestyle through humane education efforts.
Founded in 1995, OohMahNee is presently home to almost 1,000 rescued farm animals, according to oohmahneefarm.org.   

Director Cayce Mell takes us on a tour of the farm, first to a penned portion of the chickens' area. A pig indulgently lies on its side in the chicken barn, and ducks, chickens, roosters, turkeys, a couple of dogs, and a cat roam about the farm. Chickens and roosters surround us, walking to and fro rather calmly and curiously, seeming less agitated than one might expect. Though the hens appear identical at first glance, each white and missing feathers due to force molting, OohMahNee's staff calls many by name. Many chickens arekilled at 85 weeks old and also debeaked so as not to peck each other.

Though many of the chickens at OohMahNee will not regenerate full-size beaks, they will be cared for and can roam an area of two and half acres. Cayce picks one out from the barn, whose wing drags along in the hay, handing her over to Jason Tracy, who provides veterinary care for many animals.

Mell informs us about a rescue at Buckeye Egg Farm last August, where if not for plastic PVC present in the construction of pens and cages, which would produce toxic fumes, the birds would have just been burned. The farm would have lost more money in labor costs in moving the chickens rather than just disposing them.

After years of EPA violations, Buckeye Egg Farm, the fourth largest factory egg farm in the U.S., was issued an order of depopulation, which meant it would begin killing the fourteen million chickens who remain at the facility in November. News crews further pressured the farm's owner by filming inside the barns. OohMahNee managed to negotiate the release of 1,048 hens from Buckeye to sanctuaries.

In the pigs' area, Babe, rescued somewhat accidentally from a slaughterhouse, is making a nest in some hay. The pigs are unexpectedly large, about 4 to 5 feet long each. As they often go to the slaughter line at 8 weeks, many never grow to the sizes of these pigs. Cayce points out one particular pig, Lily, given up by a 4-H member, who would have been sent to slaughter.

The nearby potbellied pigs are marketed as pets and have been domesticated for centuries. They resemble wild boars, indigenous all over the world. They are now ending up in kill lines after becoming larger than many pet owners expect.

"All farm animals find their way to a killing line," Mell said, referring to animals on dairy farms, as well as animals involved in 4-H, a U.S. Department of Agriculture program. OohMahNee did outreach at county fairs, offering to take animals to sanctuary.
 
Two friendly dogs continue following us to the next fenced area. The goats that reside at this area are from a former dairy farm, whose owners did not want to kill their young in order to keep the animals producing milk.Victor, one of the more outgoing goats, strolls up to the fence. Some surprisingly friendly turkeys and a rooster also allow us to crouch down and encounter them face-to-face.

OohMahNee's specially built duck pond, is home to a number of geese and mallards. As many have been hit by cars or tangled in fishing line, the pond's shore is sloped so that animals can more easily slide in and out of the water. Some are blind; some are from foie gras farms. The latter are acclimated to being force fed, and had to relearn how to feed themselves, which happened shortly after they were in the company of other ducks, Cayce tells us.

Behind us, there is a small pen with a 2ft high structure built inside under which five tiny, scruffy chickens hide out. Cayce tells us that it's their 5th day of freedom, and that their feet are still tender and swollen from battery cages. She shows us another small barn where a number of chickens are recovering; telling us that Jason often treats animals with herbs, poultices, and sutures, as veterinarians rarely see older animals. It is extremely uncommon in the industry to see pigs with arthritis or cows with cancer.

The sanctuary is also home to a number of cows, sheep, rabbits, and an animal rights museum, showcasing many educational materials, including three types of cages used for containing and restricting animals on factory farms. OohMahNee offers tours and is in consistent need of donations: call 724-755-2420 or see http://www.oohmahneefarm.org.

-Toni Bartone

TMC members Nia Edmondson (left) and Toni Bartone (right) volunteered on
"Sheep Day." All the sheep had to be herded and sheared. (Photos by Marie Skoczylas)

Casey Mell (front, left-of-center), director and co-founder of
OohMahNee. (Photo courtesy of OohMahNee animal sanctuary)