A Home For Holidays: Rescued Ducks, Chicken Find Riverhead Haven

RIVERHEAD, NY — Ducks, roosters, and chickens, oh, my — John Di Leonardo continued his work to rescue live slaughter house birds during the Christmas holidays — giving them new hope and a haven in Riverhead while they recover.

Di Leonardo, founder and executive director of the Long Island Orchestrating for Nature rescue organization, now located in Riverhead, said he rescued a Khaki Campbell domestic duck and a Cornish Cross Rock chicken from live slaughter markets in New York City.

The brown Khaki Campbell, he said, is "our Christmas miracle." Lily, the white chicken, was also given a new lease on life after both were rescued. Di Leonardo was visiting the live slaughter houses with "vegan holiday goodies" from Cindysnacks, an all-vegan market in Huntington, when he rescued Markie two days before Christmas and Lily, the day after.

Both are suffering from bumblefoot, a "potentially life-threatening staph infection," he said. Lily also has pneumonia, he added.

After a visit to the vet on Thursday, Markie's feet were debrided and she was put on antibiotics, he said. Lily, he added, was put on two antibiotics. "Her prognosis is now guarded but I'm hopeful, as I haven't lost a bird to respiratory distress yet," Di Leonardo said.

He finds hope in Rosa, another chicken rescued from a live slaughter house before Thanksgiving who was also given a poor prognosis but has since made a full recovery.

After the recover, both Markie and Lily will be put up for adoption at the Riverhead shelter.

The acts of holiday kindness did not stop with the live slaughter house saves.

Di Leonardo also rescued a tiny Rouen duck that was given to a New York City woman as a Christmas gift by a suitor. Along with another duckling, they were shipped from a West Coast factory farm at only a day old and experienced such malnutrition that the other duckling suffered folding fractures of her tibia and femor and had to be euthanized, he said.

"We named the Rouen Holly and she will also be up for adoption when she is a bit older," he said.

And, Di Leonardo added, LION also placed two roosters from the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation at the And-Hof Animals Sanctuary in the Catskills, scooping up Lily along the way.

His goal remains spreading awareness, Di Leonardo said.

"At about seven and six weeks old, respectively, Markie and Lily are only babies but would've been killed within days if we hadn't rescued them," he said. "Both were raised on factory farms, stuffed into sheds by the thousands, and Markie had her toes cut off to prevent self-mutilation due to the stress of her environment. However, they are now learning to trust humans for the first time and, once recovered, will be on their way to animal sanctuaries where they will be loved and never eaten."

As for the Rouen, Di Leonardo said: "We are reminding everyone that animals are lifelong commitments, not holiday gifts. And we are encouraging people to help animals like Markie and Lily by leaving animals off their plates in the new year."

The organization Veganuary, Di Leonardo said, specializes in helping people make the transition for the new year and LION "would be happy to help, too."

To contact LION, click here.