Category: Featured Animals

Maggie was born on a farm that bread sheep for weed abatement and was born with leg deformities so she obviously could graze on her own. Normally in the industry, babies like Maggie would be “culled” which is the industry’s way of saying they let them die due to poor genetics. However, this particular farmer reached out to find Maggie a good home.

Our co founder Matt was able to get the owner to also release her mother Aggie. These two joined our herd for animals with additional needs and they remain very bonded.

Gus was born on a goat breading farm with scoliosis and leg deformities. Normally in the industry, babies like Gus would be “culled” which is the industry’s way of saying they let them die due to poor genetics. Luckily he was cared for by some farm interns who reached out to us to find him a home.

He became a member of our “funky bunch” for animals with additional needs and lives a great full life.

This special girl was found on the side of the highway with road burn and a leg injury by a kind human. She is about 3 years old and appears to have been bred multiple times. She was likely being transported to slaughter when she found a way to break free of the vehicle and jump out onto the side of the road.

She was taken to the shelter and when no one claimed her, they decided to send her to a livestock auction. Luckily the women who found her kept thinking about her and decided she would welcome her home until she could find her a forever home!

We are so happy that she was able to sense the danger that awaited her and have the courage to do anything she could to find a way out! 

Judy was rescued from a large hoarding case in California that we worked on.

She was a senior with arthritis and we knew our senior pot belly herd would be perfect for her! She became great friends with another senior pig here, Nellie, and they spend their days napping in their cozy barn and sun bathing together! 

Flounder was rescued from a large hoarding case in California that we worked on.

After fostering him and not being able to find a perfect home, he became a permanent resident!

Ginger and Juanita were rescued from a test lab in San Diego.

After being in a test for the first year of their life, they were surrender by the lab. They had never been outside, or met other pigs. We introduced them and they immediately became best friends! They spend their days doing zoomies in pot belly town and soaking up the sun with all their new friends!

Marshall was rescued from a large hoarding case in California that we worked on.

After fostering him and not being able to find a perfect home, he became a permanent resident! He was also adopted by Perri and her family and spends all his time with them!

Perri was rescued from a large hoarding case in California that we worked on. She was too pregnant to be transported to another sanctuary so she gave birth to her piglets here at the refuge!

Her babies include: Bernie, Alfredo, Stormy, Murphy, Wyatt, pepper, Frank, Valentino, and adoptive son Marshall!

Hugo was rescued from a situation in La. An owner of a taco shop was breeding pigs behind his building and giving away piglets to customers. A kind human noticed Hugo looked very sick and in need of immediate rescue. He came here and met his best friend Emmett who he spends all his time with!

Emmett was found as a neonatal piglet abandoned and rooming the streets. After being fostered by our friend and neonatal specialist, Hannah Shaw, he joined the refuge and met his best friend Hugo! 

These boys were surrendered by their owner after a predator attack killed most of their herd. They joined our senior goat herd and now are thriving with lots of new friends!

Honey came to us when her babies Jessie, Sammy, and Rilla, were just 1 day old. She was found running for her life after being chased by a dog. A kind heart at a local horse rescue planned to give her a home, however after the babies were having a hard time latching and eating, they came here to the refuge for some extra help!

This family shares a pasture with our senior goat herd and remains very close!

Dude was surrendered by his owner after a predator attack killed most of his herd. He joined our senior goat herd and now is living his best life with lots of new friends!

Joey was rescued from a test lab in 2022. The lab did not know his mother was pregnant until the test had already began. While we weren’t able to convince the lab to release the mother, we were able to provide a forever home to baby Joey.

Joey spent the first year of his life with the funky bunch and his best friend daisy who unfortunately passed away in 2023. Joey now spends his days with the “big sheep” and loves his older brother figure, dream!

Lily was rescued in the beginning of 2022 from a test lab in San Diego.

Her test was luckily cancelled and she was in need of rescue. After joining the refuge she made quick friends with the sheep herd and now we can’t imagine life without her here!

Layla was in FFA which is the future farmers of America program for high school students. Following her school year, Layla was transferred into the breading program for her future babies to be used for the next round of students. This means she would never get to keep her babies nor would they get the live out their natural lives.

The program was downsizing and Layla was being sent to slaughter auction potentially pregnant in December of 2021. A few short weeks after we welcome her to the refuge she gave birth to her beautiful daughters, Betty and Sabrina. These 3 will spend their whole lives together here and are an inseparable group!

Sam spent the first part of his life living in a test lab but after being released to us he immediately started making up for lost time outdoors. He is the first to greet you at the gate when entering the potbelly area and has the biggest personality you have ever seen. His favorite things are running, his best friend Cashew and getting rubbed down with sunscreen on hot days.

Cashew was rescued after she developed a prolapse and her previous guardian couldn’t afford the surgery she needed to save her life. She was set to be euthanized but refused to get in the crate to go to the appointment and that night we were contacted to rescue her. Immediately after rescue she was rushed straight to UC Davis to have surgery and recovered there until she was ready to come home to FAR for the rest of her life.

In March of 2020 we welcomed five lovely goats. These beautiful goats suffered multiple coyote attacks to their herd before joining Farm Animal Refuge.

To keep goats safe, they need a barn at night and tall fences in the day time!

This group looks like they walked out of a fairy tale, which is why we often refer to them as “The Magics.”

Benny: Benny is funny and sassy, he is blueberry’s son and the two are always together.

Fonzie: Fonzie is the shiest of the group, but is very sweet after he gets to know you. Fonzie is Benny’s brother and the two are very close.

Guinness: Guinness was a twin and unfortunately lost his brother before coming to the refuge. We think this is why he loves to spend time with Brian and Liam. Guinness is a very lovey goat and is Blueberry’s boyfriend!

Donald: Donald is the oldest goat at the refuge and is a friend to all. He enjoys spending his days with Dude (another senior goat) and Honey.

Blueberry: Blueberry is Benny’s mom and a fearless leader! She is one tough lady and is the queen of this little family. Though she may be small, all of the goats respect her. She even puts Mocha in line occasionally!

Kyle was rescued at a young age from a livestock auction. His front legs could not hold his weight and bowed to the sides. After over a year of splinting and getting special casts at UC Davis, Kyle made a full recovery! He moved on from the special needs herd to join the big goats!

Kyle is a la mancha goat, they are typically bred for goat diary. Because Kyle is a male goat, he wont ever make milk. Male goats in the dairy industry face slaughter at a young age. Thankfully, Kyle is here instead!

Kyle is a mischievous goat with a big heart. She loves all people, but his favorite human is Carlye!

Kyle loves leaves, pumpkins, being silly, and getting into trouble!

Ariel was rescued after her goat herd suffered mountain lion attacks. She was one of the only members of her herd to survive.

To keep goats safe, they need a barn at night and tall fences in the day time!

Ariel made fast friends with Holly who also lost her family to mountain lions before coming to the refuge. Ariel is the first goat to the barn at dinner time, and loves to play with her goat friends. She is sweet to all of the goats in the herd, but spends most of her time with Kyle and Holly.

Winston and Mac made their way to sunny California all the way from Ohio! They were raised for a 4H program. 4H is a youth program where children raise farmed animals and typically send them to a local fair. At the fair, the animals are auctioned to the highest bidder usually for meat.

When the fair is over, the children say goodbye to their animal friends who usually face slaughter. The young woman raising these goats wanted a better ending for these boys! Matt drove over 70 hours to get these boys home safe!

Winston and Mac are boer goats. They have many friends in the big goat herd and love to greet guests at tours.

Lenny was unfortunately abused and neglected before joining the Farm Animal Refuge family. Despite his past, Lenny is an angel. He enjoys napping in the sunshine and being brushed. He loves all visitors and fits in well with the other goats. Lenny is a volunteer favorite and is an absolute pleasure to spend time with. His best friends are Mary and Winston and he has a huge crush on Holly.

Jeffy is a truly special goat and a funny boy! Jeffy was loved before joining us here at the refuge. However, Jeffy was all alone! An only goat is a lonely goat, so Jeffy was acting out and headbutting. Now that he has friends in the goat herd, he is one of the nicest animals at the refuge and one of the first to greet you on a tour! Jeffy is a senior dude and still working on his social skills with the other goats, but he is a very good boy and doing great!

Meet Holly. She had to be picked up before sunset to make it through the night. She lost her family herd of 8 to mountain lion attacks over a few days. And she managed to not get injured. It’s almost to remarkable to believe, other than when Matt picked him up, he saw the others that didn’t make it. ?⁣⁣

She will be the First Lady goat joining the big herd! And we can’t wait to watch her blossom.

Mary was brought to us after her Mom had a complicated pregnancy. Sheep have been selectively bred to carry more babies and Mary’s Mom has triplets. On passed during birth, and one was born healthy.

Because of her own complicated health, Mary’s mom rejected her. This can happen from having too many babies or poor nutrition. Mary’s Mom has just been taken from a meat farm, so it explains why she wasn’t healthy.

Mary was TINY she was only 2 pounds! Mary’s mom and brother are safe with a family who loves them. And we were able to get Mary the care and attention she needed.

Mary looks like a goat, but she is actually a hair sheep! Blackbelly Barbados.

This handsome little guy was at a letting zoo when he was a baby. He was then given to a man who left him behind with 16 other animals at a property near us.⁣⁣

All of the other animals have been safely placed into great homes that we are so thankful for ✨.

He is a dwarf goat, and Fred is super glad to have someone his size around!⁣

Emerson is a GOOF BALL. He’s always being silly and playful.

Fred came to the farm after he was trampled by a goat herd and dogs.

Fred suffered a spinal injury and has lost the use of his back legs. He is happy, healthy, and very Mobile in his cart!

He sleeps with his little pal Emerson and spends most days with Charlotte.

Mama Carol gave birth in a high kill shelter.

She was confiscated by animal control after being abandoned on a property with several other pigs. She gave birth to six beautiful piglets at the shelter!

We picked up this whole family the day she gave birth. They had a lot of ups and downs, but Mama Carol and all six piglets: Josie, Oliver, Fiona, Dora, Phoebe, Willow have become happy healthy little pigs!

Joshua AKA Joshy Poshy was raised by our amazing rescue friend Hannah Shaw. You can check out the great work she does by visiting the Orphan Kitten Club website.

He was abandoned in a park and was the only survivor of his litter. Hannah raised him into a happy healthy boy. Josh is sweet, out going, and has a big personality to match how big he will grow!

Joshua is a Kune Kune mix and will be about over 200lbs when he grows up!

There is no such thing as a “mini pig” but we will love him just the same when he is a big boy!