Rescue & Adoptions

In Loving Memory

Remembering Mayfly: Our Cherished Rooster Friend

A quintessential image from the Farm Sanctuary archives that many people have come to recognize is that of a yellow, white and brown rooster perched on a wooden fence overlooking our New York Shelter, his curious eyes as bright as the red barns speckling the bucolic landscape. The handsome boy in the photo, of course, is our beloved Mayfly: an amazing animal who has filled the lives of others with nothing but wonder and joy from the time he came to us a tiny, newly-hatched chick in 2002.

Mayfly was the sole survivor of an elementary school chick hatching project for which he and many others were brought into the world by people who were not only ill-equipped to care for peeps, but also had no use for them after they emerged from their eggs. Though spared by a well-intentioned parent,  he was soaking wet when he arrived at our New York Shelter — a condition that could have easily killed him — and, at only a few hours old, was already so neglected that we weren’t sure if he’d ever be able to thrive.

Lucky for Mayfly, and for everyone who came to know him thereafter, the tiny peep pulled through — with no small thanks to one particular caregiver who lovingly attended to his every need during the first months of his life, even creating a special handmade papoose to carry him around in and taking him home at night. During his youth, Mayfly also spent his days hanging around the Farm Sanctuary offices, climbing across computer keyboards to reach the warm laps of staff. As such, our boy grew up with great affection for people and shared every bit as much love with us as a companion cat or dog would.

When it came time for Mayfly to move in with other chickens, his sweet nature made him an instant favorite among birds as well. A natural match for our older and special needs hens, Mayfly was extremely gentle with and attentive to his lady friends and lovingly watched over them just as we looked after him as a peep. When food was brought out, he always allowed the ladies to partake first, waiting patiently to eat what was left after they had gotten their fill. And every evening, when it was time to settle in for the night, Mayfly made sure each hen was safely on her perch before he closed his eyes for sleep.

Given his gentlemanly ways and natural charm, it is no surprise that visitors to our New York Shelter would return year after year to see Mayfly, especially after having been deeply impacted either by observing his keen intelligence in action or experiencing his affection for others firsthand. Whether he was amazing people with the shrill call he would let out to alert the hens to the threat of a low-flying hawk, thrilling them by answering to his name, or fascinating them by allowing them to stroke his beautiful feathers and look him in the eyes, Mayfly left few people unchanged and unconvinced about how special, smart and full of emotion chickens really are.

A true testament to the happy life he led at Farm Sanctuary, Mayfly lived almost seven wonderful years at the New York Shelter, only more recently slowing down in his old age. When Mayfly started showing signs of weakness earlier this winter, we learned from his veterinarian that he had suffered a mild heart attack due to heart disease, which we then began to treat right away. While Mayfly improved for a time, and came back to live inside the office as he had in his youth, he later became anemic and when we rushed him to the hospital, he had another heart attack and, this time, tragically passed away.
 
Losing Mayfly has been extraordinarily difficult, as he was such a loving friend not only to us and everyone lucky enough to meet him, but especially to his fellow chickens who adored him above all and sorely miss his presence here. Though we are pained by his passing, we are grateful not only for all of the wonderful times we were so fortunate to have with him, but also for the trail he blazed in teaching compassion to others. We will never forget our dear friend, and his memory will always carry on in everything we do.