As you might know, we just had a baby turkey hatch at The Gentle Barn. Romeo is the proud father. Six years ago, Romeo came to The Gentle Barn Missouri along with 10 other turkeys. They were running around the middle of…

I rescued my very first turkey 24 years ago in November after our grand opening in 1999. I was so excited! His family purchased him for Thanksgiving but could not go through with butchering him, so they brought him to me. Tommy was handsome and regal, with feathers that…

I met Julia when she was 16 years old. She came to The Gentle Barn with her high school class for those with disabilities. The teens were holding the chickens and petting the animals when I approached Julia with a red hen named Bonnie. The teachers yelled at me to stop and explained that Julia was not safe for the hen because she was prone to…

At The Gentle Barn, our staff wear many hats: From raising funds to managing operations, running social media, hosting tours and field trips, facilitating cow hug therapy sessions, maintaining the properties, and caring for the animals. While the maintenance departments are…

This month marks the 13th anniversary of our cows Holy Cow and Madonna’s rescue and arrival at The Gentle Barn. They came to us at only a few weeks old, injured, scared, lame, and sick. We had to work hard to save them, and it took many months until they were healthy.…

As we approach our twenty fourth anniversary, I am flooded with gratitude for the people across the globe who have supported our efforts and enabled us to get this far. Behind every beautiful…

Jay and I were contacted by a lovely couple in Colorado Springs who asked us to take in their horse. Marley had a back injury that rendered him unrideable, and he needed the sort of rehabilitation that we offer here…

As Jay and I are now moving through our own grief, I’m noticing the many different stages of sorrow. When Magic first passed away, the grief was so heavy in my body…

Jay and I have had many animals in the house with us over the years, including sick pigs, baby goats, disabled chickens, senior turkeys, an injured pigeon, an orphaned gosling, and a mouse with a head injury. But I will never forget the time we had a cow in the living…

Knowing how to support teenagers is hard. When they were young and dependent on us, it was a bit easier to manage, but once they turn into teenagers, they often reject our advice and…