Edward is a peacock who came to Poplar Spring in March 2005 when he was only a few months old. He was rescued from a home in Maryland, where he was not being given any food, water or shelter. The owner’s pet sitter called the local animal control when she was told to leave Edward outside on a cold snowy night and that he didn’t need water or food, he could just “eat the snow.” Edward was confiscated by the local animal control and brought to Poplar Spring.

Edward enjoys hanging out with the turkeys and chickens, scratching and pecking for bugs, sunbathing and taking dust baths. Even though he doesn’t have a female, he has made friends with the other birds, and sometimes even displays to them. He eats chicken scratch every day, and loves treats like grapes and bread. At night he likes to perch on a board in the barn, with his long tail hanging down. Edward can fly very well and he roams around the farm every day, but he always comes into the barn at night, where it’s safe.

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The Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary is a 400-acre nonprofit refuge in Poolesville, Maryland, that offers care, rehabilitation and permanent sanctuary for neglected, abused or abandoned farm animals as well as providing a protected habitat for wildlife. They promote compassion and the humane treatment of all animals by educating the public on farm animal and wildlife issues.

A husband and wife team along with 100 volunteers and 8 staff care for more than 300 rescued farm animals, each with a name and a story of their rescue, and most of them quite friendly to humans. They’ve been in operation for 21 years, receive no public funding and survive only on donations.

For more information on the refuge, go to http://www.animalsanctuary.org

Awed, posted earlier: