Quarterly Update: April to June 2026

When we first started writing these quarterly updates over two years ago the purpose was to ensure transparency and accountability. By sharing what our goals are, how we’re working towards them, what our expenditures are, and (in my opinion) most importantly - how the chickens are doing. Over the years, we’ve updated our mission to better align with our programming and doubled our annual budget. These updates are still great at making sure ya’ll know where we’re at, but along the way they’ve become a way to connect on a deeper level. Each chicken deserves a space where their lives are recognized and celebrated.

Everything we do is for them. 

The warmer months between April and September are the busiest time of the year at the sanctuary, and most of our 2026 goals land this upcoming quarter. But before I get ahead of myself, excited about everything coming up, I want to pause to share a sincere thank-you for what you’ve helped us accomplish in the last three months. Everything we’ve done has been to pave the way for happier & healthier chickens in the future. Thank you for supporting Secondhand Stories. With all our gratitude,

Liz & Craig Wheeler

Co-Founders of Secondhand Stories

Chicken Care

This season was one of musical chairs. Spring fever caught wind, and suddenly everyone was taking the pecking order very seriously. Luckily, we’ve managed to work out new families that seem quite happy with their new dynamics.

You could say it all started with the chomp heard across the world. Mocha was NOT interested in sharing Oscar with Snowflake. At the end of our last quarter, Mocha had just been diagnosed with a reproductive tumour. She was brought inside with two stuck eggs (again), and thankfully she pulled through with intensive care. Perhaps it was her near-death experience, but when she returned outdoors, her attitude changed, and suddenly she needed to be around Snowflake constantly. It’s been the sweetest enemies-to-lovers story, and now the girls spend their days side by side. They even shared Mocha's birthday "cake" - a watermelon for her 7th birthday!

Unfortunately, while Mocha pulled through, Eggie & Ari were not so lucky, and both passed away from reproductive disease. Try as hard as we could, both were battling something for which there is no cure. Despite veterinary intervention, a treatment plan, and everything we could do to help them, they didn’t deserve to have a poor ending. The best decision we can make is to give them a dignified ending of peace and tranquillity. We miss them every day, but have comfort in our hearts knowing they had a life full of love with us.

This spring we welcomed a new face when Russell Crow joined the family! Russell was dumped at another sanctuary property, probably just because he was a rooster, and we are so thankful we could take him in and provide him a second chance at life. He’s a HUGE boy, and at only 1 year old, he has some pretty big feelings. His hormones are telling him to defend and protect, but once he’s picked up, he becomes a puddle of love and purrs in contentment. 

Aside from the big things, we also added some greenery to Ezra’s coop (who remains just as cuddly as ever, if not more so!), expanded Russell’s coop and expanded Rolo & Hershey’s coop.

We are endlessly thankful to our amazing team of volunteers who help with the animal care & enrichment. Massive kudos go out to Carolyn, Cassandra, Christine, Julie, Maxx, Melissa, and Moira. 

BONUS: Check out this video of our Guess the Chicken challenge on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram.

Sponsor a chicken and join the The Kind Friends Club! This includes a custom sponsorship packet mailed to you, a private tour, and our quarterly updates exclusive just for Monthly Donors.

Advocacy & Education

• We hosted a Clucking Good Day in collaboration with Rough Draft Events 

• Liz spoke on the Did You Bring the Hummus podcast about everything sanctuary!

• We continue work on our Suprelorin project, increasing access and affordability of implants for sanctuaries across Canada.

• We spoke with WPBS on why chicken sanctuaries matter in a fantastic mini-documentary. Check it out here!

• Liz attended the Animal & Vegan Advocacy summit in Toronto where she was able to network with other sanctuaries and advocacy groups. 

• We published blogs on Flock Dynamics and What a Sanctuary Is (and is not), as well as a new page on the website focusing on Intersectionality.

Finances (2026 so far)

In 2026, we budgeted $47,000 for expenses. We’ve had $20,007 in expenses, broken down into the following categories:

Medical & Animal Care - $11,415 (57%)

This includes the chickens' basic food needs, bedding, and supplements. It also accounts for enrichment treats & toys, nesting pads and more. Our medical expenses in 2026 have included exams, treatments and medications. Some of the most notable costs include implants for Snowflake, Suzie, Mocha, Gunta, and Lottie. Emma, Eggie & Ari’s reproductive cancer treatment & end-of-life care, Mocha's treatment for her stuck eggs, Rolo & Snowflake's ear exams and treatment, and the various upkeep needs of the flock.

Operations - $3,859 (19%)

Each quarter, we hate seeing operations costs grow, but unfortunately, to move forward and grow, it’s necessary. If you’re reading this, it’s because we’ve had to pay for a website and email plan. We have platform fees for fundraising that always earn back way more than we spend - like our auction platform, Donorbox donor form fees and banking fees. There are also insurance, postage & printing, and Corporation Canada's bylaw update costs. We try our hardest to keep these costs low.

Programs (Advocacy & Education) - $2,641 (14%)

These costs are tied to our advocacy & education efforts. Most of the time, these costs are tied to specific grants we’ve received, such as participant incentives for our Suprelorin project funded by the Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada and gift cards for our What The Flock Friday initiative funded by the Pollination Project. It also includes event fees and Freedom of Information requests (to uncover Burnbrae Farms’ environmental wrongdoings and Smiths Falls’ Backyard Chicken Bylaw wrongdoings). 

Infrastructure - $2,032 (10%)

We’ve been working on updating the coops and refreshing the run landscapes for the chickens. We added course sand to the covered runs, removed and replaced the insulation in Coop #4, and have been working on updating Coop #5.

Operations Update

We updated our bylaws & heard back from the CRA for the first revision of our charitable application status! Our next quarterly update will include the official details on that part, but since we’re a bit late posting this update, you may have already seen that on July 22 we received notice that our application was accepted! Wahoo!

How You Can Help!

Here are some incredible ways you can uplift our work: 

• Join us at the Open House on August 22 - even better, help promote it!

• Send a chicken a gift from our wishlist.

• Volunteer to help out with animal care at the sanctuary.