Sanctuary Operations Manual

What does it take to rescue chickens? It's a question we get often and it's the hardest to answer. The short version would go something like "Everything. It takes everything, plus some. It's like being responsible for 21 toddlers at once, but ones who can't speak your language." The long version is our operations manual.

We first published our manual in 2021, and since then, it has undergone yearly revisions. As we've grown, we've improved and updated sections. It's a 24-page evergreen resource to help guide our every action as we work towards our mission to inspire compassion for chickens through rescue, education & advocacy.

The manual focuses primarily on our best practices & procedures for animal care, including: shelter, feeding/water, cleaning, safety & security, behaviour, enrichment, handling & transportation, veterinary care, monthly exams, and our medical emergency protocol. We outline our policies on vaccination, reproduction, euthanasia, zoonotic disease prevention, welcoming new residents, rescue and our capacity for responsible care. One of the things we're most proud of is that our manual has been reviewed by two veterinarians.

Co-Founder Liz's decade of experience and background in non-profit animal protection have helped us to prioritize good governance. To us, this means having plans and procedures for disasters, emergencies, as well as contingency & succession planning.

To ensure the protection of the humans we interact with as well, we also have policies for burnout & compassion fatigue prevention, whistleblowing, anti-discrimination, inclusion & diversity, as well as harassment & anti-violence.

Last but not least, we have a section that explicitly states the ethics of our sanctuary, which are rooted in compassionate veganism.

Section Example: Disaster & Emergency Plan & Procedures

Planning ahead for worst-case scenarios is something new non-profits rarely have in mind, but having seen many unexpected disasters and tragedies in news stories, we knew we wanted to ensure we could have the peace of mind knowing we were prepared. We included a map with a listing of all emergency supplies, a list of emergency contacts and detailed plans for each emergency situation. More than that, we did all the behind-the-scenes preparation details like taking FireSmart101 wildfire safety training, purchasing emergency kit supplies, and making an agreement with fellow sanctuary friends to ensure we had a temporary housing option for the chickens if ever needed.

We are incredibly proud to release the operations manual for you all to read. We hope you will enjoy this glimpse into sanctuary life, and thank you for all of your support.

You can read Secondhand Stories Operations Manual here!

Note: Some linked documents within the manual may not be accessible to the public to maintain the privacy of third party contacts such as the executor of our estate, volunteer and emergency temporary housing contacts.