Update 12

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Magic on the Move—our FINAL edition! 🤯

CAMERAS

Lights, action! Our safety & fire monitoring system is starting to go live across the farm:

EQUIPMENT

The last (started) of our farm supplies and equipment is now at the new property! You, our donors, have helped supply many of these important tools that help us give each resident individualized care, and we’d never dream of leaving them behind.

RESIDENT MOVES

The cats moved last week and, well, we think Ricky’s feeling pretty cozy already…

And finally, the last of our residents have moved!! This week, we brought April and her family to the new property.

EVERYONE IS NOW OFFICIALLY HOME! And settling in well. Maybe a little too well… this week the goats were feeling a bit naughty and decided to explore a little further, visiting their pig neighbours. Can you spot Pixie on the far left and Hazel standing on the wall waiting to join her?

THANK YOU

As valued supporter, whether as a treasured monthly donor or through our Fields of Dreams, Summer Sparkle, and Homeward Bound campaigns, you mean the world to us. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your continued support! We truly could not do this without you and we appreciate each and every one of you endlessly.

As always, stay tuned for regular updates through our newsletter and social media. We’ll be back to sanctuary life as usual… IN OUR NEW HOME!

From everyone at HEEFS ❤️

Update 11

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to another edition of Magic on the Move. It’s been a BIG week! 🐷

RESIDENT MOVES

Our dedicated facilities team has been working hard on this final push to get areas ready for the new arrivals; they spent last weekend setting posts and had a late night or two on finishing touches.

This week, Sammy’s and Malcolm’s herds moved to the new property! Sammy and his herd took two trips while Malcolm’s took three. We’re happy to report both sets of transports went super smoothly—everyone cooperated well with loading and unloading, and the drive over was smooth. While we weren’t anticipating any issues, it’s always nice when things go to plan!

Sammy’s herd was so excited to get back to napping that they went to sleep inside before we even had a chance to make their beds!

But we think it’s safe to say the pigs are settling in well…

GOATS & SHEEP

In non-pig news, the fencing for the goats and sheep has been completed, so they now have outside access! That said, we temporarily have to walk them to their outdoor enclosure while we finalize construction on the doorway that will allow them to come and go on their own. We hope to have this done soon!

THE CATS

Ricky and Clawdia moved on Friday and are settling in to their new home!

 COMING UP

The cats are moving this weekend and then it’s just April’s family to move this coming week! We’re so, so excited to have everyone together and to finally complete the move!

As valued supporter, whether as a treasured monthly donor or through our Fields of Dreams, Summer Sparkle, and Homeward Bound campaigns, you’ll continue to receive regular updates about our new location. Thank you for your continued support. We couldn't do this without you!

From everyone at HEEFS ❤️

Update 10 - It's happening!!!

Hi everyone,

Thanks for checking out another edition of Magic on the Move!

Last week we shared the exciting news that our residents began to move—if you missed it, go back and check it out. Go on! We’ll wait.

Now, this week…

FENCING

More fun with fencing! We’ve installed additional fencing at the new property around the arena and stall barn for the goats, sheep, and birds. The bird areas will soon be covered in netting, like at the old property, to protect against predators.

RESIDENT MOVES

We’re excited to share that BJ & Escalade have moved in and are settling in nicely!

Our staff continue to remain split between both locations to provide round-the-clock animal care and supervision.

COMING UP

Resident moves continue and will wrap up with the cats and pigs:

🐷 Malcolm’s herd is moving Wednesday

🐷 Sammy’s herd is moving Thursday

🐷 April’s family is moving the week after

🐱 Ricky & Clawdia move this Friday

Relocating the pigs is the biggest part of the resident move but we are so excited to get everyone back on the same property and into their forever home!

As valued supporter, whether as a treasured monthly donor or through our Fields of Dreams, Summer Sparkle, and Homeward Bound campaigns, you’ll continue to receive regular updates about our new location. Thank you for your continued support. We couldn't do this without you!

From everyone at HEEFS ❤️

Update 9 - Homeward Bound!

Hi everyone, 

Welcome back to Magic on the Move!  

This is the edition we’ve been waiting for. IT’S HAPPENING!  

Well, yes, it’s been happening for some time. We can’t overstate how critical all the planning and site preparation has been for this move. The staff and volunteer hours. The donations, kind words and support. And now’s the time we know everyone has been waiting for: residents have begun moving! More on that a bit later; read on! 

GUTTER REPLACEMENT 

Keeping safety top of mind, we recognized the old on-site barn was going to cause some icy and dangerous situations in the winter for the pigs. Our team removed the old gutters, replacing them with new ones, and removed other unsafe wood and siding.  

BUILDING MOVE & ARENA DEVELOPMENT

We started (and finished!) moving our buildings to the new property. What an undertaking!

Five of the eight buildings brought over are coops housed in the arena for our bird friends:

And the 2-foot-deep duck pond is fully dug, ready for finishing touches:

NETWORK & CAMERAS

We officially have internet! We’re still in the process of installing our cameras, which not only help us keep an eye on everything going on everywhere at all times, but have thermal capabilities that aid in fire detection, keeping our residents safe.

RESIDENT MOVES

So far, we’ve moved the birds, sheep, goats, horse and donkey, and cows to the new property! Our staff is currently split between both locations to provide round-the-clock animal care and supervision.

COMING UP

Resident moves continue! The pig herds move between October 2 and October 8, and of course Clawdia & Ricky will be moving soon, too!

As valued supporter, whether as a treasured monthly donor or through our Fields of Dreams, Summer Sparkle, and Homeward Bound campaigns, you’ll continue to receive regular updates about our new location. Thank you for your continued support. We couldn't do this without you!

From everyone at HEEFS ❤️

Update 8 - ✅ ✅ ✅

 Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Magic on the Move! We have lots on the go and some exciting updates, so let’s dive right in: 

PIG FENCING 

Last week we started putting in new fencing, and the massive 2,800 linear feet of installation is now complete—safe and ready to welcome our oinking residents VERY soon!

In case you missed last week’s Magic on the Move: fencing like this is a huge undertaking, but critically important for the safety and security of our residents. This upgraded installation will last the sanctuary at least 25 years, which is an incredible investment in the future of HEEFS!

TRENCHING

In last week’s update, we shared that we were laying some important underground lines to keep the sanctuary well-connected, including expanding utilities to the big head barns. This is complete and has all been filled in!

ARENA DEVELOPMENT

Now that the excess sand is cleared out, we’re ready to go full steam ahead. Installation of stalls for the goats, pigs, and birds is underway, and the pond for the ducks is complete!

While most projects at the new property are geared toward our residents, we certainly can’t forget our human friends! Our on-site break room (which is next to the arena), was cleaned this week by some amazing volunteers and provides a much-needed, cozy space for everyone to have a break, relax, and recharge.

OFFICE TRAILER

We’ve successfully moved our office trailer to the new property! Everything went as smoothly as we’d hoped.

COMING UP

Now THIS is BIG: we started moving our residents yesterday!!!!

Our Homeward Bound fundraiser is the third and final chapter in our fundraising journey for this monumental move. Help us raise $50,000 to fund the epic finale of our journey and help provide a long-term, sustainable home for our residents! Click here to learn more and to support the campaign. 💖

As valued supporter, whether as a treasured monthly donor or through our Fields of Dreams, Summer Sparkle, and Homeward Bound campaigns, you’ll continue to receive regular updates about our new location. Thank you for your continued support. We couldn't do this without you!

From everyone at HEEFS ❤️

Update 7 - Fencing, Trenching, Construction, OH MY!

Hi everyone,

Thanks for joining us for our 7th edition of Magic on the Move! 

As we inch closer and closer to closing day, there’s lots going on at the new property. Let’s take a look at what we’ve been up to this week!

FENCING 

Fencing is, arguably, one of the most important property features at HEEFS. At the new location, a whopping 2,800 linear feet of fencing is being installed. (How much is that, exactly? Try to picture over 450 pigs standing end to end! 🐖🐖🐖)

Speaking of pigs: with this new fencing, 5.5 acres of land will be immediately available for them once they move in. This is more than all of the pig pastures combined at the current property!!!

While the new property did have fencing, it was 21 years old and not as robust as the piggies need. All the old 4-inch thick posts were removed…

…and brand new 6-inch thick posts were installed!

Let’s pause here for a short “it’s a small world” fact: The person installing our fencing is the very same who installed it on this exact property over 2 decades ago! 🤯

While fencing like this is a massive undertaking, we can all agree it’s critically important for the safety and security of our residents. This upgraded installation will last the sanctuary at least 25 years, which is an incredible investment in the future of HEEFS!

 TRENCHING

Less glamourous, but important in its own right: we’re laying some important underground lines to keep the sanctuary well-connected, including expanding utilities to the big head barns.

ARENA DEVELOPMENT

The very, very sandy arena received some much-needed attention: and it’s sandy no more! The sand was all broken down and completely removed. In an effort to be as efficient as possible, we’ll be able to use this sand in other areas of the property as needed.

Also, installation of stalls for the goats, pigs, and birds has begun! Plus, there’s going to be a huge pond for the ducks. (Complete with waterfall! But shhh, we’re not telling the ducks about that one just yet!)

REFLECTION

We’ve been working off concepts, drawings, and sketches for so long it’s been so exciting to see these plans finally coming to life on-site. We’re getting closer and closer to the new HEEFs every single day!

And it truly takes a village—our dedicated volunteers have been giving us even more of their time to help with this move and we’re incredibly thankful. Wave hi to your favourite facilities team who are keeping these projects running smoothly!

As valued supporter, whether as a treasured monthly donor or through our Field of Dreams and Summer Sparkle campaigns, you’ll continue to receive regular updates about our new location. Thank you for your continued support. We couldn't do this without you!

From everyone at HEEFS ❤️

Update 6 - So much to do, so little time!!!

Welcome to our 6th edition of Magic on the Move!

Things are really starting to get exciting. We have some great updates to share, but before we dive in, let’s take a moment to celebrate: our closing date is nearly here! Later this month, HEEFS will officially own our own property! 🎉 

As we get closer and closer to moving our residents, our team is still hard at work with all of the preparation required to make the new property safe, functional, and homey for the animals and all of our staff and volunteers.

SUPPLIES

Thanks to the help of our incredible volunteers, we’ve already moved over 100 totes to the new property! Again, we have to give a special shoutout and thank you to HeyRay Self Storage for donating portable storage units to help us with the transition while keeping our belongings safe and secure.

 BARN LOFT

A successful designated “move day” brought volunteers and staff together to fully empty the barn loft. This is a BIG check on our moving to-do list!  

We’ve kept a small amount of hay and straw in the loft to get us through the next month at the current property, but everything else has been cleared out in preparation for the move.

CORNO’S COTTAGE

In hindsight, Corno’s cottage should have been named Corno’s compound 😂… The 2 coops and the biosecurity breezeway that make up Corno’s Cottage, need to be prepped for moving so we are playing a little bit of bird musical house!

• Richard’s flock has been moved into Dolly’s House, and

• Nancy, Mary, BRIAN, and Sunnie have been relocated to a specially-made, predator-proof retrofitted area in the garage that features an HPAI-safe outdoor area. ‘

And what about Cooper, you ask? He now has his own bachelor pad inside Dolly’s House until the move. Lucky boy!

These new indoor and outdoor enclosures will come with us to the new property and allow us extra flexibility in resident housing in the event we need to separate a flock, need space to take in additional rescues, or any other need!

The crane company is coming next week to move Corno’s Cottage. The clock is ticking!

ARENA DEVELOPMENT

The facilities team has been working diligently at the arena on the new property, laying the groundwork for a safe and connected sanctuary. Conduit has been run for high-speed internet, which is especially important as cameras and wi-fi will be set up throughout the entire property.

Our cameras give us an important overview of what’s happening in all areas at all times, but did you know they help us with fire safety, too? Our thermal cameras can detect dangerous temperature changes before other alarms, allowing us to act quickly and keep everyone safe.

Once everything is connected, you can look forward to new views and backdrops on the Barnside Chat livestreams! Stay tuned!

Everyone at HEEFS continues to work diligently to prepare for this exciting next step for our sanctuary. We’re honoured to have an incredibly dedicated team of volunteers and staff who are playing a huge role in making this happen! 

As valued supporters, whether as a treasured monthly donor or through our Field of Dreams and Summer Sparkle campaigns, you’ll continue to receive regular updates about our new location. Thank you for your continued support. We couldn't do this without you! 

From everyone at HEEFS ❤️