Almost like a children’s story, an unlikely pair of animals have found friends in each other at the Lincoln County Animal Shelter. “Porkey,” a potbelly-cross pig, and “Henny Penny,” a classic white hen, have bonded over the last three weeks, according to Carrie Koskela, the acting office manager at the shelter.
Porkey, who is what Koskela termed an “owner-release,” came to the shelter about two weeks ago. He had chickens with him at his previous home, so it was an easy transition for him when Henny Penny came to the shelter, Koskela said.
Henny Penny was rescued by a family after it had bonded with a rafter of turkeys, Koskela said. “The chicken came out of the woods, it was hanging out with the turkeys, the people decided it was too cold so they brought it to us.”
Normally a pig and a chicken wouldn’t be kept together, but the decision was made to put the two animals together, since Porkey already had experience with chickens, Koskela said. “They just kind of co-exist with each other, they eat out of each other’s food dishes,” she said.
“We have a complete pig house for [Porkey] but he doesn’t seem to like it,” Koskela said. “He’s rearranged all the hay … and settles down in there every night.”
Henny Penny sleeps right outside of Porkey’s den of hay and “kind of keeps an eye on him,” she said. “It’s nice that they have a buddy to hang out with instead of being solo.”
Though they’re a good fit for each other, Koskela said the two animals don’t have to be adopted as a pair. The shelter has standard adoption fees for dogs and cats, but for a pig or a chicken they just ask for a donation, she said.
“Finding homes for everyone is what we do. If someone takes the pig and has room for the chicken, that’s fantastic,” Koskela said. “They just seem to have a pretty peaceful relationship in their pen, and they love visitors.”
Porkey was really shy when he was first picked up, but now he really likes to have his ears scratched, Koskela said. “He gets all excited – you know how a dog kind of kicks his back leg when he gets scratched? He does the same thing.”
“He’s a grateful pig. He’s gotten lots of attention, lots of visitors … some people just stop by to say ‘hi’ to him.”