SOLON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — In many communities, the growing popularity of raising chickens and other farm animals has led to an unexpected issue: what to do when owners can no longer keep their livestock.
WATCH: Cedar Springs-area nonprofit takes in farm animals
Most animal shelters won't accept farm animals, creating a void that Sara Lee Earegood and her husband filled five years ago when they started 'Just Cluck It'.
"So what we do is we take in any livestock, anything that we can take to a livestock auction," Earegood said.
The business accepts unwanted animals at no cost, keeping them for only a brief period before finding them new homes or taking them to auction.
"We're facilitators, we can take them in, and I will take a picture. I post them on our Facebook page," she explained.
Earegood started the business after realizing how difficult it was for people to re-home roosters.
"I went to my first auction. I posted on my own Facebook page, and people started coming out of the woodwork. Are you going to an auction again? Will you take our birds? And I said, yes," she said.
The service has expanded beyond poultry to include a wide variety of animals.
"We have taken in goats, horses, sheep, pigs, guinea pigs, and rats. I even took in a monkey," Earegood said.
For residents, the service fills a critical need. Krista Reynolds drove from White Cloud to drop off two drakes and several roosters.
"It's very difficult to get rid of the males, unless you can find someone like this who's willing to take them," Reynolds said. "I'm not good at trying to cull them and eat them. I don't mind if somebody else does, and I don't mind them being sold at auction. I don't have the time for it myself."
Cedar Springs resident Mackenzie Bevier, who also dropped off a rooster, appreciates the service.
"It can be pretty hard, because not a lot of people want roosters because they do fight. Not a lot of them get along. So her taking them in is very helpful," Bevier said.
While Earegood acknowledges that not everyone supports Just Cluck It's mission, she stands by the service they provide.
"At the end of the day, we just got to move these animals for people, and that's what I want to do," she said.
Just Cluck It accepts livestock every Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with additional drop-offs available by appointment on other days.
For more information, you can call 616-263-9738 or click here.
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