At this Santa Clarita animal sanctuary, the turkeys are for therapy, not food

Turkey is, of course, the anchor of the Thanksgiving dinner table.

But at one local animal sanctuary, you can experience what these birds have to offer besides a meal.

Slowing down at the barnyard

An emu, a pig, a few sheep and an inquisitive lama named Joaney look on as Cheyanne Weiner, a program specialist at the Gentle Barn in Santa Clarita, opened the gate to a barn enclosure.

“Hi guys, good morning!,” Weiner said, as several white, female turkeys came rushing out. There’s Forgiveness, Justice and Grace. Most of the turkeys here were rescued from Thanksgiving dinner.

“The stereotype is that turkeys are mean or stupid or not very affectionate," Weiner said. "They love to cuddle and they love people most importantly. They just love to be loved.”

How to get cuddles 

For a donation that supports the animals, anyone can come cuddle a turkey year round. Weiner explained how it’s done:

“You can sit down right in front of them, scooch up real, real, really close so they're in your lap. And you can put your hands under their wings and give them a little scratch and they will literally bend down and fall asleep in their lap,” she said.

The female turkeys are the experienced huggers, Weiner said. The male turkeys, with their more showy plumage, typically like to be praised from afar as they keep an eye on their flock.

Growing up around these animals — her parents are the founders of the Gentle Barn — Weiner said she’s seen first hand the mental health benefits of being around animals.

“Any time that I’m like busy with schoolwork, busy with work, whatever it is, I come out here and I cuddle a turkey or I hug a cow and like all of it leaves... They’ve taught me to just kind of slow down in life, a little bit,” Weiner said.

Romeo, one of the male turkeys at the Gentle Barn in Santa Clarita.

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Katherine Garrova

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How it all started

Ellie Laks founded the Gentle Barn 26 years ago. She said their barnyard therapy offering used to just focus on people who were really hurting: foster youth, war veterans and domestic abuse survivors. But since the pandemic they've opened up to everyone.

“We realized that individuals are suffering from depression, anxiety, grief, trauma. And now we just need to be able to help anyone who is looking for us,” Laks said.

She added that at the Gentle Barn, they follow the CDC guidance every day to protect their flock from avian flu.

“When it does resurface, we immediately go into our avian flu protocol,” she said. That means no new birds coming in, hand sanitizer precautions and more. And experts are always monitoring their flock for sick birds.

Plan ahead 

The Gentle Barn is expecting some 200 people this Thursday for their annual Gentle Thanksgiving event, where visitors can spend time with their turkeys, feed them snacks and learn more about them.

“They can come to our turkey cuddle therapy and have a turkey fall asleep in their lap, cradle a chicken in their arms. And see all these beautiful animals — who have also gone through trauma — find their happily ever after and inspire us all to seek our own,” Laks said.

To join their sanctuary’s Gentle Thanksgiving with a twist, you’ll need to reserve a timed entry slot. You can find those and more details here.