It started with a pile of books and a goal to declutter during COVID-19. Now, almost five years later, Liz Wheeler is the proud owner of Secondhand Stories, a sanctuary housing some 22 rescued chickens.
Wheeler first started selling used books in 2020 as a side project. All the profits then were going to Sweet Sanctuary Animal Rescue in rural Mississippi Mills, “a forever home to horses and farm animals that have either retired from being used in an industry, or found their second chance after being rescued from neglect, abuse, injury or abandonment.”
In 2022, Wheeler and her husband moved to the country and bought land in Lombardy, Ont. south of Ottawa, and were inspired to start a sanctuary of their own.
“We did always know we wanted to rescue chickens,” Wheeler told Capital Current. “We imagined it would be like we would have one coop and have our own rescue chickens. So when we were looking at properties, this one had a coop, and we asked if they would leave it behind.”
The previous owner told Wheeler that they would “take care of the chickens and get rid of them.” Instead. Wheeler ask them to spare the birds. “They left behind seven chickens for us,” she said.
That was the beginning of this effort. Other chickens have come from owners who had to surrender their birds and from the Montreal Humane Society, which accepts chicken rescues.
Because of the cost of taking care of the chickens, Wheeler and Sarah Hogg, the founder of Sweet Sanctuary, first decided to redirect book sale funds to the sanctuary.
“We did always know we wanted to rescue chickens,” Wheeler told Capital Current. “We imagined it would be like we would have one coop and have our own rescue chickens. So when we were looking at properties (in Lombardy, south of Ottawa), this one had a coop, and we asked if they would leave it behind.”
The previous owner told Wheeler that they would “take care of the chickens and get rid of them.” Instead, Wheeler ask them to spare the birds. “They left behind seven chickens for us,” she said.
Other chickens have come from owners who had to surrender their birds and even from the Montreal Humane Society, which accepts chicken rescues.
“Every chicken here is a form of surrender. So whether that be from another sanctuary that was forced to shut down, we’ve had a couple of those,” Wheeler said.
“I don’t think we ever thought that it would get to this stage,” Wheeler said. “I could never have imagined that this is where we would have been.”
Now she is seeking charitable status which she says would mean that Secondhand Stories would be able to issue tax receipts and hopefully expand its fundraising.
Secondhand Stories now has six coops and has started hosting tours which include meeting the chickens, a walk about the property and information about chickens and sanctuaries. A fee of $20 is asked.
The sanctuary now has some 13 volunteers and a board of directors.
Haley Aldred, the secretary of the Secondhand Stories board, started her own connection a year ago.
“I help with the coop cleanup, replacing water, placing bedding, replacing their food, and also snuggle time with the chicken,” she said.
Aldred says she likes showcasing chickens and their personalities and helping people see them as more than food.
Maha Bazzi, director of animal welfare initiatives for the U.S. and Canada for the binational organization Mercy for Animals, told Capital Current chickens are often not seen as sentient and are instead seen as what is on the dinner plate.
“Sanctuaries do great work because they show us what chickens’ lives can look like when they are not treated as commodities and they give us this visible example of compassionate living,” Bazzi said. “We work with companies and run campaigns that aim to reform the entire industry. Our mission is complementary to sanctuaries.”
Because of the time and effort put into taking care of the chickens, Secondhand Stories has stopped selling books to focus on the birds.
“It was like a really heartbreaking moment when I realized that we had to step away from it, because the amount of time and effort it takes,” Wheeler said. “I was running an online bookshop, living an hour outside of Ottawa, coordinating everything between picking up book donations, taking photos of the books, and adding them to the website. It was too much.”
Wheeler said she has always been an advocate for animal welfare, but now she can truly focus on the mission of advocacy.
“The sanctuary’s mission is now different from when we were selling books; it’s to inspire compassion for chickens through rescue education and advocacy. So moving away from the books has allowed us to really like lean into like the education and advocacy,” she said.
Secondhand Stories is one of only three chicken-exclusive sanctuaries. Wheeler believes it is important to showcase how special chickens can be.
“People can be really disconnected from chickens,” Wheeler said. “They see it primarily as food. It’s not a lot of people who have ever met a chicken.”
Wheeler says she has seen how people can connect and show compassion towards the chicken. “It is awesome that people really connect with the chickens and love supporting them. We’re just so lucky to have so much support,” she said.
As Secondhand Stories grows, they plan to do more community outreach. “We did a presentation to a scout group,” Wheeler said. “They loved it. They had kids get to do the mimic foraging behavior, and dust bathing behaviour, and squawking like chickens. It’s very fun.”
To finish 2025, Secondhand Stories was able to raise over $3,000 in their winter auction with the support of Bestowed Cards, Birch Jewellery, Keepin’ it Vegan, Rachel Therrien Accounting and Vegan Supply Co., all local businesses.
“We have people who sponsor their food. We have people who sponsor their betting their vet care, and some people who sponsor their shelter, towards the ongoing cost of everything that has to be purchased for the coop,” Wheeler said. “Their generosity is really humbling.”
