Our day on the pastures starts when the sun rises and ends when the sun sets. This can mean about a 3:30 am start in June and putting the animals into their houses at about 10 pm during the longest days of the year. When the ducks and chickens hear the native birds they want outside. FOMO is real. Their natural rhythm dictates mine. I can sleep in during the long rainy months in Winter. Plus I truly enjoy sitting with my animals during the most precious peaceful sunrise hours.

 

Watching them greet each and every day with such joy and rigor sets my day and pace. This is also the time all the coops and the goat house get cleaned and I watch for any signs of illness or discomfort. It's not always fun and games. Our laundry room seconds as a hospital unit in no time. I have one cabinet full of animal medications and first aid kits. My husband and children know to ask by now if any new items on the counter are intended for human or animal use. 

 

It's amazing how you have to learn on the fly to treat an animal when there are no available vet appointments that day. I had to treat Mr. Ducky's penis one day with Manuka honey to prevent it from getting sepsis until he could be seen by a professional. He got a little bit too amorous with the ladies and eventually needed surgery to remove about 6 inches of his precious device. He is now shooting blanks but please don't tell him that.

 

Then there is Hazel, one of our goats whose utter grew concerningly large out of nowhere and needed extra lifting support. Vet thinks it may have been a false pregnancy. We had to put her on different feed to minimize it from growing any further. Hazel also has anger issues and one day she rammed her most favourite trigger tree a tad too hard. I found her with a bend horn, profusely bleeding from the newly formed crack. Our vet came out promptly, tranquilized her and wire cut the bend horn off with precision. The cut off part sits on top of her rain shelter as a warning to not be an idiot. It has had zero effect. Hazel keeps on being Hazel. Poor Lotti, her pasture mate, has to put up with Hazel's shenanigans. Lotti is a saint.

 

Then there are the chickens. Chickens are the most loving but surprisingly fragile birds around. I can only recommend before anyone even thinks about getting chickens to read about the very long list of ailments that could afflict poultry.  I have seen it all and had to deal with things that could make some people faint. Flystrike, sour crop, egg yolk peritonitis, egg bound, mites, worms, etc.. As I am writing this I have my most favourite chicken gravely ill at my most favourite veterinarian ....

Dr. Ken Maquisten at Townline Veterinary Hospital. This guy is the most amazing human being you will ever have the honor to meet. If he can't fix her I know it was time to go to the other "Wiener Pastures". Henny is the poster child what these birds are, .....loving, affectionate, peaceful. She is truly a wonderful ambassador to her kind. They definitely do not deserve their fate on this planet.

 

Once the outside animals are taken care off, it's time to tend to all of my dogs, cats, birds and fish on the inside.

Anyone who has ever had dachshunds know they run the show and I am their servant. If I don't walk them heathens I pay for it all day. Walking them in the park is a gong show and the peace I had accumulated at sunrise has now left the building. The other critters are easy peasy to take care of. 

 

After all animals are content it's time to head outside to take cuttings, plant veggies, weed, and see what needs organizing or fixing. I also handfeed my ducks and chickens every four hours to keep the rodents  away.

Seems to be working most of the times. All spills immediately get cleaned up.

 

As you can see the days are filled with a lot of work but I wouldn't have it any other way. I would rather be outside then in front of a computer any day. I had relatives plant and harvest well into their eighties in Germany. People always search for the fountain of youth and I think it is found in nature or doing what you love. I also love to paint if you want to check out my other joy. 

 

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