Farming is Hard

Farming is easy!… said no one ever. The early mornings, the freezing weather, the loss. The loss is the hardest part for me. We chose to raise animals: poultry, emus and goats. With every success on a farm, comes multiple losses, especially in the beginning when everything is new.

Losing poultry is hard enough. The foxes, raccoons and Weasels find ways to infiltrate the safety of your fences and coops, the sudden illnesses that spread quicker than you could have realized, the freak accidents… I once had a pallet fall on one of my Polish hens.

I used to free range my birds when I wasn’t living in the woods. The foxes were a problem, so I bought Guinea Hens. They did a great job alerting me when I was home to any intruders, but obviously served no other protection. I did find myself incredibly appreciative of them though when one day, I heard their panicked calls and sprinted outside… barefoot… to see the fox running off with my 12 lb Light Brahma rooster.. Who had gone from breeding stock in a small cage, to living with my ex and I where his coop was raided by a fox leaving him injured and the only survivor, to free ranging happily and once again encountering a fox. I loved him, he was photogenic and affectionate. His name was Cordon Reu.

So barefoot, I sprinted after the fox through the woods. Since Cordon was so big and I was running after them the fox dropped him and took off. I ran up on my boy, scooped him up and ran next door to the animal hospital I worked at as a vet tech It very convenient renting the house next to the hospital!

We put him on oxygen, placed an IV catheter, ran him on fluids and gave him IV antibiotics. He survived the first day, but had punctures that caused him to wheeze. Worried about his well being, I brought my favorite hen JJ over to stay with him. We kept him hospitalized for almost a week with JJ and he made an almost full recovery.

When I moved in with Brendan the first of our birds to move were my chicks, baby turkeys and Cordon. The coop had a small run so they would be safe. Cordon retired with those babies, letting them sleep under him for warmth. He was the best rooster.

A few months later, seemingly out of nowhere Cordon passed away. We have had great roosters, but not one has compared to him yet.

When you start adding other livestock the loss gets harder. Goats where next for us in 2016.. We tried Nigerians, but the two I started with were already 3 years old, not as friendly as I would have wanted and had horns… which they used and used more often the more comfortable they became on our farm. So I gave them back to the original owners and bought my first three Nubians, two does and a buck. Pan was a unique creature. He was the quietest, most affectionate goat I have ever met. He was around a year old when we got them and was still a scrawny leggy little man. I couldn’t wait to see what he grew into and what kind of babies he would produce.

A few months later, on my 30th birthday, we came home from dinner and went to close in the farm. All three of my goats were laying together in a corner, the girls were surrounding Pan. He didn’t seem right. When I got closer I realized he had green foam coming from his mouth. I had not prepared for an emergency, even though I always knew one would come at the worst time.

I scooped him up and ran to our house where the fire was going. We wrapped him in a heated blanket and started looking online. I reached out to his previous owner who did a lot of holistic treatments and ask her for advice. She told us to mix up black tea, molasses and cayenne tincture (which was luckily one thing I had made sure to get per her recommendation right away) and administer it every few hours. To my surprise he was standing a few hours later and looking much brighter. There was hope.

I’m a vet tech, and up until the immediate future my job has been a priority, I hadn’t learned how to put my farm first. I had to work the next day, so I brought him with me, even though my instinct was to stay home with him. My boss at the time was an amazing vet, she was so knowledgeable and if she was stumped she researched until she found the answer. But she was a small animal vet and her knowledge of goats was limited. We set a catheter and ran him on a banana bag. She thought it was best to keep him on fluids overnight. A part of me knew she was right. Again my instinct was to stay with him, but I went home and left him in a kennel. He died overnight.

Three years later, I still regret leaving him that day. I still regret not staying home with him, sitting with him under a heated blanket and letting him know in his final hours how loved he was.

Three years later, I ignored my instincts and went to work on a day that mattered again. But that story is for another day. I am still learning every day. But one of the most important lessons I am learning is that I have great instincts, I just need to trust them. Farming is not easy.