It has been an icy cold, gray week here. Ugh. It snowed over Thanksgiving (we had a great time with family and friends, hope you did too!) and it has barely been above freezing in days. I’ve been hauling warm water out to thaw the water buckets multiple times a day. Even though one of the buckets is heated, it still freezes over during single digit nights.
Mostly, I love going out and checking on the barnyard, even in the cold. However, this spell of chilly weather has really brought out the worst in the critters. It’s become quite the struggle at feeding time. My routine has gone to hell in a handcart. It used to be easy, but no one is cooperating anymore.
Jester— creating chaos and mayhem since 2013 🙂
Jessie is by far the worst, pushing and shoving me and trying to get his nose in the food bowl while it’s still in my hands. Doink comes in a close second, jockeying for position with Jessie. Sambuca is a little less aggressive, but is right in the middle of things and bleating at the top of his lungs. Even Junie B. and Tia are sticking their beautiful necks into the chaos looking for their food.
You’re in the wrong place, dude. You’re never gonna see your food bowl up there.
If I put the goat bowls down in the shed, Doink won’t leave and eats their food. If I try and feed Doink and the alpacas first, the goats follow me out into the barnyard to eat their food. If I try to get everyone separated first, somebody is always blocking the gate and it sounds like I’m killing all of them. In the evening, add all the chickens in the shed flying around trying to avoid getting stepped on. I have been reduced to tears, with spilled food and bowls and screaming animals everywhere, more than once.
We’re eating as fast as we can!
But as miserable as it is, it’s all over quickly. Doink begins his post-meal routine of knocking over all of the empty dishes, making sure there’s not a single speck left. Jessie and Sambuca are amazingly calm and happy for animals who minutes earlier were trying to start World War III. Tia and Junie B. always wander out into the barnyard to munch on some hay for dessert.
Notice I didn’t mention Brandy. Every day she goes to her empty bowl and waits for me to pour her food in. She gets pushed aside and knocked around by all the commotion. She mostly tries to stay out of it, but it’s a really small space. She gets her food last, because if I feed her first Jessie will shove past her to get at it. Even then, as soon as Jessie finishes he rushes over to her bowl, pushes her aside and finishes what she hasn’t eaten.
This is her, “I’m upset by all this” look.
In the calm after the storm while I’m catching my breath and desperately trying to think of a better way to feed them, Brandy always walks up to me. We spend a minute together, just the two of us girls who prefer kinder, gentler interactions.
First, a little neck rub.
And then a little nuzzle to make me feel better…
I think I’ve got the feeding problem worked out, at least in my head. I made a few adjustments and today went a little better. It’s all a matter of patterns and routines, and me being a more effective leader. After all, really, I should be able to outsmart the animals, right?
Even when things calm down, I sure hope Brandy continues to seek me out for a little post-meal affection. That is something I don’t ever want to change.
She is an old soul, and a very good friend of mine.
**Shared at Simple Saturdays, Our Simple Homestead, Maple Hill Hop and (mis)Adventures Monday**
I feel you. My sheep turned from flock to mob during winter feeding. One of them, Millie the Millennium Ewe, was very short and very pushy. She always shoved to the front of the hay feeder crowd, and the other ewes reached over her to pull out hay, shaking seeds onto Milly’s back in the process. We were in the Pacific Northwest and Milly had very thick wool, so the seeds sprouted, turning her into something like a living chia pet. The other girls kept her mowed by grazing off her back. If you can keep your knees undamaged, you can delight in the obvious health of your barnyard family.
Oh, the idea of a real, live chia pet is too much—I’m in love! (Except for the pushy part, of course…ugh!)
Awww, I sure hope you get it worked out. I thought it was the heat that brought out the beast in folks? Just wondering if it would be possible to adjust their feeders to accommodate their height, since I assume they are different. Then the shorter ones can’t get into the taller ones’ feed. Just an idea.
I hope you’ll come join us this week on The Maple Hill Hop! We always enjoy hearing about your critters.
daisy recently posted…The Maple Hill Hop 109
The alpaca bowls are hung as high as is recommended…but it’s still hard for them to eat with Doink rustling around underneath them looking for spillage 🙂
Oh Joan, i so feel for you. The bad weather seems t have an effect on our animals as much as it does on us! I’m in the UK at the moment and my neighbour is looking after all my chickens, so I miss them and loving hearing about your animals instead! At least chickens are relatively easy to feed – hope it all improves for you soon.
Cath recently posted…Dec 1, Fermentation: what it is and how it can help your chickens.
It is frustrating, but they are well worth it 🙂 I know this too shall pass and I will figure out a better system! Have a great trip—loved seeing your favorite store!
Rich and I often say that routine is everything to our animals, but we are just not routine people! Our new additions to our flock this year are five Speckled Sussexes, and since they are still very young, they think that food actually comes not just from a bucket or scoop, but from my boots, pants, gloves, you name it. When it is cold, I get pecked so many times, I feel like I’m being mobbed. They’re not aggressive, just curious. Luckily, we are having a very mild winter, so far. Good luck figuring it all out, and please let us know if you come up with something that works!