Animals

The Hows and Whys of Being A Zoo Chef

One of the favorite parts of my day is reading your comments, questions and emails!

I try to answer each in some form or another,

but every so often a comment becomes the next day's blog post.

And so it is, today.

Yesterday Tee asked:

Can you tell us why you have each animal?

Like is it for pleasure or breeding, etc?

And.....Patsy asked:

"I know about Dog Chow and Cat Chow.

Is there Goat Chow? Horse chow? Turkey Chow? Pig Chow?

Just wondering."

Reading that I realized that so much of what I do is foreign to a lot of you.

I think the subject of why we have and how we feed the animals deserves its own post.

The most important question of all is "WHY?" do we do this?

The farm was originally a retreat from the hustle and bustle of city/suburban life.

Then when it came time to downsize, we decided the the quiet of the country

was to be the second half of our life's story.

The end result is what happens when two animal-loving dreamers find themselves

in the middle of the country with lots of acreage and a barn.

A dozen chickens for eggs and a handful of ducks on the pond

soon turned into

125 free-ranging chickens,

several generations of ducks,

~~three~~ two turkeys,

an ever-changing number of guinea fowl,

15 to 20 fainting goats,
four Nigerian Dwarf goats,

one Haflinger horse,

two ponies,

two mini horses,

two mini donkeys,

two Kunekune pigs,

three babydoll Southdown sheep,
~~five~~, three dogs,
~~five~~, three cats,

and bees.

So much for downsizing!

It just might be a disease...although, it is a rather well-planned disease.

And if this is a sickness...I've got to say I have never enjoyed ill-health more!

Seriously, we are very careful to not take on more than we can easily care for.

This lifestyle is not for everyone,

as it comes with a responsibility that cannot be ignored... not even for a day, or a half-day.

We do it because we love it.

We love knowing that each morning when we awaken, our day is filled with purpose.

Our days are full of love.

We sell our eggs and our honey when we have enough.

We used to sell our goat babies when we bred them.

Now, however, our animals are our friends and we share them with as many

individuals as we can.

We open our farm to groups who long to commune with nature and animals,

to pre-schools, and daycares.

We try to bring awareness to others of the responsibility that we as humans have

for preserving our land and caring for our animal friends.

Although we grow lots on our farm, our most important "crop" is love.

That the legacy we wish to leave behind.

"We grow love."

As for how we feed this menagerie of souls...

All of our four-legged farm animals are grazers and subsist on a diet of primarily

grass and hay.

Each different species has a special chow that is fed daily or twice daily

that supplies the animals with the vitamins and minerals needed for a nutritionally balanced diet.
That chow must taste really good, because everyone is quite excited at feeding time!

Appropriate snacks are given as well.

The pigs, being herbivores, get a pelleted feed twice daily.

Their favorite snacks are carrots, apples and chestnuts.

The equines receive a pelleted supplement daily as well.

The goats get a pelleted feed twice daily and have 24/7 access to grazing and hay...

and seasonal treats of pine trees (not to mention daily treats of Ritz crackers).

The sheep are perhaps the easiest of the animals...

relying on pasture and hay feeder for their nutrition.

A mineral/protein block is also available to them at all times.

Believe it or not, our chickens are our most expensive animals to feed.

Luckily they are free ranging and have access to insects and pasture to supplement the

chicken feed that is accessible to them at all times.

They also get twice daily snacks of "scratch"....

and liberal helpings of kitchen scraps.

Our turkeys, ducks, and guineas also have chicken feed available to them as well.

All of the animals and birds have heated water tubs that are scrubbed and filled daily.

At one point in his life when you would ask my son what he wanted to be when he grew up,

he would reply a "zoo chef."

I always thought that was a cute play on words...but he actually thought that cooking for the animals would be a fun job.

He's an engineer now and cooks for his family.

I have tried to assume the role of "zoo chef"in his stead.

We are a lucky family...

our love for animals is genetic....

we can't help ourselves!

- Inquiring Minds....goat-a Know
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- Part Two
Yes, you guessed it...I was (and still am) an only child.I learned very early to be happy with my own company...so, solitary farm life works ok for me. Let's continue... Rebecca: "I would like to know more about your chickens. How many do you...

- Our Little Peep Show
Yesterday morning I awoke with anticipation.An order of chicks had shipped out on Sunday and was due to arrive at our Post Office.At 6 AM I called the Post Office. "Hello.... Post Office," he answered."Hi Bob. This is Bev. Have you gotten...

- Who's Who....part 7
I often get the question..."Which animals take the most time to care for?" The answer to that is easy...no thought necessary.The horses! Cleaning up their manure three times daily...plus cleaning the pastures,feeding (in the winter time, they need lots...

- Feeling Ducky In The Morning
The first chore on the morning list each day involves a trip to the duck pond.Each morning, at sunrise, I open the duck hut doorand 18 sweet ducks file out and onto the pond.It is definitely the favorite time of day for them.And for me, there is nothing...

Animals