Switching Focus

I always caution other homesteaders against biting off more than you can chew. Sometimes that is unavoidable, sometimes the bite is forced down your throat. Toward the beginning of last year, our neighbor up the road fell and shattered her ankle. Her stepdaughter who lives with her is sick, on dialysis and is generally not in any condition to be taking care of farm animals. Twice a day for months we would drive up the road and tend to her animals. Her farm was not well planned and everything was cobbled together. The rabbits were constantly escaping from their hutches. Chickens and ducks were constantly being killed by minks. It was a disaster.

One morning we received a phone call saying the rabbits were loose and one had hitched a ride 20 minutes away to dialysis. We found the bun, running around the parking lot, somehow managing to catch it and haul it back to the house. 

Eventually, she did heal and went back to taking care of her own animals. This lasted mere weeks. Just before winter set in she decided she wanted to gift us all her animals. We went from having a manageable flock and 12 ducks to having 50+ ducks and no clue how many chickens, and 3 additional rabbits. The Wanderer had just finished cleaning out one of our small buildings to be his "man shed" and promptly had to move hutches in for winter. We definitely have too many animals and most of them are animals not of our choosing. We feel like we have lost control. 

Ultimately we don't regret it, taking all those animals on would never be our first choice, especially because of what it has done to our feed bill but we helped someone in need, we helped make a difference. The lady comes down as often as she is able, pockets filled with treats for "her babies" and we get the joy of knowing we are making things just a bit easier for her. 

But boy does it get overwhelming sometimes. We do not have all our ducks in a row.