Canada and Beyond: Tales from a Canadian nomad: Farm Life

Squirrel on the farm road

I spent Thanksgiving weekend on Salt Spring Island looking after the animals while my daughter and her partner went for a much-needed weekend away from the farm. Grandma was on duty. There were 70+ chickens, 4 goats, 2 cats and one dog, plus my own cat. No running water or electricity other than what was in my own RV.

Thankfully the weather was quite good, and I had a great time with animals. I walked the goats, collected eggs, taking them to the farm stand while walking the dog. I hung out with everyone at least 4-5 times per day.

There are 52 Ritas - those are the chickens that live in the school bus. There are 50 hens and 2 roosters, Pongo and Big Red. The hens are simply all called Rita since they are all the same or similar breed and they are not naming 50 chickens.

Then there is the heritage flock that lives in the purple coop aka The Purple Palace. Soleil is the top rooster there, and he has Kingu at his side. They each have a flock of hens that keep close to their side and who they look after when there are any dangers nearby. The hens groom their roosters often as a sign of affection, and weirdly enough, the roosters were grooming each other which is quite odd.

It is always interesting sitting and watching the chickens as their behaviours are often obvious and predictable. There is a pecking order that is quite apparent after watching the flock. I have also been doing some reading - How to Speak Chicken by Melissa Caughey. Hilariously informative. They all enjoy dust bathing and with the free-range flock, they have carved out several places among the tree roots of the forest. Some of them were also going through quite a hard-core molt and Rowan was nearly naked. I picked her out of the next one night to put her on the roost and it was the weirdest feeling to pick up a live featherless chicken with pinfeathers or nothing at all on her body. Shiver....

I also had fun with the goats. I had 3 of the 4 out of the goat pen on a lead and we went for a walk around the farm, stopping for some munching of the many greens found on the farm and that they have cleared the goat pen of. At least now it rains often, and the greens grow back in their pen quite quickly. The goats all love treats and shove one another out of the way to get them. I usually bring them cheerios, raisins, banana chips and whatever else I can find. They love maple leaves the best and eat the fallen crispy ones like chips. They are quite affectionate and love to get in your space. Their little faces are so darn cute!

A day in the life - I got up when the sun came up, about 6:30-7am and usually started on the farm chores by 7:15-7:30am. First was to open the trailer door and see if anyone needs to go in or out – dog or cats. Then I grab the wagon from next the goat pen and head down to the tent to get hay for the goats. The big outfitters tent has become storehouse/barn/tool shed/clothes closet. The hay is along one side. I peel off two flakes for the four goats and start up the hill, stopping at the purple coop, aka The Purple Palace. I must pull up the little chicken door and hook it open for the day and often the first one out is Soleil, thankfully as otherwise he stays in the little coop yelling his head off. I then must take the feeders out of the coop and put them back out in the pen for them. As I am doing this, each of the chickens make their way out through the little door and into the open pen. They are free ranging these days, which may sound great for the chickens, but they have taken to laying mostly in the woods, away from human eyes and reach, so as pretty as their multicolored eggs are, we never see them anymore until they are too old to use for anything as they move the nest as soon as you find the pile of 20 or more eggs. I think they should be held in the pen until they lay their eggs for the day, however they are not my chickens and my daughter wants them to free range…so eggs in the forest it is for now. Occasionally there is an egg in the coop nest boxes. Once the feeders are out and topped up, I check the waterers, and look around the coop for any eggs or other issues. Sometimes one will fall out of the nest (or get pushed out) or someone will lay on the floor. Must keep those cleaned up swiftly to keep down on rats and such.

From the purple coop I move on to the goat pen next as the goats know the sound of the wagon and hear me talking to the chickens and have begun to clatter against the walls and door of their shed. I head into the pen, towing the hay filled wagon behind me, and a pocket full of alfalfa pellets for the older girls. There are four goats, two girls born last year, Lily and Agnes and two girls born this year (Scarlet and Temple) from the same mothers. This fall, the last year girls will be meeting with a ram for a few days, with hopes of kids in the spring, and repeat in the fall with all four girls. Newborn goats are absolutely the cutest thing. I have visited another goat farm in the past and held kids that were just a few hours old. So, I hope I can time my visit with when they are born next spring. The goats are all over me when I finally get the door open. They clatter out and start feeding right out of the wagon. I move them out of the way and lift a flake at a time out of the wagon and drop it into their wall feeder. One on top of the other’s edge. They all crowd back in to start eating the fresh hay from the feeder. Their bedding is fallen hay mostly as they refuse to eat hay that has fallen onto the ground, so it just piles up until the shed gets its regular clear out. The goats are growing so fast and can be quite a handful to move one way or the other now that they are so big with fat bellies. I check their water bucket and baking soda trough and then pull the wagon back out and rest it by the pen. Next is the Rita flock that is quite loud by this point, knowing it is time to get up and everyone is awake now. I uncurl the fencing to gain access to the back door of the bus. Looking up, I see them pressed up against the glass of the door – hilarious. I turn the handle and give it a heaving swing as it is a heavy door and quite wide. They come tumbling down the ramp, one after the other, some flutter above the rest to get down quicker. I check their waterers and then get back out of the pen and head to the front of the bus to get in. The chicken ramp down the back is not for humans, so I must go through the side door of the bus to access it. I check the nests for eggs. There are usually only a few early in the morning as the girls have not ramped up production just yet. Then I fill the feeder for them and they motor back on up the ramp to start eating, making quite a racket in the meantime. Picture MINE MINE MINE from the movie Finding Nemo when the seagulls are claiming their food.

I close back the doors again and head to the Serama coop. This is attached to their trailer as it is a storage box that now has a built-in chicken coop for the smallest chickens in the world. The Serama is a miniature chicken. She has one rooster and three hens that are nearly full grown. They are pretty good with being handled and no longer scream and protest if plucked out of the coop for a snuggle. The rooster is Caramel, Mel for short, and the girls are Butterscotch, Oreo and I can’t remember the fourth hen’s name. I have to clean out their water as they always kick shavings into it and make a fine mess. The same goes for their feeder. We do not fill either up anymore as it wastes both since we have to clean them out several times a day.

Then I close the door to the trailer after making sure whomever needed in or out was finished. Back to my own RV to begin my morning with Nash.

Mid-morning I head up to check on everyone. I collect all the eggs from the Ritas, and everyone gets treats from Grandma. Goats get cheerios this time, and the chickens all get scratch, which they just love. They know where it is stored too and so as I head to the can to get it, I hear the pitter patter of dozens of chicken feet and 4 goats following my every move, up and down the pen. So funny and creepy at the same time having the attention of all of them at once. Sometimes I will let out a cluckity cluck of some sort and they all fall immediately silent for a moment, then start right back up again with their own cluckfest. Then I take the eggs back to my RV and start cleaning and weighing them for the farm stand. Once that is done, I pack them into the cooler and get Kane on his leash and walk to the farm stand with the fresh eggs, collect any egg cartons left for my daughter, collect the cash out of the money box and then head back through the woods with Kane and take him home. Then it was grandma time which I spent painting rocks most of the time.

Mid-afternoon I am making the rounds again, check on cats, dog, goats, and chickens. Everyone gets treats and affection again. One last check for eggs to collect them for tomorrow’s farm stand sales. I take the goats out on leads and take them around the property. I pick up the Seramas and cuddle each one and put some fresh treats in there for them. They love scratch too, but it must be finely ground as they are so tiny.

Later in the afternoon, more visits and checking on food and water etc. Bedtime comes about 7pm or earlier, now that the nights are longer. I make my way down to the tent for more hay and take off just one flake for bedtime, and then stop at the purple coop to secure things. Move the feeders back inside, and then go in to count the chickens and move them out of the next boxes to the roosts. Some are still young and learning while others are stubborn and like to sleep in the nests, but they poop them up all night which can ruin the eggs. So, I lift them out of the nesting boxes, or from above them where they are perched, and put them all on the roosting bars. It is quite surreal to be in the coop when they are perched on the roost. They cannot see in the dark and just stay quite still and I can pet them if I wanted or even pick them up. I like to touch each one as I count them. The roosters are SO BIG when they are on the roost next to the hens, and it is like touching sleeping giants. In daylight, most of these chickens and roosters would not let you near them at all. At night in the coop – I can pick up the biggest rooster and hold him, no protest. This is when my daughter treats any medical conditions, they have like scaly feet that needs mineral oil on it nightly. There is no way in the world you could get his feet rubbed with oil during the day. He would shred you if you could even catch him.

Off to the goat pen then with the nighttime snacking hay. They all follow the hay into the goat shed and I shut the door, placing a big stump in front of the door as the girls like to bang around in there and we don’t want the door open at night.

From there to the Seramas to turn off their light and check food and water. They settle easily and I head to the Ritas to see if they are all in yet. They are the lollygaggers who like to wait around until completely dark before going to bed. Once they are all in, I sneak in through the wire fencing and shut the door, then head into the bus through the side door to move everyone around and do the count. I shuffle some hens out of nesting boxes here as well, and some are perched on top of the nesting boxes. I lift each of them and place them on the roost. There are two long perches and they are full when everyone has made it up. Then I do the count, first one row, then the next until I hit 52. Again, the roosters look huge up this close, but I can touch them, pet them, lift them up, whatever as long as it is dark out. I have my headlamp on red light which doesn’t disturb any of the animals.

Then a last check on the cats and dog before calling it a night and heading back to my own RV and settling in to paint rocks with Nash as my only company. I loved every minute of it!