Loads of the animals have gone - apparently the lorry came in the week to take them off to 'market'.
In the goat building Mary, Anastasia Angora and 2 goat kids (they have gone to market) have gone, apparently Mary has ringworm and a cyst on her face - shes the one I'm most gutted about from all of the animals on the farm, she was the first goat I ever milked and I 'broke' her when she got mastitis, she really had a personality and I think she recognised us.
In the sheep only Beatrix Beltex has gone because she's old, she used to sit in the corner and couldn't move very well. Some of the mixed breed chickens and cockerels have gone because there were too many for the farm, and the ill Guinea Fowl from Board-a-Bunny has been taken aswell. The chest freezers full of chickens, rabbits, goat kids, piglets and who knows what else have all been emptied aswell - sent off to be incinerated.
Rodney the 'pigeon guinea pig' died of natural causes aswell last night. Joan and Bob are away on holiday.
We just had to get on with jobs as usual with a few empty pens around the place. I went and cleaned out the pigs with Greg first, gave them all water, and then gave the goats water while Sammy did their hays and straw, then we did the same with the sheep. We sorted a few of the goat pens out and let the others have the space from Anastasia, the kids and Mary's pens.
We did the first sit-ons and then took some lambs for a walk which was fun. I picked Paddy + Claudius' feet, and Sam had to help hold up Claudius, then we hibi scrubbed Paddy + Sarah's legs.
The goats milk from last year was all bottled up and put in chest freezers for this years use - they had 3 power cuts so the milk has all gone off and Greg asked me + Sam to empty it. It was full of maggots and rotten milk which we had to scoop out into the bins and get as clean as we could!
At the end of the day me + Sam shut down the farm, we took Peony out from being with Gorse (the male goat) and put Blackberry in with him - hopefully some more goat kids will be on the way in a couple of months. I took Samson out to the field and cleaned out his + Sarahs stables.
Not the best day, but it all had to be done and I can understand why but they didn't mention it last week.
The health inspector is coming on Monday -coincidence?
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