Week 3 to 6 - A General update

So... where do I start? It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post. As I expected since I started working this blog had taken a back seat. This is for two reasons;

1. I don’t have as much free time 
2. I now have routine and so I would write the same thing every day.

Today instead of the previous format I am just going to write where I am at and how I feel. I am a bit unsure of how this blog will go in the future and the format but time will tell!

I have been busy, but since my last update I have found a routine. I am so much more capable in my role and am learning so so much. More than I expected. It’s funny because I didn’t appreciate before coming here how much goes into raising cattle and other farm animals. I didn’t fully appreciate the complexities of running a farm. Now this isn’t because I thought it was easy. I had just never thought about it. I had never thought about the required variety in a cattle’s diet. I had never really taken time to think about the equipment required to keep a farm operating. I feel like having been here for 6 weeks I am grasping these details like how vital a mixer and trailer is. The different medicines required for calf’s. Now I am no expert. Far from it but I do have experts around me and it’s fascinating how easy they can make things look. So the tasks I have learnt on the farm over the last 6 weeks are;

1. Bottle feeding- this sounds cute and to be honest when a calf is drinking really well and just looking up at you when it drinks it really is. However when a calf is refusing to drink or just doesn’t know how it isn’t so romantic. 
2. Milking- I love milking. At first I didn’t love it but didn’t hate it but now I love it. It’s all done using ‘cups’ which automatically milk the cows and fall off when the cows flow is at a certain point. Now milking is a very process controlled scenario. It is very step by step. It still involves some thinking but there is something therapeutic about having something so step by step. 
3. Feeding- did you know there are a variety of ways to feed cattle? They also eat a variety of things. I was not aware of how much cattle love pumpkin. FYI- Goats love bread...
4. Cleaning- oh cleaning, this is a large portion of our day. Believe it or not cattle make an absolute bloody mess. They poo a lot, sometimes on each other...
5. Drafting- another task I really like. It is basically organising calf’s into pens ready to be fed from the udder of a cow. This can be hilarious, especially on a sunny day where the calf’s just want to sit in a sunny spot instead of their designated pen. One particular day even tried to reasonably explain to a calf why it needed to move whilst it just sat on the floor looking at me chewing on some hay... I can’t say he was impressed by my explanation. 
6. Needling- I have only done this a handful of times but really enjoy it. This is administering medicine. A lot of concentration and a real challenge when the calf is understandably not wanting an injection.
7. Tubing- oh god this is nerve wracking. Sometimes when a calf is really really poorly it doesn’t want to drink but really needs some nutrition to stay alive. The tube is inserted into their stomach however obviously if you get the wrong hole it could go drastically wrong. 

As I previously said some of the tasks sound super easy but none of them are. Everything has to be done right. To be honest this is part of why I left the UK, I wanted to learn new things, I wanted to do things that I would have never
 expected this time last year and I wanted to try different things. I wanted to see more of what the world is like and I feel like actually working in a complete different environment is achieving that. If you had told me this time last year that I would be milking cows at 5am, cleaning up after them and administering any medicine I would have laughed. If you had told me that I would have gotten attached and cared for a calf to the point that when it died it hurt, I would not have believed it to be possible. 

In reflection the thing I struggled with most over the last 6 weeks was just being in one place with the same people. I expected this, after constantly moving for 6 months it was always going to be an adjustment but I am super lucky to have my colleagues and roommates. We have become each other’s supports. As always with life there are good and bad days and we have all bonded over being there to support each other. There are also of course the cutest animals on the farm. How could you be upset seeing the face of a baby goat or sheep? 

Also in the last six weeks I have established the only perk of being awake at 4:30am... the sunrises are pretty beautiful.

In the last couple of weeks there has also been developments with Alan. Since his relocation he has become a way nicer goat. He is actually affectionate and loves attention. He recently made it clear that he likes me in particular... we had a discussion and are now both on the same page. He now runs to the gate to see us and especially likes it when we pick a bit of bread out of the mix for him. 

I know I have been rubbish at replying to peoples messages but the signal here is not very strong at all... this makes even receiving them difficult. It includes being in a certain spot which is not always possible. 

I suppose for now my update in summary is; I am alive, still on the farm, enjoying what I do, learning more than I ever thought possible. Alan is also no longer consumed by the devil.

Here are some pictures of the last six weeks of farm work. I will try and be better with this blog going forward but we will see how we go hey!