We have often commented that a windy day can have the same effect on livestock as it does on children in a playground: it can make them go a little bit loopy and manic. And so it was this evening when we had goats chasing alpacas and alpacas chasing sheep whilst we stood in the middle and watched somewhat helplessly. (Threats of no more 'playtimes' did not quite have the same effect as when we were teachers...)
Earlier on we had Firefly chasing swallows: fabulous exercise for him and absolutely zero chance of him catching them up, in fact we think they deliberately fly low to entice him before swopping up high again (and no doubt laughing).
One of the things we were really looking forward to when we moved was to be able to see the animals having a really good run and gallop around: something they could not that often do on our one acre back in Cornwall. The extra space here at Cadbury will definitely mean more exercise all round (including for us) which is generally a very good thing. It will however also mean we need to manage the animals differently when it comes to rounding them up to move them, give injections, check feet etc. In our small paddocks we were able to do get hold of the animals quite easily. It will be a slightly different task in our larger fields. Even when really tame (as a lot of our stock is), it is not always easy (or safe) to hold an animal in a large space and it can often be very stressful for them too. When we build our pole barns we will need to ensure we can herd the animals in and then SHUT them in. It is going to be a lot of fun planning and building...