We have been getting some stunning morning sunshine these last few days and it makes the morning routine even more pleasurable. Mornings begin around 8 am ish (or a little earlier if we can). Jack is usually up first (but only by a few minutes) as she is the one to deal mainly with the animals. Dogs are let out as are the poultry (topping up their feeders first) and then the dogs are fed, almost always outside unless it is really raining hard. By this time the goats have heard doors, gates and feed bins rattling and so the 'we want our breakfast and we want it now' chorus begins!! Once they are out, their nighttime stalls get a quick muck-out, hay and water is topped up ready for the evening and then it’s back to the poultry. They also get a daily muck out: we cannot imagine their stall having any more than one night's poo in it – one night’s worth is bad enough...
Then it's off for a quick walk round the field to check the alpacas, sheep and cows, on the way back hanging up the goats’ breakfast truggs and checking they have enough hay and water for the day.
Al being well, it is now usually not quite 10 am, at which point we get to go in and have ‘our’ breakfast: it is, we have to say, well worth the wait, knowing that as we tuck in, the livestock are all fed and watered too and have all they need for the day.
And as the photo shows, on mornings like today, they must feel pretty content too!!!