When you own a farm and are responsible for so many lives, eventually you have to say good-bye to some of them.
The life of a farmer is a balance of emotions. From day to day, you never know what to expect. When you wake up in the morning you hope and pray that there will be no losses that day but have to prepare yourself just in case. Since we raise an assortment of animals there are separate challenges for each of them, not to mention the family pets. From birthing issues to parasite loads, making sure they are getting a balanced diet our Nigerian goat herd requires constant monitoring. The free roaming chickens and turkeys are at risk from aerial predators and four-footed alike. During the heat of summer our Californian rabbits battle with keeping cool.
Overall, the good far outweighs the bad, however, nothing prepares you for losing that one special goat, rabbit, chicken, horse or dog.
One such day happened several years ago...
After working all day at my public job, I came home and started to care for the animals. At that time we had two horses, Cisco (our Arabian) and Hercules (Morgan's pony). During feed time, no matter where they were on the property they would come running for the food.
On this day, Hercules did not come up, so I immediately knew something was wrong. As I started the search for him it was starting to get dark. I found him at the very end of our property wrapped in vines and struggling to get free.
I was able to free him, but I could tell something was critically wrong. He was struggling to stand and walk. He acted blind. When I finally got him to the barn area and got a temperature on him it was over 103 degrees.
By this time, it was completely dark. I called my boss and told her the situation. We loaded Hercules into the trailer and headed to my office to try to save this boy. We did everything we could to give him a fighting chance.
Unfortunately, the stress to his body was too much and he ended up passing away overnight.
This is the reality of life with animals. It HURTS!!! And as much as it hurts us, as adults, it's even harder on kids that are brought up in this life. There is nothing harder than telling your five-year-old that they will never see their pony again, that he has died, and you can't bring him back.
But for all for pain and heartbreak that they bring into our lives, we wouldn't change it for the world. The animals that we raise, and sell are loved. They have a place in our hearts that will never be filled by other hobbies or endeavors.
We will wake up each day, and take care of them, as they help take care of us. Rain, snow, heat it doesn't matter. We will be out there doing what we do. We will make sure they are cared for.
And if we are lucky, today will be a good day.
Nikole Thompson, owner Royall Acres Farm
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