Spring Whispers Its Approach And Makes Demands

Technically, it isn’t spring yet here in Missouri, but there’s a subtle difference in the air.  It smells different, and there’s a different sound to the birds’ songs.  Some days the breeze is balmy, but even when it isn’t, I can relax knowing that winter’s hold is easing.

That’s enough to make me restless, to turn my thoughts to what needs to be done to prepare for spring’s true arrival and those long days of endless chores.  Picking up chicks and poults from the hatchery, protecting them from the owls and the territorial battles of the larger, resident fowl.  Cleaning pens.  Setting some hens to nest, and putting others in the incubator.  Breeding rabbits and checking their nests.  Acting the part of head midwife at the barn.  Bottle-feeding kids.  Planting the family garden, plus a forage patch for the poultry and another patch of treats for the other livestock.  It’s time to figure out how I’m going to get everything done in the hours before and after work at the office.

It’s time, too, to reflect on the individual natures and peculiarities of the creatures in my care.  I’ve learned that no matter how well I know the general nature of a particular breed, the individuals within that breed have their own quirks and preferences – and I’d better remember that and make allowances.  Otherwise, I make mistakes that can cost me a lot of lost time, expense, and occasionally a valuable animal.  That means this also is a time for closer observation, for attention to detail.

For preparation.   I need to double-check the first aid kit in the barn.  I have to set up the brooder pens, find the lights, sanitize the feeders, and reinforce the space around the doors where the raccoons like to dig through.  I need to lay out my schedule, check the breeding dates, and make arrangements to juggle my job and the needs of our small farm.  I’m already overdue on that point.

A few days ago, we had our first birth of the season.  The single buck kid, born to one of my favorite goats, arrived a month before expected.  He wasn’t premature.  I just didn’t have a firm date on the breeding, and I guessed wrong.  It didn’t help that this particular doe carries her kids high and