Playing Farmer For a Day

On Thursday Tom and I went to visit Dannielle’s emu farm, about 45 minutes from Naracoorte, to play farmer for a day. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t the best: it went from being warm (mid-70s) and sunny on Monday to WINDY, rainy, and cold (low 50s) on Thursday. Luckily the rain held off for most of our visit, so we could still go out and experience what it’s like to be a small farmer. Dannielle’s family has over 200 goats (and their kids), about 100 cattle, about 15 emus, and 200 sheep. All the animals roam around different paddocks on their quite-large property.

When Tom and I arrived Dannielle took us to see some of the kids (goat babies) first. When she called out to them they perked up and came running while making the funniest yelling sound I’ve ever heard. These goats were “pet” goats (a.k.a. they won't be sold and eaten) so had become attached to Dannielle. So cute!

 Dannielle with three of the “pet” goats.

Then it was on to feed the emus. Compared to the emus Sarah and I saw at Cleland Wildlife Park, these ones were very tame and friendly. They came right up to eat out of the bucket.

 Feeding an emu, with a goat wanting some too.

When the emus (and goats in the emu yard) had had their fill, we headed off on the quad bike down to another paddock to see the herd of goats. They were quite curious little buggers! On the way back in I got to have a go at driving the bike. It was a manual so my shifting was a bit off, but it was still a blast!

 

One of the curious little goats checking out the quad bike.

 

The next item on the agenda was feeding the cows in the paddock. This required picking up some bales of hay with the forklift (Dannielle’s dad did that part), driving the ute out to the paddock, and hand-feeding the cows. Dannielle’s family hand-feeds the cows from a young age and teaches them to come to the ute for feeding so that the herd is calmer and more manageable. Plus it’s fun!

The three of us (Dannielle, Tom, and I) stood on the back of the ute with the hay while Dannielle's dad drove us out. The wind was quite intense and by the time we got out there my ears were numb. When we drove out into the paddock, Dannielle yelled for the cows to come, and come they did. All 20 or so of them gathered around the ute and gladly took the hay out of our hands. They were a bit skittish if we moved quickly, but for the most part very friendly and calm. One, named Bubbles, let us pet her. She was amazingly soft, much softer than I remember cows being.

Tom and me riding on the back of the ute on the way to the cow paddock.

 Hand-feeding the cows.

 Petting Bubbles the cow.

On the way back to the house we stopped briefly to feed the goats and another group of cows. We also stopped to feed and water a cow that was paralyzed in the back legs after giving birth. Apparently it’s not uncommon for a cow to get paralysis after birth. Most of the time they recover, but sometimes they don’t. I hope this one (which Dannielle and her family nicknamed “Bitch” because she’s quite grumpy) recovers soon.

 Attack of the hungry goats!

We made it back to shelter just as the rain rolled in and the skies opened up. The goats hate the rain so they all ran for cover as soon as the first raindrop fell. We relaxed inside for a bit and had some hot Milo (a malted barley drink kind of like Ovaltine) while listening to Dannielle’s dad regale us with his hog hunting adventures. Hogs are a big problem here like they are down in Texas, so people go out hunting them. He showed us photos of their hunt and their kills, and boy those hogs are huge! I definitely wouldn’t want to cross paths with an angry one. During these types of hunts people also try to kill rabbits, foxes, and cats. These animals have destroyed the Australian landscape and led to the decline (and in some cases demise) of numerous species of native Australian animals. Rabbits and foxes are often in plague proportions and they do need to be culled, as “sad” as that may seem.

Before Tom and I left we had one more thing to see: the shearing shed out back. Dannielle’s dad said he had seen bats in there recently, so of course I wanted to check it out. We looked in the cracks and crevices and finally found four roosting Lesser Long-eared Bats (Nyctophilus geoffroyi) snuggled in the folds of a hanging burlap bag. That find made my day complete.

Playing farmer for a day was a wonderful experience, but I don’t think I could live the lifestyle fulltime. I love animals, I love being outdoors, but I prefer wildlife and wilderness to farm animals and paddocks. Farming is a hard lifestyle and I admire those who do it. Hats off to Dannielle and her family!

 Lesser Long-eared Bats roosting in the folds of a hanging burlap sack.

 Unrelated to the post but share-worthy: a Crimson Rosella that flew into the glass door of the bunkhouse. It was stunned for awhile but eventually well enough to release again.