Many people dream of self-sufficiency and an idyllic country life, which includes their own sheep and chickens. How wonderful it would be to wake up to the crowing of your own rooster and get fresh eggs for an omelette! And that's it! Of course! But, but... Keeping any animal requires energy, knowledge and a sense of responsibility.
When I first saw these sheds, I understood that chickens and sheep could fit here! My career as a chicken farmer started when my neighbor called me and said that the chickens you wanted were now available! Pick them up tomorrow, and there will be maybe 12 of these, depends on how the rest of the eggs hatch! I was like "WHAT!" Suddenly I had 12 little chicks that I knew nothing about! But that's the lesson! One's time ran out before it even started. The other one got a cupular blockage at the age of about a month, which was Pipsa-Petter's fate, it was horrible, but I learned to vomit the chick. And in one night, you can read quite a lot about the dome block! At the beginning of the winter we had 3 roosters and 4 hens and that brought its own challenges when the roosters' hormones woke up and the trampling started: the hens soon became bald and the feathers still haven't grown back!
Another surprise came during the construction phase of the chicken house. Making a decent chicken coop is surprisingly expensive, because the chicken coop must be sturdy, thermally insulated and safe from predators. There must be electricity and the right kind of heaters and lights.
The general care of the chickens also turned out to be more laborious than I had imagined. Providing a balanced diet requires care, and health problems or fights are surprisingly common. Sinisiipi is still not Johannes's best friend.
Keeping sheep has brought its own challenges. After the first summer, I cried so bitterly when the girls were taken to the winter home that I had to start building the lamp house. In the first summer, the Lotta sheep got lupine poisoning, which required immediate veterinary consultation. In the second summer, Heluna started to limp. As a result, my own forehead also opened up when I picked up the pace a bit with Hellu.... I still have scars on my forehead as a memory, but that's when I learned how to inject antibiotics. These situations reminded me that sheep are sensitive and can get sick unexpectedly, and it takes time and patience to care for them.
Sheep are also quite sensitive, both in good and bad, you have to have routines and sometimes someone is so afraid of a new towel that panic is ready. Sometimes the bread moments of the morning are spent in sorting out gusts of jealousy.
Veterinary expenses can be high, of course animals always get sick either at night or on holidays, and not all problems are easily solved, keeping sheep and chickens also offers a lot of joy and satisfaction. Fresh eggs from our own chickens are a delicacy, and the sociability and personality of the chickens bring a lot of joy to everyday life. Sheep, on the other hand, are sympathetic animals, whose grazing and rumination is soothing to watch. They also closely monitor what we on the other side of the fence are up to. Animals bring their own kind of richness and joy to life, which is hard to describe in words. Every difficulty and adversity is forgotten when you see the well-being of the animals and enjoy their company. Us girls and peeps!
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