Fauna, Fauna, Fauna Friday: My Christmas Job

This was Christmas morning. First, I feed Jem the sheepdog, who never wants to look at the camera.

Then I feed the cats but I rarely see them.

Then I move to the first barn and feed about 10 cattle in there, mothers with calves. They are Dexter cattle, bred for beef. They are short in stature so produce smaller cuts, ideal for very small families and people on their own.

 Then it's the donkeys' turn. They are called Ruth and Esther. The farmer is always telling me 'my animals are for food production and are not pets .' In the case of the donkeys, I beg to differ. They don't even do church work at Easter or Christmas.

Then into the second cattle barn, where the steers are kept. They are generally right up against the door, mooing loudly, but a bit of hay pushed into their faces usually gets them to clear the doorway. All of my friend's cattle have names, despite them being just a food crop.

Then it's the turn of the young rams. She has many more sheep than this. These are the pones that turned up for their breakfast hay. It is just a small supplement to add to the grass they graze all day in the field which is open behind them. The sheep don't have names.

I acknowledge the chicken, but she doesn't get fed as there is so much just falling off the feed that all the animals get, so she doesn't need special chicken feed. I was told there was one chicken but there are actually two. I think my friend hasn't noticed that her chicken doesn't always look the same.

And finally the pigs. They were squealing all round my legs and wouldn't let me come down off the wall. I just scattered feed onto their faces, which they gobbled, leaving me free to climb in and fill the troughs.

Then it's goodbye to the farm until I return for the late afternoon feeding.