Workaway Farm#4 - Feeding ducklings, picking lemons and walking dogs
Hundreds of tiny ducklings are squeaking and rushing to the corner, climbing on top of each other to escape my arm that is reaching in their pen. I'm taking the water containers to refill them up, then reaching in again with a full scoop of food to fill their bowls. Those little ducklings drink so much water! Turns out it is because their food is so salty. And they are fed all the time, refill 'all you can eat' all day. In 4 months they will be big enough to get sacrificed. My heart is breaking a little when I think of that. Right now I focus on the fact that they are so cute and need constant care to survive: food, water and warmth.
The smallest group of ducklings, super cute!
The 3rd group of ducklings that have been growing for about a month
Quail - unfortunately in very small cages so that the males can fertilize the females easier...
Was too scared to pick her up and takes the eggs!
Another thing that attracted me to this place: the vegetable garden and the citrus trees orchard. Indeed, all around the house, lemon, orange and grapefruit trees are growing, mostly lemons. The orange tree was blooming at the same time as the fruits were getting ripe, the smell of orange blossom is heavenly.
Lemon trees, so many of them
Heavenly smell of the orange blossom
Like on all farms, I get to be surrounded by animals, including these 3 huge Aquita dogs: Loulou, Gala ang Hugh! On the 3rd day, Gala, the mom-dog was really sick, had cried all night, so we brought her to the vet, quite an adventure to roll her on a blanket and on the back of the pick-up truck. It must have been some twisted bone that the vet was able to put back together and the painkiller medicine got her back to normal in a few days.
Loulou
Gala at the vet!
Going on the evening walk with the 3 big dogs and the family of volunteers
Moving mother hen and her babies
One morning, I had quite an experience: One the chickens had managed to escape and found a secret place to brood her eggs. This happens about twice a year and the owners let her be. Once the little chicks hatch, there is quite a danger for them to get snatched by the dogs or other things, so, that morning, we found out that the chicks had hatched and it was time to quickly move them to a save place where they had the most chance to survive. I went to the hiding place of the mother hen with Roxana, the full time employee on the farm. She grabbed the hen, gave her to me and told me to grab on tight to her legs and her head so that she would not escape nor peck me. Wow, how much strength she had! She was really trying to get away and, as a beginner and afraid to harm her, I was not holding tight enough and she got away twice. But realizing it is for her own good and for the survival of her babies, I managed to hold on tight again until Roxana had searched the entire little shed for all the babies chicks, already 2 had died since the night before. So with a tied up chicken in my arms and a bucket that had 5 little chicks and one dead one, we brought them all to a little room just for them and got them food and water. All ended well, I learned how much strength a mother hen has and definitely did something I had never done before.
Following Roxana on her morning routine
Roxana doesn't work on Sunday so on Saturday, I followed her morning routine so I could learn and repeat it myself the next day:
1. first things always start by washing and filling up fresh water for the 3 groups of little ducklings, it is always empty, they drink so fast! Also washing and refilling they food bowl and checking the temperature, adjusting the heat
2. then going down to the grown-up ducks pens', hosing down their water containers and refilling them - so cute how they all come to you and come to drink the water, even directly from the water hose! Also filling up their food with a mix of pellets and corn.
3. the best part: walking all around the duck pens to search for the eggs, they were alot! and they lay them everywhere is it really an egg hunt!
4. same things for the 4 pens of chickens: water, food and egg search
5. then go even more down in the property to the other pens of teenage ducks that are already outdoors (only the 3 groups of little ones are indoors because it gets too cold at night for them) - there again: water and food, but a different kind of food, careful not to mix it up!
6. Last are the quails, they don't eat as much and have automatic water system, so it was mostly to check up on them, remove the occasional dead quail from a cage. These are the only birds on the farm that are in cages, small cages each with 1 male and 2 females. Small cages because it is otherwise too difficult for the male to fertilize the female, she just runs away too fast! It is really sad to see these living conditions for the quails, although I understand the reasons. Luckily all other birds on the farm are outdoors and have quite a lot of space.
7. Finally: wash the eggs: the chicken eggs will be for sale to eat so they can be washed well with fresh water and even scrubbed with soap and a sponge (although I recall hearing in the past it is best to not wash them to preserve them longer and better). The duck eggs, slightly larger and all white, will go in the incubator for hatching of the next generations of little ducklings. We therefore have to be more careful, not put them in cold water but gently wash off the dirt with a damp cloth and place them in the tray that will go in the incubator. About once a week they start a new 'batch' of about 400 eggs that will hatch at the same time, they can then care for them all at once keeping them in the different age groups.
Voila it's been a few hours and its already time to refill the water of the little ducklings, they have already drank everything!
Living on someone's farm also has the community part: sharing the house, living spaces and cooking and having meals together. At the same time as me was the super nice family of 4, so total cooking for 7 people! As part of my work exchange I not only helped with the birds but also helped cleaning and cooking, it depends on each farm what is the work they need you to do. It is all part of the experience. The parents of the family were helping the construction of another building on the property and in the garden. With Cecilia the owner, we did yoga together on the deck in the morning and I had some moments when I could paint a bit and practice feathers, my favorite theme to paint at the moment.
Yoga mats with view on the chicken and duck houses
Practicing more feathers with Loulou watching me
Goodbye picture with Ceci and Alvaro on the right and the volunteer family Nick, Dawn and Jessica on the left (little Elliott had already gone back to playing)
Workaway profile: Learn about life on an organic farm near Casablanca, Chile
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