Oh man what a day! So, today was my first day opening, meaning I went around to all the barns, counted and checked on the animals, and let them out. It was kind of confusing but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. Animals are moved from certain barns to other areas of the farm for a number of reason, so it keeps you on your toes keeping up with all the messages, but they have a great system out here for communicating changes to the staff and interns. I'm definitely going to have to get use to all the change and the diversity in projects this internship has to offer. Which is a good lesson for me since I tend to enjoy knowing what to expect :)
When I was little, I was bitten by a Turkey at the Puyallup Fair. Today, I was pecked at by at least 3 of the Turkey girls as I was opening up their barn and head counting. It was kind of funny this time though and didn't hurt as much as I remember it hurting when I was younger. These chicks are craaa-zay! But I love them! Yes, even though they were pecking at my legs and feet...I love them :) Letting the geese out this morning was just as exciting. They are soooo loud! Honking...and sometimes hissing. Romeo is one of the white geese and he is so far from being a charming Romeo! He stretches his neck out and points his bill to the sky, puffs out his chest and honks...then proceeds to waddle towards and attack you. Hahah :) I really can't help but to love him though. He is just so proud!
At noon we had our Ed Lunch which is when Sophia, the education coordinator, makes us lunch and we all sit and talk about a specific issue. Today we talked about the different reasons people go vegan, and the animals it effects. It was interesting because we discussed some of the gray areas of veganism and just shared our opinions. One example was owning leather jackets/boots/accessories, prior to going vegan and then once you've gone vegan the question becomes "what do you do with them?". I really liked it because it was everyone just sharing their opinions and wasn't a huge debate. Personally I'm working through my non vegan clothing items and replacing them with vegan options.
After Ed Lunch I went and collected the eggs from all the birds. I bet you're wondering what we do with the eggs here at Farm Sanctuary...yes? I was too. Well, let me first say that a lot of these birds have been bred to lay eggs at an extreme rate in really harsh conditions. A typical egg laying hen will lay 230 eggs a year. Where their ancestors were only laying 30 a year!!! Whoa! So they are constantly producing these eggs which depletes them of nutrients. Several suffer from osteoporosis. And can break bones very very easily. So, we collect the eggs and then hard boil them and then mash them up (shell and all) and feed them back to the birds, thereby giving them back the nutrients they lose when laying the egg. So that's what I did with my afternoon. The chickens were so cute when I was collecting the eggs, so curious. I'd bend down to grab an egg out and they would follow me, sit, watch, and some even let me pet them. It's funny because I find myself really loving the birds here and that's not at all what I expected. They are just so different than what I'd imagined them to be. Super curious, friendly (minus turkey girls and romeo...but you gotta love them anyways) and fun to watch. I'm really excited to have a day off because I want to spend a bit of time with the geese and turkey boys for sure. Side note: There was this movie that Sophia mentioned at the Ed Lunch called Fowl Play, all about the egg industry, that I really want to watch. I'm going to check and see if they have it at the library here on my day off.
So, that was about it. I'm sitting here with some chocolate covered raisins and I think I'm about to raid the left over Chinese Food from our Chico excursion last night. I'm beat, and hungry. I open for the next couple days, so I hope to have the hang of it all by the beginning of next week :)
Oh, also, if you want to check Mr. Romeo out click here He is also adoptable for Valentine's Day! (flowers and chocolate are overrated!)
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