Farm visitors often comment on how well all my animals get along, even though I have a variety of species who free range and interact together daily.
Much like people, animals have personalities that can vary wildly. Some are naturally aggressive very early on in their life and can pester other animals and make life terrifying for passive individuals. Others seem to be born to cuddle and interact. Some are comics, others are quite serious. Some like to be clean, others seem to be forever filthy. I’ve had troublemakers and peacekeepers. Animals go through hormonal changes regularly, males and females alike. Some animals have a lot of friends and some are loners. Overall it’s mostly peaceful here.
There’s a good reason my animals get along more often than not. I don’t have a magic formula but I do pay attention. When a new animal is born here or adopted I observe them constantly. I want everyone to live in as stress-free of an environment as possible. Over the years I’ve learned that my oldest animals, mainly the dominant alphas, decide who can stay and who has to go.
Each of my species has a dominant elder who welcomes other animals or makes their lives hell. There are natural pecking orders with each species where newbies have to jostle for their position in the family. Usually this adjustment period lasts a couple of weeks. It’s after this time when I start to see who may be too aggressive, or too weak, or too unhappy to stay.
I’ve had several female goats I’ve loved who Maybelle (my first, oldest, and very alpha doe) decides if they will be tolerated, loved or mercilessly abused. With the goats, Maybelle decides who stays and who goes. When you have limited land and funds creating separate living quarters and shelters isn’t an option.
The interesting thing is nearly every time I’ve sold a doe who was lowest in the herd she’s become the alpha at her new home and blossomed into a confident, happy animal. That always makes me feel better to visit and see them in their new environment. They all seem to go from being Cinderella to becoming a queen.
This same pattern can be seen with my turkeys, chickens and geese. Last year my favorite goose, Cedar, didn’t have a mate while the other two paired off and were devoted to each other. Poor Cedar went into a deep depression. I had to force him to go in their pen at night for his own protection. He would stand in the farthest corner and lower his head. He wouldn’t eat or interact with me or the pair. I was beside myself. Loneliness can kill a spirit and Cedar deserved a mate of his own. Fortunately I found a home where he was able to have a mate and he is flourishing. With the exception of rabbits every animal I’ve had has been happier with at least one of its own kind.
It’s important to know you can give an animal the best food, shelter and love but that doesn’t mean it will be accepted by the other animals. I wish I had known this before I started my farm, it would have alleviated a lot of heartache. Farm life is a delicate balance where everyone lives together and they all have to get along.
A happy farm environment means the animals can focus on going about their lives and pay attention to true external threats and not threats within their own family. If animals are fighting and keeping an eye on each other then they aren’t watching for predators and other threats and this is dangerous to everyone.
When I’ve rehomed unhappy animals (and I take in animals all the time as well) there’s an immediate peace that falls over the farm. Harmony on a farm is mostly naturally occurring but responsible farm owners have a big role in keeping the peace and wellness of their animals. Quality of life for my babies has become extremely important. If they aren’t happy it makes life harder. I’ve had to learn to put the animals wellbeing over my own desire to keep them with me. Seeing an animal leave is painful but I’ve learned it doesn’t mean I failed. Sometimes doing what’s best for an animal means watching them leave but it’s a part of life on the farm and the responsible and loving thing to do.
xo