A Growing Menagerie.....!

 

It had to happen and to be honest they are basically pets. Though the chickens are useful as they do lay all our eggs. That said now its winter I found two nests under the hedge which were totally inaccessible and a lot of now very old eggs.

The latest additions are Jaffa & Oreo, temporary guest rabbits while their owners move house. Fluffy and cute, and they do like an excursion outside for some grass when the weather allows. Ziggy loves them too, but he has not been allowed to meet them properly……..

We have also welcomed Poppy and Trixie, two ponies we are fostering from the Essex Horse and Pony Protection Society.  Every winter they foster out their ponies and horses where they can as they do not have the grazing for all the horses that they are looking after. So Poppy and Trixie arrived. Grief they are cute but tricky! They take turns being ring leader in the field though Trixie, the Shetland, has a very determined air about her and I spent Christmas Eve hunting down more portable electric fence to keep them contained. It seems Trixie has escaping down to a fine art! Touch wood….. they have not escaped for 2 days and if I can get them in in the next half an hour before dark we will have had 3 days in a row!

They are characters and we are enjoying them and mucking out is getting the teenagers out of bed in the morning; always a good thing. When the weather is dry, they will have a bath, and we will  have a good go at those manes and tails. In the meantime they are enjoying the field and the large stable that they share which keeps them warm and dry.

If you are interested in supporting the Essex Horse and Pony Protection Society too follow this link and see how you can help be it a donation or attending an event, or fostering.  https://ehpps.org.uk/