by Alexandra Bastedo
After the morning let out session with the animals described in my last blog which is 8 to 10 am the volunteers start to arrive and it is thanks to them that I usually have five hours away from the animals in which to order feed, organise deliveries and deal with general emergencies until the light starts to fade and the animals are put to bed between 3 and 5 pm.
A typical day was yesterday when the Field Guard mats I had ordered were delivered to the barn and Peter Kirkwood and I decided which were the muddiest places most in need of them. There were 10 but we could probably have done with at least twice that amount. Meanwhile although Helen and myself had both worked on Hutch- the donkey’s- hoof as he was limping neither of us had been able to find anything wrong .We therefore had to call out a vet from Cinders Hill . Even he found it quite difficult to find the problem but eventually discovered a pinprick of a hole and after opening it up it was rewarding to see all the poison flow out. We then poulticed it with Animal Lintex dipped in hot water, bandaged it and finally put on a canvas boot to protect it from the elements. The poulticing, bandaging etc will now have to be done every day until the hoof is better. However the main thing is that Hutch is now walking properly once again. The vet also told me to pack the hole with a Mag Sulph (Magnesium Sulphate) paste which is an old fashioned remedy I have used to great effect on a number of animals in the past for drawing out poison. I also dry poulticed little Gretel’s two front feet and put more boots on . She has always walked badly in the winter so it may just be arthritis exacerbated by the lack of sunshine and damp, cold weather. However last year she spent most of the winter in boots and it did seem to help. My young Saturday volunteers who are all doing animal courses were all able to have a lesson in hoof poulticing. I was also able to explain how very different donkeys’ feet are. I always liken their upturned foot to a cup whereas horses’ hoofs are much shallower and more like a saucer. This means that with a pony mud falls out easily whereas with a donkey’s hoof it can become compacted with muck and they need to be dug out regularly. A donkey foot also has a rim round the edge where tiny stones can get trapped so you have to be on the watch for those too. Who said looking after donkeys was easy!
Meanwhile there was a call from Sharon at Worthing Cat Rescue who had picked up two of the Persians I had rehomed some time ago. I was fairly incredulous as they had gone to a lovely Worthing sea front flat to an estate agent and his partner. They had split up and neither wanted their cats- so much for people who swore they were cat lovers. Poor Muffin the old tabby had meanwhile died of kidney failure aged 17 so I was enjoying my uninhabited bathroom- however not for long! Sharon brought back the two Persians- Simone and Amelie- and with nowhere else to put them they are now back in my bathroom where they started out two years ago. We are totally full to bursting with only one outside pen free which is far too cold at present particularly for two effete Persians that have never been out of doors. They were thoroughly matted and their coats had lost the lovely sheen and softness that they had when they were with us. But now that they are on very pure food and their coats are being worked on hopefully soon they will be back to their former glory and be able to be re-homed to a PERMANENT home. I reckon they need 5 minutes a day grooming and if they are fed properly the coats don’t seem to knot at all.
Lastly I just manage to squeeze in a walk with the two dobermanns just across the road around the farmer’s fields. An incredibly necessary event in order to relieve Pip, the dobermann puppy , of some of his energy so we can enjoy a quiet evening and avoid the general destruction of the house.
Anyway that was my 5 hours off so on to the evening session! I start at the top stables and get Hansel and Gretel, the donkeys, into the newly divided stable which my volunteer Helen’s husband has recently constructed for them as they need a thicker bed of straw than the more hardy young Shetland ponies. Gretel’s raincoat is removed and exchanged for a soft padded coat while Hansel’s is simply removed for the night. The Shetlands- Charlie, Mickey and Gussie- do have coats but have such a good shelter and are so hardy that we only put them on in very inclement weather. The donkeys loathe getting wet and would simply never go out if it was raining without a raincoat on! They all get fresh hay in hay nets except Charlie who specialises in putting his foot through them and getting stuck. His hay goes on the ground. They then all get a bowl of a little Happyhoof with Cod liver oil, garlic and a multi-vitamin while Gretel gets Laminaze and Formula Feet added to hers as well.
On to the top cats who make you feel like the Pied Piper as they all come running over and some even stand outside the stables telling you to hurry up! The top cattery consists of 4 sections. On the right the 3 black cats Phoenix, Jessie and Suki are waiting and eagerly devour their bowl of Denes’ cat food ( without sugar, additives or colourants) mixed with a few biscuits by Burns, the vet. One tin is so packed that it serves 4 cats with mouse like portions. The remaining portion is fed to the sweet Siamese type tabby in the next enclosure who has recently come in called Tilda. Her rescue was something of an emergency as the owner was threatening to kill her. She is such a sweetheart it is almost inconceivable that she was so badly treated but she is so loving the calm and comfort of her small cattery that I can quite believe it. Next to her are also recent arrivals: a pale ginger boy and a terribly shy tortoiseshell girl who is beginning to come out of her shell- similarly enjoying the knowledge that there is nothing going to harm them. In the last pen are Otto, the one remaining fit 17 year old- his geriatric pals have all moved into the house of their own volition- and one long-haired tortoiseshell girl with beautiful blue eyes and 2 lively black and white long-legged siblings who are a joy to watch as they are so athletic. They all have the same healthy menu with a touch of Udo’s Oil added for their coats and general health and sometimes as a treat they get a packet of the equally healthy new Bozita cat food. This time of year when cold they all have little electric blankets which are a lot cheaper to run than radiators.
Down to the bottom to the barn and the other stables with the light beginning to fade. Starsky, Hutch, Chocolat and Phoebe the 4 donkeys come into the barn with Raffles and Jill the 2 Shetlands to a meal of hay and Happyhoof with the same vitamins as the others. Their raincoats are removed for the night. Outside Nutmeg,the Welsh one-eyed pony and Eddie and Jack the 2 other mini Shetlands are whinnieing away awaiting the delivery of their hay and bowls. The 2 little ones are locked in the stable while Nutmeg with her coat on is free to roam.
On to the left hand field where there is the same procedure with the 5 mini Shetlands- Hamish, Hogan, Beverly, Mistletoe and Rupert- are put in the 2 stables for the night while Rhett and Sky the 2 Welsh ponies are rugged up and left to put themselves in the shelter. They are both still tortured by itchy bottoms from Sweet Itch which despite daily treatment still hangs on so I fear we will have another vet’s bill shortly. They all also get their evening meals of Happyhoof, vitamins and hay. Meanwhile Marty and Shabba, the two horses, with the four sheep are observing the proceedings and pacing up and down in the far field. However it is important to get their hay bags and food- this time Alpha A mixed in with the general feed- in place before they are let in so you don’t get mown down in the excitement. When the gate is open they then come thundering by to their food bowls and hay in the stable while the sheep are discreetly fed out of sight round the corner so their food isn’t pinched by the horses.
By now the light has gone but with electric lights on in the bottom cattery the rest of the felines all come running in. Their cat flaps are set to in only so they are locked away from the fox at night. In the first pen are Sebastian- who did have a fight with the fox that I interrupted- Archie, Roley, and Candy, they are all relatively young-2 to 6- and keep the mouse and rat population in check. Next to them are Simba, Duchess and Duke three of the extremely fit oldies (on Walthams Sensitive Diet which I use on all the elderly cats) and at the other end there are Tigger, Oliver and Charlotte who are the all -night hunters in the barn. In an adjacent outdoor pen with an electric blanket is Toffee who is a twenty two year old Cornish Rex/Siamese feral who has always loathed human beings and prefers her own company. They too have their electric blankets and sometimes a heater when we attempt to dry out the equine raincoats. A dryer is on our wish list!
On to the poultry and by now the sensor lights are on which on the whole keep the mink away that can penetrate their enclosure of tennis court wire. The chickens put themselves to bed and in cold weather are easily shut in for warmth but with the enclosure 10 feet high and 18 inches into the ground AND an electric fence there is little chance of foxes or badgers getting in. The ducks and geese are all queing up for their last pail of grain before settling down for the night. Unfortunately the 200 wild ducks are now back asking for food too. On bonfire night the fireworks succesfully drove them all away as they thought an army of wildfowlers had arrived and they didn’t return for five days. In the interests of economy a weekly firework display would not go amiss. Fortunately though the display was away from the donkeys and ponies and the cats were all locked up so the night passed off uneventfully.
On to the house to have a late cup of tea with my husband and to feed the geriatric cats. Caspar the 18 year old deaf ginger boy is fed Sensitive Diet on top of the table in the utility room away from the dobermanns- in particular Pip the puppy who is quite capable of getting ON the table! Upstairs elderly Whispa, Fluff and Alfie are fed and locked up for the night in the study which also serves as the sanctuary office. The newly returned white and ginger Persians are fed Sensitive Diet to help get them back in shape in the bathroom and Teddy and Matty, the Selkirk Rexes and Olly, our white Persian with an incredibly luxurious coat are fed on hypo-allergenic food from the vets because of their allergies and let out of my bedroom for the night. They are free to go outside and I always know it is raining when a wet bundle lands on my bed in the middle of the night! One more cat – the elderly Bagpuss- who has been adopted by my husband. He too is fed Sensitive Diet before retiring to bed.Finally the two dobermanns are fed their dinner of Denes dog food in tins with biscuit At this point it is a tremendous relief when Pip the puppy goes outside for the last time and puts himself to bed! Finally there is the cleaning of the dog cage in the utility room which serves as the poultry hospital and contains 2 elderly chickens that cannot cope with the great muddy outdoors. Their food container is topped up and the water changed.
It is now 11.45 pm and I think it takes as long to write about what I do as to actually do it so I too am off to bed. Although usually I spend at least an hour or two on the website and there is still a lot of work to be done on that as apart from being all about the animals I want it to be informative so it is still work in progress. We will shortly have a section called “Running Costs”- a bale of hay forinstance costs £2.50- we are trying very hard to finance all these animals so if you can buy a bale of hay or a sack of corn or Happyhoof we will be most grateful and will happily e mail you the animal photo of your choice.
Goodnight- until next month-
All the best,
Alexandra Bastedo
Copyright Alexandra Bastedo. www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk
