By Alexandra Bastedo
Where did December go? It disappeared in coughs and colds, doing cards, putting up decorations for the volunteers’ party and preparing accounts for the tax man not to mention looking after the 150 animals at the sanctuary. Christmas doesn’t stop for animals – their life goes on as it always does with exactly the same requirements so life is even more hectic than usual. They may have noticed a difference though as some kind readers donated money for extra carrots and treats but apart from that we had a full complement of helpers on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day so life for them was just the same.
Our many thanks to all the 24 volunteers who keep the animals in such good condition and the sanctuary ticking over so smoothly. We also managed to avoid vet bills over the Xmas period which was a real bonus though with Pip the dobermann puppy’s intake of chocolate ornaments wrapped in gold and silver paper from the Xmas tree we were very lucky to avoid them. (See Pip’s Diary) Our most grateful thanks also to Gatleys animal feed suppliers- both the main store and the shop- for making us the recipient of their fundraising. Needless to say the money received will go right back to them for animal food !
Around the middle of December I was interested to read that the stoats had white coats for the first time in several years. We had also had sightings of those shy birds the Redwings and the Fieldfares which we have only ever seen in extremely cold weather so I suspected that the animals knew something that we did not. All the other winters recently had been wet and warm so I welcomed the prospect of a few frosts to kill of the inordinate amount of bugs- in particular the midges and the mosquitos- that have been plaguing the animals over the last few summers. However, the reality has proved to be quite a shock with 2 weeks of continuous freezing conditions with minus 6 ,8- even 10 possibly- which we have not seen for thirty years. With conditions like that in Canada my friends with animals keep them in heated barns but here—–!.
Fortunately there was a little warning from the Met Office and we were lucky enough to have our trusty volunteer Peter Kirkwood on hand otherwise things would have become somewhat desperate. We took the precaution of moving water butts into the barn and sheds in case the outside pipes froze – which of course they did. Peter removed and emptied the hoses so they wouldn’t freeze but in the event they were useless as there was no running water from any of the outdoor taps anyway. Fortunately we already had 2 small plastic tanks with taps that he was able to move around on a porter’s trolley getting water from the main house and then distributing it round to all the thirstychickens, guinea fowls, turkeys, geese and ducks not to mention refilling the water troughs for all the donkeys and ponies. Normally the cats get fresh water every day but with the tap frozen and water scarce it all had to be saved . However at least the little heaters in the catteries kept them warm and they rarely ventured outside! We also had to boil endless kettles to melt the ice and have now decided to invest in a large tea urn. That way we will have far more hot water available in a crisis and we can use it for our open days as well.
We discussed the merits of removing all the ice but in the end I remembered what I had done successfully several years before. By making a round hole in the ice sufficient for the animals to drink out of and creating an air vacuum between the surface ice and the water the remaining ice acts as a kind of lid with a window and the water underneath hardly freezes at all. Then when the animals drained it we had buckets on wheels that were filled at the inside waterbutts to replenish them However tomorrow they are forecasting 6 degrees and I hope it will be sufficient to melt the ice as the work has been doubly hard and we English are just not prepared for a continual big freeze.
We did our best for the wild animals as well making sure that they too had access to fresh water. It was funny to watch the wild ducks fly in and skid to a halt on the ice on the pond. Although perhaps the most amusing occurrence was when the fox tried to go after them and couldn’t understand why his legs went from under him and splayed out in different directions. In the event the animals have survived well. The shaggy Shetlands also knew something and have grown exceptionally long coats this winter. Peter managed to dismantle our mechanical manure picker and moved it out of the tractor shed so the ponies have had more areas to shelter from the weather. Little Gretel, the fragile donkey has a variety of warm rugs to choose from and boots on her feet every morning and Phil another of our volunteers has partitioned a stable for her with an infra red lamp overhead for her old bones. She is doing well in spite of the inclement weather. Charlie our most cantankerous Shetland had a bad foot with an abscess but in spite of a daily fight we have managed to poultice and cure it ourselves. (The call out from the vet for Hutch, the donkey, with a similar problem was £110). So that was a job well done! Icy hay can cause colic or laminitis so all the equines have enjoyed a constant supply of hay all day.
Inside the house I remembered a tip a plumber once gave me and that was to open the loft hatches one inch to allow the roof cavity to be warmed. We think of heating our homes but in extreme cold if you don’t warm the loft iced up water tanks and frozen pipes can be the order of the day
The tiny Shetlands- Jack and Jill- were brought into the barn with the donkeys for warmth and all of them got on very well so we will probably keep them there for the rest of the winter. Nutmeg, the one-eyed Welsh pony- has been rugged up each night as has Shabba the large black pony who is now 19. Extraordinarily Marty, the stocky Gipsy Cob who had always had a tantrum at the mere sight of a coat anywhere near, actually stood and asked for one the other evening so he too has been protected from the cold. We were told never to put rugs on Shetlands as they are supposed to be hardy creatures and all the animals have weatherproof shelters but if February proves any worse than January I think that may have to change and they too will get mini coats.
So far so good. All the animals are well and the new year 2009 for them at least has started well.I am only sorry this new year’s blog isn’t as jokey as usual but frankly December and January so far have been very hard work!
All of us at the sanctuary wish you a happy new year and for the first time we will be holding an open day- we will keep you informed about the date- so come and see us!
All the very best,
Alexandra Bastedo and the Animals!.
Copyright A.L.Bastedo
Alexandra is the founder of the ABC Animal Sanctuary at www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk We rely upon your help to keep going with feed bills and vet bills so any donation- we do pocket money adoptions for children- is most gratefully received.
