Care Of Other Farm Animals example essay topic

Three problems that occur when living on a farm are taking care of the farm animals, tolerating the wild animals, and keeping everything in order. Although these problems don't seem very big, they are huge chores and are often way too much for one person to handle by him or herself. Usually, just as everything appears to be in order and all hard work has paid off, something breaks or a water line burst and chaos, once again, takes control of my life. Taking care of the farm animals is my biggest and most important problem. Carrying feed and grain to the horses may sound very simple, but if an animal does not eat, he may be sick or overgrazed. Horses are very moody toward each other, and an older and stronger male will sometimes fight the other colts and mares away from feeding.

If something like this happens, I have to isolate the horses and carry each one of them a certain amount of feed. Later, I have to return and open the stalls to let them out to water. Once a week the horses are washed and groomed, and I ride them at least twice a week to make sure that they are staying fit and in good health. Although the horses are given the most attention and require the most care- taking, I also take care of other farm animals. I throw range pellets to the cattle, which have to be counted on a regular basis, and I feed the chickens and dogs, which have to have water carried to them by hand every day. Along with having to care for the animals on the farm, I am often forced to tolerate wild animals that decide to come along and do whatever they please to the animals on the farm or to the land.

Snakes lie around the pond, keeping the livestock from drinking. They will eventually move, but if one holds its ground and strikes, it will cause serious damage and often kill an animal. Black bears love to roll barbed-wire fences into huge balls and play with them, leaving an open space in the fence that has to be replaced. Opossums come into the yard at night just to make the dogs bark and keep everyone in the house awake. A panther will occasionally bed down in a cozy warm spot in the pasture and make the horses nervous, scared and huddled together all night. Armadillos will dig huge holes in the ground to make their home in and these holes are large enough to blow out a truck tire and will instantly break the leg of any livestock that step into it.

In order to take care of whatever problem may occur at the time, everything must be kept in order. To take care of the farm animals I have to have a clean barn, meaning that the dirt floor must have only dirt and no sharp or unnecessary objects lying around that could harm an animal. I also need to have all the supplies organized and put away where they are supposed to be so that I do not have to hunt for them if an emergency occurs. It's also necessary to keep extra lumber, wire, and panels around in case the bears decide that they need a new ball to play with or in case I need an extra stall or pen for a short time. It is hard to understand why supplies such as shovels, hammers, and nails are so important and need a designated place on a working farm until an accident happens and I don't have or can't find what is needed to fix the problem. Whether I am feeding or watering the farm animals, dealing with the damage that a wild animal has left behind, or organizing the supplies for the next emergency, I am always faced with problems.

For me, there is no end to work on a working farm..