Poorly Goats and Trying to 'Make It'
I’m laying with Peaches in the pig ark. She’s not well. I’ve done all I can and now it’s up to her. Luck seems to be on my side, however, as she’s happily gobbling down goat mix, drinking gallons and chewing on haylage. She’s just super thin and can’t stand. But I’ve done all I can - now it’s her turn.
This week has been a struggle. I love my farm, don’t get me wrong. And I can’t fathom how I’ve already been here over a year. It seems only a couple of months ago we unpacked the chickens, built some aviaries and began sowing seeds. But here I am, laying with my beloved rescue goat as autumn rolls around for the second time.
‘Fake It, Until You Make It’ has been the catchphrase of the week, with the emphasis on the 'Fake It’ component and my mindset on how difficult that can be. There’s been a run of bad luck. Malachi, my first farm born ram lamb died. Peaches is ill. An Ixworth chick died this morning. I’ve had a HORRIBLE year for hatching - I blame the fact I’d try to go for organic feed instead of medicated chick crumb and the results were barely any hatches surviving. The honesty stand has been wonderful, but also awful. Why is it that all the successful sales and lovely comments can be undone by one theft? Well, not just one … about £50 worth of product has been stolen since it opened. And I’ve got a field full of flowers that delights family, friends and social media, yet no one local wants to buy them.
It got me thinking about the struggles we all face when starting a business. Especially when you have products with a shelf life. Many people have mentioned not selling on the honesty stand and purely through orders. Only, I only began this thing a few months ago so I have no orders! Despite my ancestry being rooted here too, we haven’t been made very welcome. So, slap on the brave face, smile and Fake It, right?
The beginnings of the flower farm
To balance my woes out, I should talk about the positives. Suffice to say, in a year I’ve started a pedigree sheep flock and had lambs, begun a pedigree goat herd, had kids and about to start milking, and just got two pedigree Large Black gilts. I’ve bred geese and chickens and muscovies, and constructed a pheasantry which has grown from one breed to five. I’ve started a market garden, a flower farm and opened a pop-up campsite. Bloody hell - when I write it out like that, it’s no wonder I feel a little tired!
I suppose the point of this is that it is so important not to take social media at face value. There is always a lot going on behind the scenes. I try to be as transparent as possible on my YouTube and instragram stories to give you the inside scoop on what it’s like setting up a farm; both the good and the bad. It’s easy to mount the pressure upon yourself too. But a business, any business but especially a farm, takes time to grow; quite literally. And it’s important to keep an eye on all those small wins. I need to take my own advice.
But for now, on this Sunday afternoon, I shall continue to cuddle this goat in the hopes she’ll start to feel a little better.