Ever wondered what it’s really like behind the scenes at Unity Farm Sanctuary?
Today, I’m pulling back the curtain and inviting you to spend the day with us as we work to create a safe place for amazing rescued farmed animals and engage people from the community too - volunteers love to be here!
Ready? Let’s get into it.
The Morning Hustle:
5:49am: There is no shortage of voices who want us to wake me up and get rolling! Usually it is Casey Doggo who hears the guinea fowl outside and insists on checking out the ruckus! Everyone inside gets food and attention (including John and me) then the day leaps forward. Sometimes I might join a team member outside on a task, but we really rely on the Animal Caregiving teamand Shelter Manager Mike to get it all done correctly! I am likely working on social media, messaging, and fundraising right away every morning.
8:05am: Special nutritious (and sometimes medicated) mashes get soaked for the horses, goats, sheep and donkeys. The Feathered Friends coops are opened up. Hamish gets his morning bottles and a whole lot of love.Fresh hay is shared out for goats, cows, and then horses too (they have soaked, rinsed or dry hays depending on their specific needs - Timothy Hay or Grass Hay! By 9am, all the pigs have their chef-inspired veggies and grain bowls too. Hazel starts asking for hers about an hour before! I might be on emails by this time too, networking surrender requests or raising funds to keep everything running smoothly.
11:25am: “Paging! Clean up on Aisle 3”, is a big part of the day because 11 tons of hay every 6 weeks means that it comes out too and needs, well, clean-up! Volunteers help tremendously in many paddocks, but the team always has the cow paddocks to clean every day, and they move collected manure from everywhere to the composting area. From all the rescues’ perspectives, the most important time is that the hay is distributed again! Many of the paddocks have it delivered 4 times a day to make it work more like the natural way they eat. Time for lunch soon too for the team, after everyone has food and water out in the paddocks!
Afternoon Action:
12:42pm: The team has had a chance to grab a plant based lunch, the fridge is stocked! I usually will grab leftovers, I like to cook at dinnertime mostly. After lunch, special caregiving tasks happen, like foot-soaks, or medications. I might train a new volunteer at that time! The Boston Outdoor Preschool Network students might read to Hamish and get his generous licks!
2:45pm: Another big mash and hay feeding happens, but less medications and supplements (they get Vitamin E). Hazel Marie has again been ready for lunch for ‘hours and hours’!
4:00pm: Cleaning up and organizing is going on in all the barns, and I often have Sanctuary Tour if it is a Saturday, so more folks can meet our beautiful rescued individuals
Closing Out the Day:
5:27pm: You guessed it: the final hay feeding of the day! A few mashes for the donkeys and ponies, then we need to button up things for the end of the feeding part of the day. Hamish gets a bottle if he wishes, and then some soft grass hay and a little sweet feed grain for bedtime.
6:55pm: Now, in the summertime, I would be doing “bedtime for Birdies” (clsoing up the coops) as late as 8:50pm! But this week, it is dark and I am doing this before 7:00pm at this point. Wait until the Winter Solstice! Sooooo early! Desk work for me continues until about 10pm, then time for sleep before Casey Doggo wakes me up early!
This work we do behind the scenes wouldn’t be possible without you, {{First Name}}. Thank you for being a part of the journey and I hope you enjoyed joining me for the day!
If you’d like to see a “day in the life” of someone specific on our team or among our rescues - hit reply and let me know, I’d love to hear from you.
Good night!
