The following post is an archive of our GoFundMe campaign which began in 2020.
Hello everyone,
The farm is now already open for almost three months and everything is in full swing. While the farm is not as busy as other seasons, the care of the animals and the work around the farm keeps us all very busy.
Today we like to share some updates from the animals and news from around the farm. This year marks our 40th farm anniversary – this might sound like a small feat to some – but the start of this precious farm, building it up, always making changes and improvements and the constant effort and determination, care and dedication, tears and love to keep it going are a testament to what this little great place means to all of us. This is a celebration of building and maintaining something special together. Over many years the Koenders family, the Beacon Hill Farm Society, many staff members, lots of volunteers and this supportive community have created a safe home for our animals, a unique space where visitors of all ages can meet animals and spend time with them, sit with them quietly, see their kindness and wisdom in their eyes, feel their trust and learn about their lives. Our little farm in the middle of beautiful Beacon Hill Park is a place to meet people, to share our experiences with the animals and to make many happy memories – in some families over several generations. The official anniversary date is June 12th (it all started in 1985) and we have a fun day planned full of activities around the farm and story time for the younger kids and informative animals talk. To find more information about this special day please visit our website https://beaconhillchildrensfarm.ca/40-years-beacon-hill-childrens-farm/
We are looking forward to celebrating this day, this year and really this special place with you – as it all would have not been possible without this community supporting us.
And now I would like to share some news directly from the animals – the heart and soul of our farm.
We are receiving many questions about our goats, who was bred this season, why there are sometimes more babies, why some babies come later etc – and let me just summarize that this is simply the difference between plan and actual life. While our goat herd is strong and healthy and we do the best with consistent daily care, preventative treatments and supplements and very good vet care, nature will always be nature and the best made plans don’t necessarily work out.
We had planned to start this season with three expecting mums, next 2 mums giving birth in April, then two more by the end of May, followed by the last mums expecting in early July. But it all came quite different – and let me first and foremost say that the health and wellbeing of our animals are our top priority, we would never breed a mum that shows physical issues of receiving or birthing and during each pregnancy and following delivery they get the best care and support we can provide. Plans aside – our reality was that several does didn’t take (either due to their age or that of our billy Wasabi and in several cases we followed our vet recommendation to not breed them due the risks of birthing complications). And sadly one of our mature mums Snow White lost her babies halfway through pregnancy – she didn’t seem to be able to carry them full term. Sometimes it is just not meant to be. I’m glad to say that Snow White recovered well and is healthy and strong again.
As a result our only expecting mum for early on in the season was Venus. She seemed to be doing well during her third and last planned pregnancy. Her previous two deliveries went smooth and without complications, we expected the same. We couldn’t have been more wrong. Venus went into labour, everyone at the farm was so excited. The evening came, it became night with her just being uncomfortable, no real progress, but some goats can be in this state of labour for a long time. The night grew later and later and with it our worries started to grow. Venus just seemed tired, moving around without contractions. In the early morning it was clear that Venus needed more professional help. A call to the vet was in order and under his instructions we found out that she wasn’t dilated. While the babies were ready to come, Venus’ body was not. The vet’s verdict was hard: it was very likely that the babies were already dead inside mum, but we still needed to try – and be it to at least save Venus. The vet’s driving time to reach the farm was about an hour, he gave us detailed instructions on how to try to manually help Venus dilate (if this could not be managed he would perform a c-section at the farm to save mum). What should I say: our spirits were down, and our worries were through the sky, but Venus needed us now. In these situations – as hard as they are – there is no stepping away, there is only the path forward in the best way we can, with all we’ve learned over the years and for the trust our animals put in us. There is no letting them down. We went to it and to our relief we managed to help Venus along and together we delivered one stillborn and to our all surprise one live baby. Venus was very exhausted and weak, her one baby girl seemed big and strong. Unfortunately, Venus had torn part of her uterus during the difficult delivery and the vet gave her a 50:50 chance of survival. We were all in and started a long treatment of pain meds and antibiotic injections. For several weeks Venus’ condition was critical as she ran a fever which made the prolonged administration of antibiotics necessary. Venus is a fighter – she is tough and strong and loves her baby. They both made it. We named her little girl Supernova aka Nova and she is brave, curious and the little star of the petting area.
This teaches us that the best plans don’t always work out, that life sometimes takes a different path and that we should be grateful for what we have. It is a glass “half full” or “half empty” situation and while I hear people say “there is only one baby goat this season”, I think of it differently. Looking at Venus’ story, I simply believe having Nova is so much more than “only one” and I can see the proof of that in the smiles that she puts on the faces of everyone she meets. Truly, having Nova is a blessing!
And now finally, two weeks ago we had an exciting and happy day where our next two expecting mums Snowdrop and Lemon Sorbet went into labour the same day and delivered strong and healthy kids. Snowdrop is the proud mum of 2 big boys, Alder and Birch, and her cousin Lemon has her hooves even more full as she has to look after her 3 kids (the girl Honey and her two brothers Pudding and Shortcake). I’m glad to say that these deliveries were quite smooth (in Lemon’s case with some assistance from the staff) and mums and babies are doing well.
Since these five babies and their mums had a much easier start into this world, they were able to join the big herd much sooner. They already feel quite at home in the petting area and have started to meet many of our visitors.
Our next and last planned deliveries for this season are in the first half of July and we are keeping a close eye on those expecting mums (two of them for the first time) and wishing them all the best.
This week is now our big anniversary: Come by the farm, visit the animals and share in the celebration of this special place. 40 years are a big step, lots of memories and stories and we are ready for many more to come.
Let’s all just have a farm-tastic day and goat time together!
Claudia
