Lou McLeod: Fun Farm Animal Pastimes! Homesteaders Work Hard AND Play Hard

Sunday, 12 February 2017

Fun Farm Animal Pastimes! Homesteaders Work Hard AND Play Hard

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Humans aren’t the only living creatures that enjoy a good time! We still have a little while before Winter takes off and Spring nestles its way into being. Our animals get cabin fever just like we do, sure they go out into the cold and are ok but they get bored as well. I personally, enjoy spending quality time with my critters big and small but I also enjoy playing and having fun with them. I don’t know if you know this or not but chickens love to swing and some horses enjoy a round of soccer. Read on to learn some fun farm animal pastimes!

Fun Farm Animal Pastimes

I learned long ago that when an animal gets bored and has too much time on their…. Well, their claws, hooves, or feet they sometimes begin misbehaving. That’s right folks, any animal can behave much like a young toddler when there’s nothing to do, getting into things they’re not supposed to, escaping their pens, making a mad dash for the neighbors, etc. With that in mind, I’d like to share a few ways you can have fun with your farm animals, it doesn’t have to be anything expensive or elaborate rather something that makes them think, run, and enjoy the time.

Horses & Goats

I don’t know of any animals so far that don’t enjoy a game of ball in one way or another. I mentioned earlier that horses enjoy soccer but any medium to large sized ball will do. Goats will also play soccer with you BUT if they have their horns you may want to choose your ball wisely. Horses and goats are very much like dogs in the way they enjoy playing, some horses and goats will even play fetch with a tennis ball but they don’t always like to give the ball back.

chickens and ducks Fun Farm Animal Pastimes! Homesteaders Work Hard AND Play Hard

Chickens & Ducks

Chickens love swinging on swings! You can make your own or you can actually buy pre-made chicken swings. Ducks love to swim, I’m pretty sure that is an obvious fact. In the winter sometimes the water in the pools freeze and the ducks will ice skate, I’m just kidding! So when the ducks can’t enjoy their favorite pastime here’s what else works, don’t laugh. If you get some meal worms or grubs and tie them to the end of the string you can give your ducks a run for their money. They’re very similar to cats in a game of chase, however, their reward when they catch the string is a tasty bug.

pigs Fun Farm Animal Pastimes! Homesteaders Work Hard AND Play Hard

Pigs

We all know that pigs are the most like dogs out of all the farm animals. Whatever you do with a dog you can almost guarantee you can do with a hog, in terms of fun that is. Pigs really like attention more than anything other than eating. They almost always enjoy whatever your farm dog enjoys doing down to running through the mud. Pigs like to be pampered and so far that I see that’s their favorite pastime. So get a nice soft brush and give your hog some TLC, they’ll love you forever for it.

There are many farm animals that I could list and many of them enjoy playtime. Not all of the animals enjoy the same thing, there will be some horses that feel as though playing ball is not for them, maybe they’d rather go on a run or play tag with the pups. Anything is possible really. I like to raise any of my animals up from babies with constant interaction between us humans and them. It creates bonds and trust. The more time you spend observing and interacting with your critters the more you will learn about each one’s personal preference of play time. Remember our animals can experience just about anything we can, so if you notice your critters getting into trouble or misbehaving maybe they need some extracurricular activities to help pass the time.

We’d love to hear any of your fur and feathered babies favorite things to do. As always please feel free to drop us a line or two and share with us some of your animals silly stories or pastimes! Happy Farming Friends.

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