It was a big day at the Bendigo Poultry Club Auction and, to be honest, I was quite happy to be away from home while some dispatching was happening on the farm.
As part of the auction committee, I spent the morning registering buyers, but still managed to do a little buying and selling myself. I took seven ducks and came home with only three drakes, which helped reduce our numbers. One Appleyard drake with all the wrong colouring found a new owner after a lady decided she liked the look of him. Sometimes that’s all it takes!
I also sold two pairs of Marans, which meant two fewer excess roosters. Unfortunately, with David not there to keep me in check, I somehow returned home with a lovely lilac Araucana rooster and ten quail from two different breeders. One breeder even showed me how to sex quail, which was a handy lesson.
I also purchased a large steel cage measuring 2.7 metres long. While it only cost $200, transport will push the total closer to $350. With David recovering from back surgery, neither of us is keen to move it ourselves.
Back on the farm, we had a wether lamb and three piglets dispatched. It was a difficult day for David, but there was some comfort in seeing how calm the pigs were. We’d fed them that morning and by the time the dispatcher arrived they were asleep in the sunshine. There was no stress for them at all, which made the process easier to accept.
The day’s biggest surprise came when I discovered my supposed pair of Cayuga ducks wasn’t actually a pair. One of the young birds I’d thought was female turned out to be another drake, meaning both boys came home from the auction with me. As I always say, with ducks it’s good to have an heir and a spare!
After the auction, Gail and I headed to the Bendigo Jockey Club. Lunch was a rather disappointing $3 party pie, thanks to most of the facilities being unavailable, and after lasting just one race, we decided to move on. Gail did manage to turn her $1 bet into $1.90, so at least one of us finished ahead.
The day ended on a much nicer note at Le Foyer, where we celebrated Gail’s fantastic fundraiser, which raised $33,000 for the Harcourt Bushfire Appeal. After a day filled with ducks, quail, pigs, horse racing and unexpected surprises, it was the perfect way to finish.
Life on the farm is never boring.