For those of you who still think roosters are more annoying and loud then hens I shall tell you about how my morning has gone so far. Both Raven and Baby are ready to lay again, even though their chicks are only almost 4 weeks old. Both girls are driving me up the wall. Neither one has shut up since 10 am, throwing hens out of boxes, causing the other hens to get upset and then leaving the boxes complaining to run back to their chicks without laying. Then starting the whole process again after a few minutes. I have had to listen to loud angry hens for almost 3 hours, my boys....they have crowed once. Poor Bubba and Branch have given up responding to the 2 loud mouths and instead are doing their best to escort and aid the evicted hens. I have took a page out of Alex's book and shouted at them that I want KFC today.....it did not help.
.
they are also better able to forage for winter (clearly team GOAT here 
) so there’s way less work with hauling hay (that would be my concern with ponies) the horses here go unshod, but they also aren’t ridden, and don’t encounter pavement. We have a farrier once or twice a year that comes for a hoof trim. There are other people on island with miniature horses and we often share the farrier costs as it’s hard to get one out here as well. The prospect of a full day and 7 horses makes it worth his time, and he charges extra for the travel as it’s a full day because of the ferries. Same thing here for things like septic tank pump outs, getting the sheep shorn, or booking trades like plumbers or chimney sweeps, they all want to have multiple jobs lined up so the 6-8 hours on the ferry is worth it for them. I suppose the other option would be getting a horse trailer and taking the ponies on a road trip to another place for hoof care. I think it’s a little more specialized in cows and horses than most owners would want to DIY, especially if you are shoeing them (horses… not cows!)
