I’m a little late to get in on farm safety week, but I would still like to contribute by telling everyone what not to do.
I grew up on a goat farm in Saskatchewan, and my two siblings and I were always adventurous. And adventurous in a farm context means doing inadvisably unsafe things. Learn from my mistakes, and avoid the following:
Do not slide around on ice that is audibly cracking
Every year when the snow melts, it forms a fast-flowing creek near my house. I don’t know what the attraction of running water is for kids, but it became an annual tradition to play in the water. Sometimes we would get lucky and the snow would melt and then freeze, forming an icy surface on which to slide around.
Now, most of this creek was thigh-deep at best, but there were several deep parts that would probably reach up to my neck. But the lure of sliding around on ice is too much for most children, so I made the trek out to play there (God only knows what people driving past thought of a kid sliding around by herself and laughing). Every time I veered too far toward the edges, I would hear cracking. This did not deter me.
I was fine, but in retrospect things could have gone wrong.
Do not stand in front of a fence with long hair
I would estimate that I was about seven or eight when I was playing in the pasture like I always did. The female goats were kept separate from the males by a short fence with large slats. I wasn’t a stupid kid and I knew not to play in the area with the bucks. Unfortunately, I was standing with my back to this fence when one of the bucks reached his head through and chomped on my hair. I want you to try to imagine the panic I felt, thinking I would never escape from this goat that wanted a taste of my hair. He was extremely strong and determined.
This was a long time ago and so the memory has blurred, but I remember screaming and trying in vain to recover my hair. It was either my panic or my tough farm upbringing that made me immune to the pain. Luckily, my mother was there and somehow with her help, I escaped.
When I was fourteen, I cut all my hair off. In retrospect, it was probably subconsciously because of this experience.
Do not pet roosters, also do not listen to your brother
I’ve talked about my troubles with roosters before. In addition to the big evil rooster, we had another rooster who enjoyed bodyslamming. He was about a third of the other rooster’s size, so I was never scared of him. When he was inside the coop I used to taunt him and he would bodyslam the fence (Note: Do not do this.)
One day, my brother told me that the rooster had inexplicably calmed down and you could pet him. I was wary, but I love animals and will never pass up an opportunity to pet one. Also I trusted my brother.
This was a mistake.
As he watched, I reached out a hand to pet the rooster who had been nothing but hostile to me. And he pecked me. And that was the day I stopped listening to my brother.
Do not play with fire
My brother used to set bonfires in our pasture, and we would all hang out there. That’s all well and good, except safety was never a huge concern. My brother enjoyed pushing me toward the fire and then pulling me back, telling me, “I just saved your life!” Don’t do this. It is scary.
So stay safe out on the farm, and use common sense that I did not.