Prey Animals Are Like Potato Chips; You Can’t Have Just One.
Why not just one? Because It Takes a Herd to be Healthy.
A herd-less horse never truly relaxes. She needs to remain vigilant of predators, so she will sleep standing up. Horses often doze while standing and it is perfectly normal behavior. The herd-less horse can snooze for a time too; however, this lack of deep sleep will eventually degrade her physical health. Horses, like people, need the restorative benefits of deep sleep to build and repair their organs.
Horses Need Horses
The lone horse will be more susceptible to physical injury, which she instinctively knows. She will miss the presence of another horse, the sound of a nicker, a friendly touch, and her mental health will deteriorate. Brains, like any other organ, need deep sleep to remain healthy. A horse needs at least one other horse to be her company and to provide her safe space to relax. She will feel truly rested only when one of her kind watches over her. Providing a horse for a horse improves their quality of life.
horse herd
I know this. It’s why Irish is living his best life on a horse farm a few miles from home.
Alpacas Need Alpacas
When we bought our first alpacas, we borrowed a few from Hummers Homestead Alpacas in order to support the emotional health of our gals who moved here from Colorado. This helped our alpacas adapt to their new home. Our arrangement was beneficial for Hummers Homestead Alpacas as we buy our hay and grain from them. We had more mouths to feed, they had fewer mouths to feed. Also beneficial for Charley and me as the Plummers became members of our human herd.
Case in Point: our alpaca, Meg, was bitten by a rattlesnake when her cria, Brogyn, was 5 months old. We called the Plummers on our way to the vet. Guess who beat us to the vet? Yep, the Plummers. They knew that Meg’s chance of survival was low, so they made the 20-minute drive to support us. When Brogyn became too old to live with female alpacas, he moved to Hummers Homestead Alpacas to live with their boys, and another one of their females joined us here at Wynley Park.
Orphaned Animals Can Break Your Heart
Now that we understood the importance of prey animals having one of their own kind, we shouldn’t have been surprised when our abandoned duckling abandoned us for the familiarity and comfort of a duck. Studies have shown that ducks are highly social animals who often become depressed when left alone. Prolonged depression in a duck can lead to self-harm, a compromised immune system, even death.
You may remember that we found Smudge when she was about a day old, abandoned by mom. In mom’s defense, a not-so-small snake had been harassing her and her nest, causing her to give it up. We’re not sure she even knew this little one had hatched.
We had tried introducing the abandoned duckling to Poppet, our rescue duck who resides in the chicken yard, but she was terrified of the duckling. So, Smudge moved into our guest bathroom while we waited two months to give her feathers time to come in. Ducklings need mother duck to help waterproof them. So, we became “mom”, supervising daily swims, first in the sink and later in the tub as Smudge grew.
I May Not Be Your Kind, But I’m Still Your Mom
Smudge was gob smacked when she first started visiting the chicken yard. She stayed on our heels and climbed onto a lap whenever one of us sat down.
By day 3 though, she had figured out the new environment and felt confident enough to shadow Poppet. Friendship blossomed between them in Week Two. Now here we are in Week Three, and neither seems to have any idea as to who I am.
My sweet Smudge, who used to try to fit my entire finger into her mouth while sitting in my lap, has forgotten that I am her mom. And Poppet, who used to follow me, bobbing her head when asked “would you like to dance?” ducks and weaves when I reach for her. I think I know now how that saying “duck & weave” must have started. I am not loving this rejection. Ungrateful ducks. I get it though.
The Safety Of Our Own Kind
Ducks, like alpacas and horses, are prey animals. They feel safer with company, and I can’t be with them 24/7. Safety in numbers is a real phenomenon. When Smudge was safe from predators in her cage in the bathroom, she gulped her food. I wouldn’t say she savors her food now that she has Poppet, but her eating style does seem a little less frenzied.
If you have ever had ducks or visited them at a park, you know they eat on the run. Ducks have around 400 taste buds. We have around 9000, to give you an idea of how unimportant taste is to them. What’s the point of taste buds, when the dine and dash method might be what keeps you alive to eat another day? Smudge is no longer a flock-less duck. Even outside, where she faces the possibility of predators, she is more relaxed because she is with her own kind.
Poppet was not thrilled about her duck shadow initially, but by week 2, they were sleeping a few feet away from each other. Now, Poppet, my dance partner who used to gently lay her head on the ground as her way of asking to be picked up, has decided that her dance card has been filled by Smudge. Together, they are a tiny but committed flock. Now that they are becoming more duck-like, they just might promote to living with the other ducks.
Ducks Need Ducks
My duck-mama heart aches as these two ske-waddle away from me each time I try to pet them. I get it, I am not a duck. I was better than the alternative that faced Smudge as an orphaned duckling. But still, not a duck. This is important..
If You Want a Livestock Animal, Get a Herd
I used to think that I would move to the country and have a menagerie to add to my dog and cat collection. My vision looked a little like a petting zoo – a horse, a miniature donkey, a goat or sheep, maybe. No alpaca, but only because I hadn’t discovered them yet. While any of these species can learn to live peacefully with one another, they will be happiest with a herd of their own. This is because they crave the familiarity of their own kind.
Have you always wanted a miniature goat, or an alpaca? If you love a particular type of livestock animal, but you can only get one, for whatever reason, wait. Wait until you have more land. Or bigger savings. Wait until you can get a herd.
For us, a herd is a minimum of four of any one species. If there are four miniature goats, for example, and one gets sick, you will be able to take a companion for your sick goat when you head to the vet. Find a mentor nearby who will board your animal with their flock, so you can visit and learn from their expertise.
Wait to get a herd because quality of life matters. “Quality” is one of those complex words. It’s hard to describe, but we know when we have it. And when we don’t.
Opposite of quality (according to our old friend, Merriam Webster) is inferiority. I realized my vision needed to change because I would not accept an inferior life for our livestock friends. Which brings me to my human friends…
Humans Need Humans Too
Being self sufficient means being able to provide for oneself without the help of others. Charley and I took pride in being self sufficient when we lived in the city. With the lifestyle we have now though, we are coming to understand that being part of a well-functioning herd has its own merit.
A well-functioning herd is supportive.
Depression has been on my mind a lot this month as September is National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month. It may not surprise you to know that cause-and-effect of depression in livestock is pretty much the same as it is in humans. Changes to their health, environment, or routine can cause a horse to become withdrawn.
A depressed horse often loses its appetite. It may refuse to exercise or no longer takes pleasure in tasks it used to enjoy. The depressed horse will replace healthy engagement with an unhealthy behavior. Depression can cause the horse’s body to deteriorate, further impacting their mental state and so it continues in a spiraling circle. The horse’s person must intervene to bring him back to balance.
Sound familiar?
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Major Depressive Disorder is currently the leading cause of disability Worldwide, as of April 2023. https://www.nami.org/mhstats
It ranks third in burden of disease, meaning the impact that MDD has on society is huge. Depression is often connected with anxiety and substance abuse.
Folks who struggle with major depressive disorder (MDD) persistently feel blue, lack energy and lose interest in pleasurable activities. They feel guilty or inferior to others, and have trouble concentrating. MDD may be extreme enough to cause psychomotor retardation or agitation, sleep disturbances, or suicidal thoughts.
Even folks who are not suicidal often have shortened life spans due to the connection between mental and physical health. Depression exerts enormous emotional and financial costs to all of us.
What Causes Major Depressive Disorder?
Are you curious what factors lead to MDD? I was! The three factors that put you at risk for MDD are:
- being diagnosed with cancer or another serious chronic ailment,
- being a survivor of physical or sexual abuse, and
- being raised in a dysfunctional family in which there was a high degree of marital discord.
You may have already resolved the trauma of your past. Maybe you’re in remission. Maybe you have forgiven your parents for their immaturity or your abuser has been punished. You can be a survivor, yet struggle with the resulting MDD.
Every single one of us will face one of these traumas at some point, if you haven’t already. Maltreatment and tragedy gets to all of us. Life is messy and shocking, painful and tragic. Trauma takes so much from us. It will knock the breath out of you, steal your equilibrium and wound you in ways you think might never heal.
You Must Not Allow Trauma or Depression to Steal Your Hope
Our ability to rebound is dependent upon our self-worth and belief that our situation can improve (hope). Feeling inferior or unable to facilitate change can alter us bio-chemically and physically. Feelings are not facts, but they are powerful. Be willing to question yours. What you think you know about yourself might actually be a feeling. Not fact.
If I were in your herd, I would want to tell you that the internal voice that tells you you’re inferior or you’re past the point of help is a liar. 280 million people struggle with MDD. MDD has more (unwilling) followers than Ariana Grande’s Instagram account.
The voice telling you that no one will understand – also a liar. Someone will understand. Try being open to the perspectives of others, both qualified professionals and people whom you admire. As I often tell myself, the opposite of every assumption is also a possibility. Possibility leads to hope.
As your herd member, I would ask you to treat yourself as you would your beloved child or a valued animal. Entice yourself to eat something nourishing even if you’re not hungry. Coax yourself to take a quick shower or go for a short walk when what you really want is to stay in bed. Find your herd, the ones who understand and will support your journey back to happiness. There is no cure for depression, but it is measurable and treatable. Depression can be managed. You can have it, manage it and still have a joy-filled life.
Not unlike livestock, people need understanding and safety that comes only from a herd of your own kind. As Charley and I continue learning how to become better stewards of our little patch of land, we keep finding reminders that the lives of mankind and animals have been interconnected since the beginning of time. Our livestock continue to show us new ways to better understand God’s grace and provisions, and this month, we were graced with a broader understanding of herd health, for them and ourselves – thanks to two ducks, one abandoned, one rescued.
Find resources for yourself or one of your herd. Texas Health and Human Services has lots of referrals and information on suicide prevention. We invite you to spend time in the healing presence of our animals too.
Job 12:7-10
7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.