Isabel’s Story at Totnes Rare Breeds Farm

You definitely should love the work on the farm and the animals living there. The Rare Breeds Farm in Totnes does not only have rare breeds like some goats or geese they also have for example a snake, two tortoise and chipmunks. It was very interesting to learn so much about all of them. I was able to answer a lot of different questions after a while, questions like “What is the difference between a lama and an alpaca?” or “Why are the red squirrels a rare breed in England?” The farm manager was a very lovely, helpful and funny person. She explained everything very easily to me and even if I didn’t understand everything right away or I had to ask one or two more times she took time and explained it again or even showed me what she meant. I felt very welcomed on the farm. It was a great atmosphere because we all had the same interest…The animals. That made the last day a little sad. The work on the farm was so great that I also came in on Sundays.

A waterproofed coat, pans and shoes are definitely needed because you never know about the weather in England. If it rains you can’t just say, that you are going to stay inside because the animals still need food, water and cleaning. But if it rained and we didn’t have too much to do outside we all gathered in the ICU (Intensive care unit). There are the snake, the chinchillas, the hedgehog, the chicks and some harvest mice. Because some chicken or geese were rare breeds we tried to hatch the eggs in an incubator which is also in the ICU. I saw one egg hatch on my very first day. That was a great experience. Just one experience from a lot which were great. One other very good thing is that the farm is providing you with lunch. And it was great lunch, always a salad and a sandwich and chips if you wanted with cold and hot drinks.

I wouldn’t want to miss one day of my gained experience on the farm and I hope that the following students have the chance to get a very great stay as well. If you want to find out more about the farm then visit: http://www.totnesrarebreeds.co.uk/ 

It is worth a visit! Especially if you never touched an owl before ;-)