Both Joy and Rick Goodwin have been around animals their entire lives.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise they’ve converted their passion for animals into a business that entertains and educates young and old.
“Rick had animals when he was younger and I grew up on a farm,” Joy said. “We don’t do well with sitting still. We’re very active and very busy.”
Rick said the idea for Rick and Joy’s Funny Farm and Joyous Fibres came from a visit several years ago to Oaklawn Farm Zoo in Aylesford.
“As soon as we went there, we knew it was something we wanted to do,” he said.
Starting with five ducks, they added geese and peacocks as well as chickens. Joy wanted to get into fibre products, so they acquired goats and then added llamas and alpacas and they also have several pot-bellied pigs.
“We have about 300 birds, along with eight alpacas, two llamas, 10 goats and the pot-bellied pigs,” Rick said.
The couple enjoys having young people come to the farm to learn about the animals. Pre-COVID-19, they were welcoming school groups from local daycares. It’s something they hope to continue once restrictions are lifted.
“We normally have a lot come out to the farm, but COVID has been interesting. We still do it, with social distancing and other COVID rules in place. The animals are great with kids,” added Rick.
The Goodwins hope it will generate interest in agriculture or veterinary medicine as a career. They are also hoping to inspire others to consider backyard farming, where permitted.
Both have full-time careers. Rick is a grocery manager at the Atlantic Superstore while Joy works at the Amherst Pharmasave. And maintaining the farm takes quite a commitment.
“I usually start about 3:30 in the morning feeding the animals before I go to work,” Rick said. “Hatching season for the birds begins in February and lasts through October while for the goats babies come in March,” he said. “It’s a 365-day-a-year job. It’s a love of being tired. At the end of a workday, or in the morning, you get to watch the animals and laugh.”
Joy said it’s fun to stand at the kitchen window and watch the animals interacting with each other.
“It’s a lot of work, yes, but it’s also a lot of fun,” she said.
Joy also enjoys the fibre side of the business, shearing the animals in June and selling the fibre for use in yarn.
“I’m trying to appeal to the spinners that are out there. We sell the fibre to be spun and I’m working on yarn for those who want the natural yarn but don’t spin,” she said. “I’ve also made bird nesting balls and I will get into drier balls later. There are all kinds of things we can do with it but we’re just at the beginning right now.”
Rick said the future includes more educational programming for young people while Joy is looking into drop spindles which are an excellent way to test out spinning without investing a lot of money in a wheel. She hopes to offer classes and workshops.
“Life is too short; do the things you want to do now. Don’t wish you were going to do them,” Rick said. “We want to enjoy life to the fullest.”
Maintaining the farm is also a costly endeavour, but neither seems to mind. To them, it’s comparable to investing in ongoing travel.
“This is our cruise,” Joy said. “The money we might put into a cruise we put into this and we get to enjoy it every day. There is a lot of work but there are a lot of little moments or things the animals do that make it all worthwhile.”
And the community has been supportive as well with people dropping off pumpkins after Halloween and Christmas trees.
To visit the farm, go to Rick and Joy’s Funny Farm Facebook page.
