The settlers tried to be as self-sufficient as possible. It was expensive to have things brought in. In the past, most animals were left to roam and feed themselves as they could. At Muskoka Heritage Place, you will find:
Donkeys and Mules
- Work beasts such as horses, donkeys and mules were needed to help clear the land, plow and transportation
- Donkeys and Mules require less intensive care and can eat rougher fodder than horses and were therefore a popular choice
Sheep and goats
- Sheep were valuable for both their wool and meat
- Though land in Muskoka was really difficult for farming, sheep and goats became popular since they could ignore the rocks and did very well on the undergrowth and new growth created by the clearing of land
Chickens and pigs
- Over the course of Muskoka's short warm season, chickens and pigs could grow quickly from birth to butchering size easily
- Chickens usually wouldn’t stray too far and roosted in the trees
- Pigs liked to root through the forest in addition to disposing of table scraps
Meet our farm animals
Captain Hunt mentions purchasing a cow, pigs, chickens and sheep in his diary. We don't have the space for cows, but we do have:
Donkey Abigail
- Donkey Abigail (nickname: Abby) was born at Muskoka Heritage Place overnight on August 22-23, 1998
- It is expected that she will live to be a ripe old age since the hardest work she has to do is keeping the other animals in line
- Abigail is boarded at a local farm when she isn’t living the easy life at Muskoka Heritage Place
Dolly the ewe, Layla and Daisy
- Unofficially the ewe is named Dolly
- She is 5 years old
- The lambs are unofficially named Layla and Daisy
Paul and Ringo
- The pigs are unofficially named Paul and Ringo
- Though they are getting pretty large, they are actually piglets
- They were born during spring of 2019
Unnamed chickens
- The chickens are generally about 2-3 years old and are un-named
- You can call them whatever you like, when you come visit them in person