Working on a backyard farm is very different from working in an office. Yes, I have ditched being surrounded by rectangles in favor of being surrounded by nature. But in an office the most injured I ever got was the occasional paper cut or sore toes from wearing fancy shoes. On the homestead, the possible accidents are way more interesting. Here’s what I’ve learned this week:

1. If you have trained your chickens to use a waterer with a red base, you should never wear exposed red toenail polish around those same chickens. Pain may wake you up quickly, but it isn’t pleasant first thing in the morning.
2. If you know your rabbit pees when he eats, you really should not bend over to pick something up from under his cage after putting food in his bowl. Rabbit pee does not wash out as easily as you’d think.
3. If you don’t like spiders crawling on you, you should not harvest rabbit greens from tall bunches of grass with your bare hands. Eeeek!
4. If you are not sure how well balanced the waterer is, you shouldn’t try to fill it up when it is above your head. Sudden and severe drenching can occur.
5. If you have not yet reinforced the fence around the yard, you shouldn’t chase a loose rabbit into a corner in an attempt to catch it. You – no matter your size – can not fit through the same size opening that a rabbit can. (And trying will only lead to more frustration, and possibly leaving some skin behind.)
6. If you are in a hurry, it will take you longer. This is especially true when dealing with wire cages, because somehow the corners are sharper the faster you try to work.

And finally – no matter how careful you are, no homestead should be without hot water, soap, dry clothes, antibacterial cream, and band-aids!