Ravs--
I have a question. I live on a farm, and there are some animals which we are involved in helping to recover from threatened status, and are by nature quite delicate, like a pair of Toucans, which have to literally eat every hour. (I am about to sell them, so this particular issue shouldn't be one for long, but I need to know regardless). They eat fresh fruit and physiologically cannot hold food for long periods as they have no crop and no tolerance for several hours of food shortages. To further complicate matters, their particular food is fruit and therefore it cannot be out long else it spoils. Many of the other animals aren't so difficult because they are simply given an extra measure of food to hold them through Shabbat.

I have many friends who employ goyim to work in their homes to do those things which were not permitted them.

I always excused having a helper come for the exotics to help because

a. they were Goyim
b. They weren't paid that day
c. It was in preservation of animal's lives.

It occurs to me that I never really asked if this is permissible or not. Moreover, is it permissible to EVER have goyim do work we cannot on Shabbos?

I could swear I remember something about this from when I was a little girl--something like You may not employ a goy to do that which is prohibited you on Shabbos.

Is this right? Where is the line? Is there a line?

Shalom,
Yocheved

There are no prohibition for hiring a Goy for Shabbos (as long as he was hired before Shabbos.)

There are two problems which are similar, and must be avoided.

1) you can't hire a Jew (or a jew may not be hired) to work on Shabbos (at least his pay shouldn't be exclusively for what he did on Shabbos)

2) you can't have Goyim do Malacha for you on SHabbos. Therefore the Goy shouldn't do FOR YOU (excluding what she does for herself to make things easier) Thus feeding the birds is permitted. your allowed to feed animals that rely on you and the food is not Muktza even if they're fruit that people wouldn't eat (we'll get into exotic animal food in Muktza IYH (except it will be in a month or two )

There is also a Heter to tell a Goy to do a Malacha if there is great Tzar baalei Chayim (like to milk an engorged cow), if it's not possible any other way.

( Shulchon Orech 305:20)

I definitely need to know everything I can about animal foods (especially exotic ones). Do keep me posted, and I will watch for them! Todah Rebbe!

Rav Chaim--

Did I miss it? I need more info on exotic animal foods, especially high protein ones which are usually derived from unkosher sources, and rules for handling them. Also, this pesach I sold my chametz (like everyone else) but ran into problems with the feeding of the animals like the dairy goats and others who had chametz in their food! This year I handled it by having someone else (non-Jew) feed them, out of the ownership of the person I sold my chametz to. But I don't know if that will be an option next year during Pesach.
Todah Rabah
Yocheved