It all started with a walk on the first Monday of summer vacation. My children and I opened up our world to something wonderful. After dinner, I suggested to the kids that we should take a walk up the street. The pool was being repaired so they couldn’t swim yet, so we had time on our hands and it was a nice evening. We walked up to the farm at the top of our street and saw people in the field. The kids were curious about what they were doing, and so was I. So we walked closer and asked them what was going on. They graciously invited us to come over to where they were and they showed us! From that moment on a beautiful relationship began with the kids, Lynn, Jeff, and I as we help them with caring for their chickens and cows.
Tending To The Chickens On The Farm
Lynn and Jeff Andrews were tending to their chickens on the farm that night. They were gently coaxing them to go into the chicken tractor for the night and refilling their grain bins and water bowls. We were all full of questions. What kind of birds are they, what do they eat, why do they go in the wagon each night, when do they wake up, what do they eat, how many eggs do they lay, you name it, we asked it! After Lynn and Jeff patiently answered all our questions, they invited us back the next day to help collect eggs and to put the birds to bed again!
I always run by their farm and we drive by it often since it is so close to our house. So we always saw the goings on at the farm, but never knew what happens on the farm. You’d be surprised. It’s like a show where you see the stage, but don’t really know what goes on behind the scenes. This is a busy little place! They have chickens that lay eggs, chickens that are going to lay eggs soon, and younger chickens called Barnvelders, that will also lay eggs once they get older.
Tending To The Cows On The Farm
Not only do they care for their chickens, but there is a beekeeper that has hives on the property. He tends to the bees there with about 15 hives on the property. There are also cows that the Bozzutos have Jeff take care of. Of those cows, Jeff and Lynn own one calf named Moon who was born on their farm three months ago. Moon wasn’t cared for properly by his mother so they are caring for him on their own with bottles and trying to integrate him with the other herd. We love feeding Moon his bottle. He sucks it down within a few minutes and is looking for the second one right away! If you don’t give it to him he starts to chase you around the field and nudges you!
All The Things We Are Learning On The Farm
It’s been close to a month since that walk and we haven’t missed our time to feed the chickens, feed the moon, or put them all to bed except when we had to leave for travel. Otherwise, we have made helping at the farm our priority. But it’s not a chore, we really all enjoy it. So much so, that when the kids have play dates they invite their friends to come up and see what they have been doing all summer.
What I also love most is everything that we are learning. I had no idea why the cows were in the field they were in and then the reason why the chickens are moved around in that same field every couple of days. It all has to do with the bugs and protein in the grass cow manure that the chickens eat, to help cut down the fly population, which then helps the cows. Chickens eat ticks, and bugs, and the cows eat the grass which has carbs at the top of the tall grass and when they get down to the bottom stems of the grass it contains more protein. This is another reason why eating farm-fresh eggs is better for you. The chickens are eating from pastures and not in cages so they are eating more nutrients from the land and not processed foods that may contain chemicals. We also learned that it takes 26 hours to make an egg and 24 hours of that time is to develop the shell. There were two baby calves born in the past week and the children got to name them!
This farm life experience has been so rewarding to us and I know that Jeff and Lynn appreciate the help. Jeff is so pleased to see that the young kids are still interested in what happens on farms and that they care, work hard, and have a good work ethics. I’m glad, too. Not only are they learning and enjoying this, but I may be enjoying it more than them! Stay tuned as we share our adventures on Facebook and Instagram throughout the summer!