Tag: chickens

Life Lessons On The Farm

July 29, 2017

This week was filled with a lot of changes. The weather was swinging from 60 degrees to 85 degrees and high humidity back to 60 degrees and breezy.  We went from sweatshirts to sweating and back to sweatshirts. But the biggest events happening at the farm were events that involved the chickens.

The Big Move

The chickens were moved from the front field all the way to the back where the cows are. That was a long ride down the old rocky farm trail. The kids rode with Jeff on the tractor and Kevin and I walked behind keeping an eye on out. All was well as they arrived in their new location.

Hawk Eyes

Unfortunately, the new location for the chickens have put them right into the view of the hawks and their fledglings. Sadly two birds were picked off by the hawks.

The children had the opportunity to see what happens on a farm and what a dead chicken looks like. Adrienne has more curiosity than Kevin. She didn’t mind seeing the guts so much. Kevin didn’t care for it.

The Chicken Whisperer

Jeff likes to call my son the chicken whisperer. One night when we put the chickens away my son noticed that one of the birds wasn’t looking week. We pointed her out to Lynn and she took a look at it and was upset to see how thin and emaciated the bird looked. She wouldn’t drink water when offered it. So Lynn was going to bring it up to the house to give it some TLC. She was doing ok for a few days, but did die a few days later. However, it was in a peaceful environment and died in peace thankfully because my son noticed a difference in the behavior of the bird. He is very observant and has picked up on the subtle hints on the farm from day one.

Baby Moon

Baby Moon the calf is my favorite on the farm. After I fed him a bottle in Monday he pushed me halfway up a hill with his head!  He was following me around like a shadow and was so playful!  I had to take some pictures with the little love bug.

Savoring The View

Friday night as we were getting the chickens put away for the night in the greenhouse I saw the sky turning a bright pink with the sunset.  As everyone else was working I ran over to the street to take a picture. The sunset was so mesmerizing. I couldn’t leave it. I was having an emotional day for several reasons and this caused me to take a long pause and soak it all in.

Lynn was walking back to her house and she also saw it and stopped what she was doing. We stood there for about 20-30 minutes and talked and appreciated that moment in time. It was so healing to my soul. I felt like my angels in heaven were painting in the sky a beautiful gift for me.

The Gifts

We really enjoy the time we have on the farm and are very grateful to Jeff and Lynn for sharing their time and place with us. There is so much to learn and see each day.  Adrienne is a lot less fearful of dogs, she is getting braver around the cows and has finally picked up a chicken without fear.

My husband and I enjoy the peace and calm that nature offers and seeing what our children are learning from Jeff and Lynn.

Farm Life

It All Started With A Walk

July 13, 2017

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 in 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 property. He tends to the bees there with about 15 hives on 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 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 and 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 good work ethic.  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!

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