Henny Penny standing guard- and looking for treats.

Over the years the farm has seen many phases of chickens. From Grandpa David’s first business venture selling eggs as a young child, to processing them for meat as a job working for chicken Murray down the road. To Grandpa Normans little prized flock of banties that provided eggs and the occasional rooster stew. To the mean silkie rooster who lived with a brood of hens in the big barn during my childhood causing my trips from my parents house to my grandparents house across the dooryard to be a dangerous trek usually accompanied by a broom, just in case. To the chickens my mom got right before we moved back in 2021 when she started selling eggs. To our first flock as a family starting with Chicky, a banty hatched here on the farm, and some banty brothers and sisters from the store to keep him company. To 2022, the year of the meat birds! From way too early in the year to way too late in the year mom worked moving meat chicks from here to there, and finally chicken tractors from here to there. Now this has been the year of laying hens, indoor brooders, greenhouse brooders, chicken tractor hen houses, expanding, and growing, and learning.

Over the winter our small flock of chickens weren’t producing enough eggs to support eating them daily, as well as baking with them, so we mistakenly bought an organic dozen from the grocery store. My husband was shocked at the difference and bewildered at how he went his whole life eating such sub par eggs. From taste, to color, to viscosity even the store bought eggs were lacking up and down. There are plenty of blogs explaining the benefits of eating farm fresh food to include vegetables, eggs, meat, and dairy products, so I won’t belabor that point. What I will emphasize is how much it means to the families you support when you are supporting your health with the healthier choice.

Compost pile scavenger hunt, fresh fruits and veggies come each week on donation along with free ranging and foraging. The fence is a predator deterrent not for keeping the chickens in.

Not only do I recommend finding a local source for your farm fresh food,but beyond that, I recommend starting your own chicken flock. It can be very simple, cost efficient, and low maintenance, with a high value reward. The eggs are a byproduct of the labor of caring for another creature who provides for you. It is a simplistic way to add to the ecosystem of folks cutting out to get back to our human roots of sustaining and providing for ourselves, with littler reliance on big box stores or commercially raised goods. While supporting your local farm is a wonderful compliment, and life choice ultimately, we rejoice at seeing people with the grit and willingness to take a step toward connecting with God’s green earth again with self-sufficiency.

Undoubtedly you will enjoy the eggs, but you will also enjoy the chickens. If you spend much time at all staring out your window at your free ranging flock, or hanging out around your coop, you will learn each chicken is a special creature and has a personality. We have the joy of having names for a lot of our girls and boys and that quite adds to the fun of it. Henny Penny pictured above will most often be seen begging on the back doorstep, or otherwise leading a charge of scavenging hens beyond the limits of our yard. Pickle is a tiny banty rooster who has legs that are far too short and it is hilarious to watch him run. You’ll learn who the bullies are, who the best layers are, who the curious ones are, and sometimes you’ll even get one who is friendly and doesn’t mind being held. Part of the passion for farming is sometimes curated through noticing such things and finding joy and solace in them; of course, that can be applied in many other ways in our lives and should ought to be done much more frequently. Thank you for reading this, come back next week for more 🙂

Be Blessed,

Lorin