Farming....the love of a lifetime

Working with livestock is a dance. One that is never totally learned or rehearsed. One that changes over time. Farmers that have worked their harvet for years have "eureka" moments....

A storm blows into the valley. The winds pick up on the ridge as Rick and I pull the stakes from the hard ground and move the portable chicken fencing. As we tried to move the chickens toward the portable shelter, it became apparent that there where limits to the distance the chickens felt comfortable moving. I tried to herd them toward the coop, but they broke rank and scattered back towards their old coop site. Again, and again we tried to move the birds, only to have one or two rebel chickens run out of the pack causing all the chickens to second guess their directions, and fall back to their original destination. I cursed the chickens as the rain came in and the communication between my husband and I was becoming more hostile.

Why are we doing this anyway? We both have jobs? Do we need this hassle? Stupid chickens. The chickens weren’t stupid, they were just chickens. ....following genetically driven traits that have served them well for hundreds of years. We were the stupid ones. Getting all in a huff about moving these chickens. It dawned on me at that moment, we were the ones being stupid. I turned to Rick and said, “Isn’t it beautiful up here?” He paused and looked at me. The tightness in his face relaxed. At that moment I realized why I farm. It can be a love-hate relationship, but it is a true love, the love of a lifetime.

The clouds billowed above moving fast into the valley, highlighted by the setting sun. It was quite....very quite, except for the trees swaying back and forth, creating a rythme of their own. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and smelled the rain in the air.

We moved the chicken coop back 10 feet and the chickens comfort limit was met. They happily followed us to the coop and settled in for the night as we placed the electric fencing around them. The chickens and the farmers had came to a mutual agreement.