I will not say that I am "True" farm girl, I live in "Farm Country", meaning lots of large farms with cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, horses, etc. They have to tend to barn chores, getting up in the early hours of the morning to go feed, water and clean the animals, and provide general care. Most of them go off to a second job, work all day there and come home and repeat the process. This is daily living for people around here and for most, their lively hood. I like to think I am a Farm Girl in the sense that I love living off the land - to a certain extent - and knowing that what I am eating was grown by us and not mass produced.
Taking care of chickens is not a daunting task for us, give them love, food, water, let them outside, soon we will add collecting eggs, and mostly keep them clean. Two times a day we check them, or if we are walking by.
My Hubby and I raise chickens for meat, hens for eggs, and grow a vegetable garden every spring and summer. This is our first year with hens, but my parents grew meat birds, and now we grow meat birds, so they are not new to us. We do not slaughter the birds our self, we do take them to a local man who is highly recommended and is very clean.
I have posted some photos below or our "Farm". Due to the harsh winter in Nova Scotia most crops are a month behind and are producing smaller plants. For example the tomato plants are normally much larger, but they are small and already producing tomatoes. However, we are still very proud and happy with the growth of our garden and it is our first year growing corn and watermelons. I will definitely post some of the fresh produce when it has matured and is ready to eat and share with our family and friends.
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Top - Laying Hens
Bottom: Meat Bird Chicks |
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Top - Full Garden
Left to Right - Swiss Chard, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Green Beans, Broccoli, Garlic, Lettuce, Corn
(not shown close, Carrots, Green Pepper, Jalapeno Peppers, White & Red Onions, (3) Types of Potatoes, Watermelon) |
