Chickens.
Yup – they would be the first livestock on Monica’s farm. But knowing nothing, she knew she needed to educate herself. It was time to start some research.
A church friend had six chickens in a very small hut. Water and feed was carried daily for a reward of a few delicious eggs. Monica’s closest neighbor, Rae, had more than 300 chickens housed in one large cinder-block coop and three brooding coops, with many feeding stations. After visiting both farms, Monica knew wanted something in-between.
Friends Norm and Dawn once again came to the rescue! In exchange for building a hunting blind on Monica’s land, they would teach and help Monica to build a chicken shed. (The joys of farm construction projects is a different story,)
Rae offered to sell Monica some of the older chickens to start her flock. If you have never tried catching a chicken with a foot hook, you should. Chickens don’t just run away in two dimensions; they can jump more than a foot in the air to get away from that contraption! Many laughs and a few skinned knees later, Monica had 12 laying hens. (Of course she would do her best to take care of her new flock, but should they die it was not a great financial loss. And if she tired of them, they could find their way to the soup pot.)
When you are new in a small town, everyone knows it. While buying some parts for the ATV, Monica met a gal who raised “Heritage” cattle. Fascinated, Monica discovered that Irish Dexters are small (maturing at about 40 inches at the shoulder and 700-900 pounds) but are not considered miniature, since there is no full-sized version of them. Dexters were developed in Ireland over 500 years ago by poor farmers who needed cattle for more than one purpose; they are good for milk and/or meat, and can be trained as oxen.
Dexters are intelligent, curious, and hardy – usually able to calve unassisted. They sounded like the perfect breed for Monica! And the gal lived locally so she would be around to answer questions.
Monica bought two: a boy and a girl. (Bull and heifer … there was going to be a lot of new vocabulary to learn!) She named the black heifer Olive (for Olive Oyl – the Navy Reservist in Monica had always loved Popeye). Whenever the red bull spotted Monica, he was all love and kisses, begging for the apple-flavored horse treats she always brought to the pasture. He became Scooby and the treats – Scooby snacks. That spring and summer, Monica spent many hours in the pasture with her cattle.
But two young cattle cannot consume seven acres of fenced pasture. The grass grew longer, the thistles grew thicker, and the riding lawnmower was definitely not up to the task. Monica knew she did not like lamb – what about goat? Goats are cute. And she had eaten goat meat when deployed overseas in the Navy. Monica knew she liked it better than lamb.
As said, when you are new in a small town, everyone knows it. Someone told Monica that there were some male goat bottle-babies for sale just south of Wanamingo. And six wethers (farmer-talk for castrated goats – more vocabulary to learn) easily fit in the back of the minivan. Five had been disbudded (dehorned) but one hadn’t. A corner of the pole barn was fenced off for them (more construction projects). The young goats – Stew, Ribs, Chops, Patty, Link, and Horny – were so very cute.
Goats aren’t grazers, they are browsers. (One of Monica’s favorite sayings is: You don’t know what you don’t know. Four more head, which means more pasture, more fencing.) She brought the goats branches with leaves (more trails in the woods from which to harvest more firewood for cutting, hauling, splitting, and stacking). The goats loved those branches!! Monica wondered if there was a more efficient way of getting the goats the food they so loved. She tried taking Horny on a leash into the woods – it sort of worked.
Next, she grabbed a bucket of grain and tried walking the whole bunch out there. And they followed!!
Goat walks became a regular occurrence. And they sure made clearing the trail easier!! The little herd learned to stay close and would follow Monica (well, the grain bucket) back to the barn each time.
Monica had no experience with livestock – let alone three different species. Rae had tilled a big garden plot with her tractor and Monica had planted a bunch of seeds. Monica had little experience with gardens – but seeds were cheap. And don’t forget about the winter’s worth of firewood to harvest. And the seven acres of overgrown pasture and five acres of lawn. It was a very busy summer!
But she was in heaven! Monica loved viewing the gorgeous sun - rises from the kitchen window and the spectacular sunsets in the back. And watching the farmers in the neighboring fields till and harvest the corn and beans. And – of course – watching her dog, four cats, 12 chickens, two cattle, and six goats grow and frolic in this wonderful pastoral setting.
