Sam has been passionate about birds since the first grade, when he petitioned his parents to let him raise chickens and promised he’d do all the work. That might not have been completely the way things went in the beginning, but he does most of the work today. It wouldn’t be fair to discount the efforts of his three younger brothers, sister, and parents, but it is fair to say that Sam is the energy and drive behind the farm. His family started with nine hens, but Sam always has his eyes on new birds and new breeds. Today, he raises several varieties of chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys and is hoping someday to expand to quail and pigeons.

Henrietta was the first bird to hatch on the farm. Sam built a homemade incubator and turned the eggs by hand three times a day for the 30-day incubation period. Two eggs ended up being fertile, but unfortunately the second chick made an ill-conceived turn mid-hatching and suffocated. As heart-breaking as this was (it happened in the middle of the night, but we caught it on web cam), Henrietta made a successful albeit lengthy exit 72 hours after pipping (24 hr is normal). She’s special not only because she was our first home-hatched bird but also because her feet were originally curled under themselves, so essentially it was like she was walking on her knuckles. Sam taped them flat with masking tape and changed the tape every so often until her feet were growing the right way. Because of her foot deformities, she had trouble learning to walk, but Sam helped her practice and picked her up when she fell.  Not surprisingly, Sam and Henrietta formed a special bond; he because he put so much care into raising her and she because, well, Sam was the only other duck around. Or maybe it was the other way and she thought she was a person. In any case, we’re happy that she has finally conceded to living in the duck pen rather than in the house. 

Hens are particular about where they lay their eggs, and once they find a spot they like, it can be hard to convince them to lay anywhere else. Garage Chicken somehow wandered into our garage and, for reasons known only to her, thought a trashcan full of garbage was a great spot to lay an egg. It took us a while and a few eggs to catch on, but at that point she really didn’t want to lay anywhere else, so we decided that trash can was no longer for trash but was her personal nest. We outfitted it with a plush red pillow for her laying comfort (not to mention the cleanliness and safety of the egg); if the pillow went missing, she would cluck up a racket. If the garage doors were closed when she was ready to lay, she’d come around the back of the house and peck at the sliding door to let us know she needed to get to her spot. 

This was the situation for a couple of years, but now that our entire bird area is enclosed in an 8-foot-tall fence to keep our gardens safe from chickens and our chickens safe from our springer spaniel, Garage Chicken has found a new laying spot. Most likely, she's one of the chickens who lays her eggs in an empty feed barrel in the barn!

After the unfortunate lonely arrival of Alexander (see above), we got a replacement shipment of goslings, who being younger than Alexander gave him the head spot in the gaggle. Pictured here are Alexander, Lily, Maya, and Duncan (counter-clockwise from bottom right). 

Muscovies are the oddballs of the duck world and of our farm. Unlike other domestic breeds of duck, they are not descended from the mallard. They are thought to have originated from South and Central America and Mexico and to be more closely related to geese than other ducks. Although they are tropical birds, they adapt well to cold climates. One of their more interesting oddities is that they don’t quack or honk. The ladies make more of a musical trill, and the males make a puffing sound like they’re learning to pronounce their F’s. If you visit our farm, you’ll be able to spot the male muscovies because of the prominent red knobs on their heads.