Farm Beginnings

This small 17-acre farm is a dream come true for us! I’ve always wanted to live on a farm, and while ours is small scale (currently the farm consists of chickens and guinea hens), it still feels like a true farm to us! Currently we sell our farm fresh organic eggs and homemade dog cookies locally, and we have started an online store as well, where we also sell homemade all-natural skin care products and more (**online shop is temporarily closed**). If you’d like to read more about our day-to-day activities, search the category “The Farm” here on the blog for farm stories, or follow us on Facebook by clicking here.

Our Farm Story

While I always wanted a farm, and constantly begged my hubby to get chickens (he had raised some in his younger years), we really didn’t have the place for it at our home where we had lived for over 20 years. When we made the decision to look for a new home (for other reasons), I never dreamed our realtor would find us an old farmhouse (with a newer addition). The original part of our house was built in 1815, and there were signs around the land that there used to be a farm here. It was a natural progression to finally get some birds and start a little farm.

So, in the spring of 2017, we got our first poultry – 12 chickens – 4 each of 3 different breeds. Each breed was selected for it’s egg laying abilities, cold tolerance, and friendly personalities. We had a small coop built and were on our way. We got our first eggs late that summer, and started selling them first to family and friends, and then beside the road.

We also had been hearing from friends about guinea hens, and how they would eat ticks, and alert to predators. We decided we’d like to give them a try too, and that same summer of 2017 we added 6 guinea hens to our flock. They have turned out to be what we expected and much, much more. You’ll find a whole series of stories about them here on the blog.

By the following spring, our organic, free range eggs were in high demand! We decided to expand our flock.

That spring we learned some hard lessons about predators, and we lost two of our chickens and two of our guinea hens to a fox. At that point we added a “run” (fenced-in area) to the coop so we had a safe place for the birds to roam a bit when we couldn’t be on constant watch. On the bright side, we got 8 more chickens of different breeds (2 each of 4 breeds), and actually hatched our own guinea hens as well!

We have a vegetable garden here as well. I sold a few plants in the spring, and a few vegetables over the summer, but the produce wasn’t as prolific as hoped. The fall of 2018 we were able to add aged chicken manure to the garden, and hope that will help for 2019. Mother Nature was tough last year too, so we’ll see on that. 

I will continue to expand the line of products I sell from the farm and at my shop in Enfield. The farm and living naturally is my passion. Spring of 2019 will bring an expansion of the coop. We will double the size. The goal is to increase the flock more, we will hatch more guineas and perhaps chickens, and the extra room will make integrating new birds with old easier. Stay tuned for whatever is coming next, and follow our blog to continue to hear updates!