Studerbabies Farm

Thursday, June 4, 2020


For a long time Brandon and I talked about getting chickens someday. Ya know, the 'ole someday plan. Until one spring day in 2018, we just did it - we bought some chickies at Tractor Supply.



we set them up in the dining room in a dog crate
and we learned...about how much chickies spill their water and peck the floor and kick up wood chips and poop.
Good Lord, the poop.
then Brandon built a chicken coop (with help from all our favorite, handiest men - thank you Pap, Chum, and Butter)
And we moved our chickies outside



our kids learned to hold them gently
we made them frozen snacks and shared our food scraps
we lost a few to hawks and fox
we learned some more
our kids started shouting to chase off hawks in the sky
Bullet and Trixie, our dogs, learned to do the same
we cleaned lots of chicken poop off the patios
we tried using rubber snakes to scare them away from the patios (that didn't work)
then we chased chickens off the patio well shouting, "Get off my porch!"
Bullet became watchdog of the patios and herder to the coop
we swept mulch off the sidewalks everyday after the chickens do their scratch and peck dance



we got our first eggs
learned how to keep them and clean them and new ways to cook them
we shared them with family, friends, and neighbors
we broke plenty
we got to understand why people say chickens are the 'gateway drug' to farming
we got a little itch for learning more about homesteading




we got our chickens through their first winter
we learned some more
we felt pretty good about raising chickens. 
in the spring of 2019, we got some more chickies
we even tried our hand at the farmers market...with four kids, in the rain...
we laughed and learned




we realized we got some roosters in that batch
having roosters right at the peak of the #metoo movement was very bad for this momma's heart and mind.
we learned some more
we realized we were not the rooster raising kind of farmers
we vowed never to get roosters again
we became the eat your pets kind of people for just this once
we didn't laugh that time, but we did learn

in the spring of 2020, I sent Brandon and the big kids out for lunch and dog food
they came home with new chickies and no lunch
we laughed and I learned....not to send the big kids to Tractor supply in the springtime
we still chase chickens off the patio shouting "Get off my porch!"
we still sweep mulch off the sidewalks everyday



we decided we had enough space, love, and ambition to expand this little farmette atop the mountain
we started researching goat raising
we learned quite a lot
we mapped out our goat pasture
I pinned a lot of stuff on pinterest
B built a fence (again with the help of our favorite handymen)
the drill got stuck, there are wild cherry trees in the pasture, and everyone had blisters on their hands
we laughed and learned






we spent a lot of money at tractor supply
we learned some more
we spent more money at tractor supply
we learned new vocabulary specific to goat raising and then hit the farm marketplaces online
we found our goats and purchased them and made plans to pick them up
we watched youtube videos, followed homesteaders on instagram, and printed animal management binders
everyone helped to build the shelter




Brandon drove two and half hours to a farm to pick up two yearlings
we brought our first two goats home: Donut and Polly
we thought we had a clue, we thought this was the easy part
but then
Polly hopped over the fence within three minutes of coming home
Brandon, Grey, and I hunted her down and returned her to the fence
we did that three more times that first day
we didn't laugh at first (we were too sweaty, and worried, and tired) 
but then we did laugh and we learned




we have three more goats coming home tomorrow
we have our fingers crossed that Donut becomes the herd queen for the three doelings
we hope they don't learn to do the fence boing boing dance from Polly


we are taking it slow and learning everyday
laughing and learning
we have five kids, two dogs, thirteen chickens, and five goats
welcome to Studerbabies farm


find us on instagram: @studerbabiesfarm 

3 comments:

  1. Love this so much! We're already planning for 2021 to be the year we get chickens and pigs.

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  2. You guys are living life Tabitha!!!! I loved this post so much. The goats are beautiful. I am so excited to
    Follow your homesteading farmette blog updates.

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  3. "We laughed and we learned"
    Gosh I love this.
    You are just amazing.

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