Someone: "So, how often do you milk?
Me: "Twice a day. Milkings are spaced about 12 hours apart."
Someone: "Wow. So, you have to stay pretty close to home, huh? Do you ever get to go on vacation?"
A few backyard chickens require about as much commitment as an inside dog. Sure, you can go away for the weekend, but you'll need to arrange for someone to stop by to check their water and feed and pick the eggs up. Anyone could do it.
Make that 100 chickens and throw in two goats who need to be milked, and your average next-door-neighbor would probably balk. Milking a goat is not an especially difficult task, but (unlike pouring a little feed into a bowl) it does require a learned skill.
Looking back over the past year, this seems crazy, but I'm pretty sure it's true: we've not left town overnight as a family since last October. We've all left town at various times for various reasons, but either me or John has been here to cover animal care EVERY DAY. And, the scary thing is that we really don't even have anyone else trained to fill in should some type of emergency arise. Now that we are settling in to our new routine here at the farm, it's time to remedy this situation.
We are looking to train a couple folks to fill in during times when we can't be at the farm or would just like a little time away.
So, here's our little ad. Please pass it along to whomever you think might have an interest.
Brood Farm is looking to train farm help who would be capable of stepping in and caring for the farm in our absence. Prospective farmers need to enjoy and be comfortable around animals. While prior experience with chickens and/or goats may be helpful, I can attest that it is not necessary. Dependability and a willingness to learn, however, are key. While not labor intense, the work will require the ability to maneuver a 50 lb. feed sack and 3 daily visits to the farm. The farmer would need to provide his/her own transportation to the farm and have a way to text or call us while here, should any questions or concerns arise in our absence. The morning and evening farm visits would be approximately an hour in length, and the mid-day visit would take only about 5 minutes (as it is just a stop in to gather the morning eggs). The details of farm duties will vary depending upon the season but will include general feeding and watering of all farm animals, milking of the goats, gathering of the eggs, and processing/packaging milk and eggs for storage. We will provide multiple opportunities to practice with milking during training as we show new farmers the ropes.
We are hoping to find a couple good helpers very quickly and begin training. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please pass along this information. To inquire about the work or discuss further specifics, send me an email (ashley@broodfarm.com) or FaceBook message. Thanks for the help!