The Ugly Face of Farming

We are quickly learning that all things farming aren't streets paved of gold. I try to keep my posts light and cheerful, but in all fairness to those who are dreaming of living this life, I feel the need to share the dark side. Yes Luke, I am your father.

I've written before about the batch of baby Americauanas we lost. The first few were heartbreaking. After that, the effect of finding a dead baby wasn't as stinging.
Last week, Tom the turkey got sick. If you've read my previous blogs, you know how much we love that goofy, handsome boy. I was scared, because I realized that if we lost him, I'd have one of those "can I really do this" moments. I also knew I had to suck it up, so I quarantined him and got him on some pretty potent antibiotics. I am very happy to report that he fully recovered and is back in the great outdoors being his studdly, happy self.

The heat over the past few weeks, it's been almost unbearable. Most days the heat index is around 110. Try walking 8 acres in the blaring heat of the day and not break a sweat. Go ahead, I dare ya.
It's been really rough on our birds. We are constantly replenishing fresh water and food. I wash the waterers everytime I give them water to keep yeast out of their systems. I go out and sit with them so they know we still love them and aren't trying to roast them slowly. We've lost two of our turkeys to heat stroke.

This morning I went out and found one of our Buckeye girls dead. We've had great success with them...no sickness, no deaths, nothing. Unfortunately four of the chickens we thought were girls were not.
Six roosters on nineteen girls is not a good thing. Whichever girl one rooster picks, the others all want. I'm afraid that's what caused the loss of this one. We locked four of the roos outside tonight. This will fix the problem temporarily, but unfortunately means it's time for us to cull them.

We knew going into this, that this day would come. It's the reason we set out on this journey. To humanely raise our animals for food, and to give them all the love and happiness they deserve in exchange for giving their lives for us. It still doesn't make the realization any easier. But as with the babies, it will get easier, and won't bite so hard.

This life is a lot harder than I ever imagined it would be. It's tiring, draining, frustrating, heartbreaking, and mentally exhausting. Other than being a wife and mother, it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done. Never in my life have I felt such a sense of accomplishing something when I lay my head down at night. I say to you, without a doubt, I wouldn't trade it for anything.