18 Jul The Realities of Rain

Growing up I had mixed emotions about a summer rainstorm. On one hand, it ran the risk of ruining a good time. But, I also worked as a life guard, so sometimes that summer rain was a very welcome reprieve from screaming kids and a chance to read all the left behind gossip magazines.

I am learning that as a farmer, those mixed emotions about rainstorms are still alive and well.

Rain is a nessecity for any garden. That’s pretty much Garden 101. So, a good soaking of rain means healthy plants… and that the gardener doesn’t have to give her arms a workout hauling a hose around the farm.

But, too much of anything isn’t great. And, too much rain as a farmer can be devastating.

In the last post, Adam shared how bad the rain has been this year. It’s delayed plants getting in the ground and completely wiped out some that had made it into the garden. To help you really see how bad its been, here are a few images after the many heavy rain storms we have received:

One evening in June it rained so hard and fast. It was almost like the rain came in sideways. The sound of the storm put Theo easily to bed while Adam and I spent the next hour or so watching the rain come down in buckets. We had planted acres of grass just days before to prepare new pasture for cows. (We are hoping to add cattle for pasture raised beef in the next year!)

We needed rain to get the grass seed going, but this much rain surely would wash all the seeds away. Unfortunately at that point, with our business backgrounds, you don’t see seeds: You see dollars.

Convinced that Theo’s first year of college was being swept away with the now rushing current of water on our property, we were feeling pretty down. The rain started to slow so Adam went outside to survey the damage. A few moments later, he returned to the kitchen and announced that all our chickens were dead.

What?!

We had two different groups of egg layers on our property, totaling about 160. As well as a batch of 100 meat chickens.

“You’re joking,” I asked Adam, really hoping he was.

Adam is many things, but a joker is not one of them. I should have known better.

“It’s the meat birds. All of them are dead.”

He quickly went back outside and I crossed the house to get a good view of what was going on from the covering by our front door. As I stepped off the landing, Adam was out by chickens, but I heard “cheep”-ing.

Phew.

Adam yelled for me to go get my hair dryer and meet him in the garage.

There, he laid each water logged bird on the ground. They were all alive, but they looked terrible. Their feathers were soaked exposing their skin and many of the birds were shivering. Some were breathing hard. Others had slow, labored breaths.

Fair Warning: This photo is hard to look at.

I got the hair dryer hooked up with an extension cord and we took turns drying each- one by one- for the rest of the evening.

Soon, many started to get back on their feet and their feathers fluffed back up. We continued to pass the hair dryer back and forth across the birds. By the time we decided we needed to head to bed ourselves, the chickens looked and acted worlds better. We set up gates and barriers in the garage to keep them off the wet grass and warm for the night.

By morning, they were back to their normal peppy chickens and very ready to get back out on pasture. Since then, this group of birds have been happy, without concern and healthy. They look great and will be processed this week.

We were- and still- so relieved after that scary, wet night.

It’s a reminder of the element of life that comes with raising animals. Even animals that are raised for the purpose of eventually nourishing our customers and ourselves. One of the things that gives us comfort on the day that they head to This Old Farm is that they did have a great life with us. They were able to have fun and be the animals they are meant to be, but they received the best care.

… Even if it means getting creative with my own personal hair dryer.

These chickens will be available at the Farmer’s Market and on the farm starting 7/22/2017. All the whole chickens are claimed, but there will be plenty of chicken breasts, leg quarters, wings, and chicken frames. Another batch of chickens will be available in late September. Feel free to contact Claire or Adam to reserve the cuts you would like or arrange pick up.