There is a cycle and flow to the work on our farm. Some things happen every day like chores for the animals. Other tasks and projects are cyclical on a weekly or monthly basis. One of the defining features of my work flow is the cycle of chicken batches. Every 3 weeks we process a batch of chickens and get a new batch of chicks. I call this my chicken moving week and this week was one of them.
Three weeks ago, Lewis and I had planned to help Chad catch chickens. Lewis was very excited to participate in what I do, help me and Chad and work with his friend Cedar. Unfortunately that week we also had a positive (asymptomatic) covid test in our house, we had to watch from the window. This week Lewis was not going to miss his chance.
After dinner Lewis and I met Chad and Cedar to head out to the field. We were slightly delayed when Lewis noticed that the tractor was leaking hydraulic fluid. A quick trip down to the barn, a few torques on some wrenches and we were headed out to the field with a wagon load of empty crates and three content faces riding behind me. I remember the feeling the first time I rode behind a tractor on a wagon. I was much older than Lewis is now, yet I could still sense that same feeling of excitement and joy as we rode out to do our work.
Cedar and Lewis got right to work. They are both old enough and strong enough to be able to move most things around. Chad and I unloaded the pallets of empty crates and staged them next to the coop with the birds we were going to catch. Meanwhile, Lewis and Cedar removed all the hanging feeders from the coops, and began staging the empty crates inside our first coop.
The basic strategy for catching chickens is to move slowly and calmly so they don’t get too scared and stressed. So we practiced our slow walking and calm movements as we “herded” the chickens into a smaller area we create with the empty crates. Then it is catching time. We work as a team, two people working on filling one crate fast enough so the chickens in the crate don’t have time to jump out. We count out loud so your team member knows when to stop at the 8 bird per crate goal.
I am so proud of Lewis and Cedar. They were a joy to work with, and reminded me that work can be fun and exciting if that is your perspective. I often get caught in the mental space of work being a means to the end: completion. Lewis and Cedar enjoyed the processes of learning what to do, doing it together and marveling at the crazy things that happened along the way. Their enthusiasm helped me find that same enjoyment as I worked along side them.
We took a few breaks to rest and drink water and soon we were finished catching one coop and on to the next. It took us about 1 hour to catch 470 birds. Not bad considering Lewis weighs less than 50 lbs and he was catching chickens that weigh about 6 lbs. That is like me catching 23 lb turkeys!
By 9pm, it was getting dark and we had all the chickens in crates. Lewis and Cedar worked together to thread a ratchet strap though each crate and around the stack of crates. This was some serious teamwork and they kept up with me and Chad loading the strapped pallets onto the wagon. I was impressed at their resourcefulness and equal team dynamics. They figured out how to use a fence post to thread the strap through the pallet, gently feeling their way through the dark and meeting the waiting hand of the other to grab the strap. One of them held the strap and ratchet while the other tightened it down. All with levity and joy that was inspiring to watch and listen to.
When we arrived back at the farm it was fully dark. Chad and Cedar walked up to their homes and Lewis and I walked back to ours. Even with a quick shower before bed Lewis still asked me with a bright smile if we had time to read some Harry Potter (we’re almost done Prisoner of Azkaban…) before bed. When I asked him if he knew what time it was, he went and looked at a clock. “Wow Papa, it is almost 10 o’clock…I don’t think I’ve ever seen 10 o’clock at night. I guess we can go right to bed.”
That is just what we both did.
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