I wished for a nap this week and never got one. The fortifications that Lewis and I made on the brooder have proven good enough to discourage our opportunistic resident raccoon. We had no more break-ins and no more midnight chicken carnage.
Sunday evening Lewis was our helper again and he helped me and Chad catch and crate the chickens for processing on Monday. With me and Chad catching the chickens Lewis was our “lid master” and kept the chickens from hoping out of the crates by closing the lid and opening it when we had a new chicken to put inside. This sounds trivial, but is very helpful and kept us in the rhythm. This was our second time catching together and Lewis was full of energy and enthusiasm. Lewis is now a pro at strapping the pallets of crates, so they don’t shift or fall on the wagon ride back to the farm. This involves threading the strap past all the grass through the bottom of the pallet, then hooking the strap back to itself around the stack of crates and tightening the whole setup. All before the tractor comes back for the next pallet.
I’m still so proud to work with him.
On Monday morning we recruited some extra help. Welcome Otis Wekin to the Reber Rock Team. We have known Otis since he was younger than Lewis and it is a joy to see him blossom into the young man that he has become. Otis rides his electric bicycle from his house in Essex, (about 6 miles away) and will be coming just about every day to help with the daily chores. This week Lewis and I showed him how we clean a coop to prepare for the next young batch of chickens. Then we loaded up the chicks from the brooder and took them out to enjoy the warm sun, green grass and loads of bugs hopping about. Yum.
Lewis and Otis have played together a few times and our paths have crossed, but they immediately found a working bond. Lewis is only 7, but he has more farm experience than Otis does at this point, so I could see the pride in his face as he was able to show Otis where certain tools were, how to catch a chick, and the way we empty a crate of chicks into the field coop. Otis and Lewis also quickly found their rhythm as a team doing morning chores together. Lewis drives the tractor and Otis manages the chickens, and vice versa.
On Monday night at dinner, Lewis asked if he could do chores with Otis every day. I told him that would be great and he’s been out there every day since.
Reber Rock Farm Blog 