One of the joyful parts of our chicken coop is the fact that we have so many different breeds of chickens. The Plymouth Rocks, Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds along with our Easter Eggers and Black Australorps give us multi colored eggs which of course are more fun to count.
Life on the farm
The Carole Sund Farm has added a goat breeding program to the many activities we offer here. The introduction of this facet of the farm has been incredibly popular with the participants of the Sund Center. We started with mixed Pygmy/Nigerian goats that we breed for pets and lawn mowing. Our farmer/participants not only get to hold and sometimes bottle feed these cute kids, but they learn how to socialize and take care of them, as well as earning money for their work.
The goat kids become very familiar with people while they are little, and once they are weaned (around 3 months) they are sold.
In 2019 we have added a new aspect to our breeding program. We are now members of the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) breeding registered Nigerian Dwarf goats for dairy and show. This will not only allow the Sund Center farmers the ability to participate in showing their goats, but will also provide the community another resource to purchase or sponsor registered goats for those involved in FFA and 4- H programs.
The sale of our young goat kids and our other animal products from the farm provide our farmers with steady paid work in an environment rich with creative activities.
Farm fresh eggs anyone? Many of the farmers here also choose to take care of the chickens.
There are about thirty laying hens that require a fair amount of attention. Since our farmers are so diverse in their abilities, so too are the farm chores. Some help clean the coop or the pen monthly, some collect eggs daily and others ensure that there is food and water, or even help scoot them back in the pen at night.
