by Jennifer Burcke    Photos by author A foot of snow fell at 1840 Farm on Thursday of last week. It was a cruel reminder that winter is not yet ready to release us from its icy grasp. It seemed incredibly harsh, given that we had enjoyed such warm sunshine only two days before. Nevertheless, […]

by Jennifer Sartell It’s that season again! Pictures of baby chicks are popping up all over my Facebook Farm Page, as fellow bloggers, homesteaders, and chicken enthusiasts share images of their new little peepers. It’s an exciting day when chicks arrive, whether they come from a store, a breeder, through the post, a broody hen, […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author   This spring the Master Gardener chapter that I’m a member of is doing a series of gardening classes and I’m excited that I will be doing a presentation entitled “Gardening with Chickens!” Before I start proclaiming the joys and benefits a gardener can expect from having a few […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author I hold a wide array of positions here at 1840 Farm.  In fact, it’s not uncommon for me to fill the role of teacher, mother, cook, handyman, gardener, and farmer all in one day without ever leaving the driveway.  Lately, I’ve also been the resident ice queen. No, I […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author Eggs are a very precious commodity here at 1840 Farm. It has been almost a full year since our flock of heritage hens began laying eggs, yet the excitement of discovering an egg in the nest box hasn’t diminished at all. In fact, we still bring each egg into […]

by Rebecca Nickols I’m going into my second winter of chicken-keeping, but this is the first molt I (or my chickens) have experienced. What I have observed is a splotchy, tousled appearance, and it may be my imagination but it seems that they’re more nervous, panicky and fearful of everything. However, the most apparent observation […]

by Rebecca Nickols Photos by author Earlier this spring, I added three new chicks to my flock, making a total of five chickens residing in my coop. The new pullets started laying in late summer and now (in the fall) I’m getting about five wonderful, delicious eggs a day! The new breeds that I added […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author Autumn is here. I’ve been trying to ignore its arrival, but I can no longer pretend that summer will go on forever. The nights are cooler, the days are shorter. It’s time to face facts and admit that the progression of the seasons is marching on with or without […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author Our hens have lived at 1840 Farm since last September. They made their long transition from day-old chicks to egg-laying hens over the course of their first five months living here. They endured an extremely harsh winter in New England and emerged relatively unscathed. Within minutes of emerging from […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author Chickens are a lot more like toddlers than I could have ever imagined. They like shiny objects and can be distracted by a meager peace offering of dry cereal. They like to play and sometimes even fight with each other. If left alone too long without something to keep […]