by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author Last Wednesday, the first day of summer officially arrived at 1840 Farm. In New England, bidding a final farewell to the previous winter and the mud season that follows is an annual tradition. I normally feel the need to celebrate the arrival of the heat. Without the hot summer […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author   I don’t know who originally coined the phrase “Necessity is the Mother of Invention.”  While I’m unsure of its origin or inspiration, I am willing to make a bold statement about its application.  I believe firmly that Necessity must have been a chicken keeper. I pride myself on […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author I’m not sure where the last month has gone. It seems like I blinked and it was over. As I sit here writing this post, I can hardly believe that our latest batch of baby chicks aren’t really babies anymore. It’s true. While they are only five-weeks old, they […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author One of the most difficult decisions involved in the chicken keeping experience is also one of the first to be made. Choosing which breed of chickens to live in your coop is a daunting task. In my last post, I wrote about selecting the best breed for your backyard […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author So, you’ve decided to enter the world of chicken keeping. Congratulations and welcome to the club. We don’t have jackets. Instead, we have chicken coops in every size, type and color. I think that you’ll agree that a coop is a much more useful. Let’s face it, chickens don’t […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author Asking questions, gathering information, and educating yourself are all important parts of the chicken keeping experience. At the onset of your chicken keeping experiment, there seem to be more questions than answers. Should we use a stationary chicken coop or a mobile chicken tractor? Do we want to keep […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author The welcome sign is always out on the coop at 1840 Farm. It usually welcomes guests to our farm. This week, it will be welcoming our new batch of day-old chicks. The big day has finally arrived! Today is the hatching day for our new chicks. We’ve been waiting for this […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author Three generations of my family call 1840 Farm home. While we sometimes have differing views on a variety of topics, this month we’re all in agreement when it comes to the excitement that is waiting right around the corner. In fact, the date April 30, 2012, is circled on […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author I’m still trying to recover from the disappointment of my failed natural Easter egg experiment. I had been counting on using these unique and beautifully colored hard-boiled eggs to decorate our Easter table at 1840 Farm. That was, until I removed the eggs from their naturally colored liquids and […]

by Jennifer Burcke Photos by author I had big plans for this post. I spent hours researching and preparing for this story just in time for Easter weekend. In fact, I even enlisted the help of my children. They donned their aprons and spent a few hours in the kitchen assisting me. We eagerly awaited […]