Ever wonder how it would be like living on a farm? I never thought I would ever live on a farm and look at me I winded up on one. Both my parents and in-laws own and operate their own poultry farm. Although it makes a decent living it can be a dirty job. First of all is the smell that these chicken broiler house give off. Just standing outside of one and you can smell the stench of chickens and their feces but wait until you get inside. That’s where the real fun begins. My husband and I help out on the farm by doing most of the daily maintenance task.
Every morning we would wake up early, put on our boots and mask, and then off to the chicken houses we go. First thing we do is check the feed and the water lines to make sure their working properly then from the front of the house we walk down the aisle picking up dead chickens. There are rotten ones that we might’ve missed from the day before that smells out of this world awful. There are eight broilers so it takes my husband and I two hours to complete. This goes on for five weeks then our chickens markets the sixth week. While waiting for our next batch of chickens to come in, we will have to set up the broilers for the baby chickens. This includes placing about 100 red trays along the feed lines, rolling paper towel underneath the water lines, and bringing the feed and water lines down so that the baby chicks can eat and drink. This is a hard process but if it’s not done this way the baby chicks will not survive once they come. Once they arrive the whole cycle starts all over again.
I can relate. My dad tried to be both a pig and cattle farmer. However, the government stepped in and begin to regulate the pork industry when I was about 3 years old, so it wasn't worth his time or expense to keep raising pigs. Which didn't bother me any. I still have memories of watching him "fix" the younger pigs. After he stopped, I certainly didn't miss the aroma emitting from the barn either.
ReplyDeleteYou know, there's something to be said for people who are willing to be committed to a process in order to complete a project.
ReplyDeleteI used to roof and there were plenty of days when I came home, showered and simply flopped into bed without bothering to move any of the covers. I would hardly even move until the next morning when I started the process over again. I did it though, because it was my job and no matter how much I disliked it, it was what I had committed to do.
It seems nobody is willing to commit to a task unless that task is pleasing to them. I think our whole country would change and the character of the younger generation would improve if everyone would dedicate some time to work in a really difficult or really unpleasant field of work and learn what 'work' really means as you and your husband have done.
Great blog.