Since Father’s Day is just a couple of days away, I thought it would be an appropriate time to talk about the males of the farm (or rather, the scarcity of).
I’ve often joked since the beginning of my farming journey that it’s good to be female on the farm. You’re probably going to work the hardest, but you’re also going to get to live the longest.
Honestly, I can’t give an accurate number of how many females are on the farm, but if you count the two barn cats that are female, three of my four dogs that are female, five ducks out of the seven that I have that are female, then all of the chickens that are laying hens and the thousands of bees that are all females, I can safely say females run the farm.
Now all that is not to speak negatively of the guys on the farm. Because there are so few, they usually get names and most definitely don’t just blend in with the rest of the group.
Take, for example, the only male animal in the house that happens to be a Newfoundland/shepherd dog named Ozzie. Ozzie arrived on the farm four years ago from an animal shelter in Bloomington and was in pretty bad shape. He had developed a skin condition while he was roaming homeless and needed quite a bit of TLC to bring him to the giant fluffball he is today.
He also received star status by being the model for the front of the regular-size doggy treats that are made on the farm. Not a bad gig at all. He now lives with three tiny girl dogs that love to push him around, but he seems to take all of the female attention in stride. As long as he can have a soft bed to lie in, he doesn’t complain much at all.
Then there are the roosters of the farm.
Sgt. Stedenko, so named after the beer of the same name at The Seymour Brewing Co., is a lavender Orpington that is turning the ripe age of 4 this year. I’m fairly certain he has been a father of a few chicks over the years and is a giant silent type that doesn’t cause any trouble.
The other guys in the flock — Murphy, Night Destroyer, George Washington, Hei Hei, Mutha (it’s a long story on how he got his name) and three other adolescent lads that really need to learn some manners with the hens — all roam around the barnyard crowing at every chance they get and alerting all females to the good tidbits they find to eat.
All said, it’s good to have these guys on the farm. They protect the flock, break up the occasional bickering between hens (that’s actually a thing) and let’s face it, it’s just kind of cool to hear a rooster crow when you step out into the barnyard. Not to mention, when the time for raising chicks draws near, I can pretty much guarantee I’ll have fertilized eggs to produce new chicks.
When Father’s Day rolls around each year, I pause and thank these guys on the farm and also for my own father, who I’m very blessed to still have around. After all, I wouldn’t have the love of farming without the stories that Dad has told me about his grandpa’s farm so many years ago.
Though the women rule the majority on the farm, we all still want to pause to wish all of those fathers out there a very Happy Father’s Day!
Until next time…
Stephanie Strothmann owns Purple Shamrock Farm LLC in rural Seymour. Read her blog at whattheclucker.blogspot.com. Send comments to [email protected].