The Farm Nana

See this cracked turkey egg? See standing by the tree line about 150 feet away? If I had not watched her do it, it would have been a mystery about how a turkey egg ended up in the horse pasture close to the barn but I was in the right place at the right time and watched her CARRY IT IN HER MOUTH! I’m still baffled as to how that was even possible but she did. A little bit later she went back to the nest and is sitting.

Have you ever seen such a thing?

Tom Jr is so damn handsome! 😍

Such a wide variety of eggs we gather here at the farm! From pink speckled turkey and Copper Marans to Easter Eggers and Bantams, plus Duck eggs, (not shown) I never know what I’ll collect! ❤️

Today is all about eggs apparently! One last barn check before bed and a quick collection of eggs from the normal spot… the nesting boxes! I forgot to take my candler out earlier to check the big nest from this morning and didn’t want to scare the sitting hen this late at night. ❤️

Found this stash this morning, tucked in a dark corner of a stall only used by Barn Cat Bonnie at nighttime. I just happened to peak over stall wall and saw a large black fluff on the ground so I went to investigate in case some poor hen had met her demise.

No, the hen was perfectly fine but sprawled out over 18 eggs. I was SHOCKED and was really hoping this was just a general laying spot for the past few days but, nope again! 16 of the 18 are fertilized and pretty far along, at least per my cell phone flashlight.

So, anyone looking for chicks in the very near future? How about young turkeys? They’re super cute and very talkative. 🤩

It’s finally a great day to lay out in the sun! It might be 55 now but the day started at 25. Spring is coming to western NC as there were two eggs in the Bluebird box already and the turkeys are getting frisky!

Duck Egg Breakfast “Pizza” is so delicious!! Used 4 duck eggs (would use 5-6 normal sized chicken eggs) gently whisked up inside a flour tortilla which I had placed inside a glass pie dish. Small handful of shredded cheese of choice, a few onion slices, some cooked bacon or sausage if you’d like, and seasonings of choice… I used Old Bay! 350 for 27 minutes because I can’t stand a runny egg. SO good and a good way for kids to help too!

Early morning on the farm with the glow of the heat lamp in the horse trailer, set up for that last batch of baby turkeys! So peaceful and quiet. ❤️

EFFING goats… that is all. 🤬

When you’re just so tired from being on mouse duty in the barn, you love finding the best comfy places to catch a cat nap!

Santa Paws found a stunning new collar for Archie and as soon as I saw it I knew he had to have it! Check out all the collar options at as they’re all awesome! ❤️

Rescue kitties from the shelter are just the best, especially these little orange boys! They love each other so much and are always snuggling. ❤️

Can we talk about a great Before and After? The first one was from January 1st, 2022 and was basically how the one barn looked when the farm was purchased but maybe with not as many leaves since it was winter.

The second one was the same day but after we’d worked our tails off to clean the sides off. Getting the tree growing through the roof out of there happened another day.

Fast forward to all the work that happened this past week and it’s made an extraordinary difference! The PVC panels are up to block the wind and weather for the ginger boys while still allowing light and ventilation. The roof is repaired with new supports and new metal roofing, obviously safe enough now for our Farm Poppa to actually sit up there!

It’s truly a work in progress and it’s looking better every day!

Beautiful night sky and a huge full moon!

Even little guys like Poncho need a blanket to keep warm in the cold overnight temps! It’s gonna be 22 tomorrow morning! 🥶

It’s been a super busy week of working to get the barns and stalls as winterized as possible! These barns aren’t normal barns; they were originally designed for egg laying hens with open sides covered in chicken wire so we’ve had to be creative.

This year we’re using clear PVC roofing panels instead of the rolls of plastic sheeting as that would end up getting ripped by the wind or eaten by the goats!

The wind is also what damaged the metal roofing above the boar’s entrance so the Farm Poppa has been working on adding new support beams so that new metal panels can go up tomorrow.

It’s always a work in progress and keeping the animals safe and protected is a high priority, especially since it will be down to 27 overnight!

The babies are almost 3 months old now and still so stinkin cute, even when they go on unauthorized trips to the barn! They’ll leave their momma in a heartbeat to free range for acorns and spilled chicken food too.

Yesterday we discovered a hen sitting on eggs but were super happy to discover there were like 2 dozen of them so it was just a hidden laying spot and she was likely just adding another. All of us breathed a deep sigh of relief because we certainly do NOT need any more chicks.

Mother Nature apparently felt differently. This momma and her TWELVE chicks showed up this morning when it was a balmy 29 degrees and we have no idea where she’d been hiding, especially for 21 days! Oh and add these to the 7 eggs momma turkey is incubating at the moment.

Anyone need chicks? 😂

Time to start getting that feedbag wallpaper up for the winter!

The new Duck Coop is coming right along!

So proud to see The Heart of Ham at New View Farm donate 5 turkeys to the FFA to provide additional learning opportunities to these students and fundraising for their program!

Those 5 turkeys were hatched and raised right here on the farm, living a totally free range life!

Today the East Rutherford High School FFA - Forest City, NC processed 5 turkeys. Students learned from the Cleveland Co Poultry Specialists how to humanely process a live bird. Special thanks goes out to The Heart of Ham at New View Farm for donating the birds. Thank you to C-Saw Hill Farm for letting us borrow your processing trailer. Thank you to Cleveland County Cooperative Extension for teaching the students all the things today.

Farm Papa sure loves his boy, Archie! He’s good company for a golf cart ride around the farm or a truck ride to the dump. ❤️

Good morning, I see you out there snuggled up in bed under those covers! Time to rise and shine, your babies want their breakfast! 😂

It was such a beautiful sky this morning! Crisp and cool, getting ready for Fall.

Sometimes you get eggs that look like breasts…

I don’t know why I didn’t do this before but they sure dry a heck of a lot quicker like this than laying them on a towel!

Know what time it is? Time to make a tasty little combo that rats and mice can’t resist so that we can keep eliminating them from the barns!

Mix these two 50/50 and leave it on a paper plate or piece of cardboard; I’ve put it directly on the ground or in one of their tunnels as well though I wonder if it absorbs into the ground more so that some gets wasted.

The first time we tried this earlier this year, I used Jiffy Corn Muffin mix, but the DG didn’t have it this time so I grabbed these Betty Crocker blueberry mixes for a $1 apiece!

I won’t gross you out with the pictures, but in the last few days, I have found about a dozen of them in a water bucket that sits on the ground in a stall, and I’ve been helping the dogs find the ones hiding under the feed pallets.

From what I am reading, rats and mice cannot burp or fart so when the baking soda gets in their stomachs, it doesn’t end well, or it also makes them thirsty and they end up drowning in the water bucket.

I am usually a lover of all animals, but between the four baby turkeys who were taken by them earlier this year, and then a baby chick more recently, there is no love lost for them.

We were also having great luck with the large black rat traps I got off Amazon but when two of our house cats started turning into Barn Patrol, I did not want there to be any unfortunate incidents with their face or paws.

Peanut, the usually indoor cat, has taken great interest in chasing the barn mice so we’re letting her stay out as much as she wants. Sometimes she gets herself into predicaments of getting really high up and not remembering how to get back down…

At this point I’m thinking ALL the roosters need a trip to freezer camp. I’ve totally lost track of how many hatchings we’ve had this year and these babies only got here because their momma laid eggs under the shed!

For now they are in a safe place with their fake momma (a fluffy swiffer duster from DG inside a mop head!) and a heat lamp! Lord have mercy…

Happy from western NC! Nothing like most of the turkeys deciding the top of the farm truck is a great place to hang out!

Oh yeah, turkey poo everywhere!