Leanne Spry
“I don’t know how you find the time to manage all this. . . .”
“Your boys are so lucky to grow up here on a farm.”
These are the two things that nearly every visitor says during their visit to the Spry farm along Highway 11/71 at Devlin.
Our hobby farm consists of 17 chickens, two miniature horses, two pygmy goats, two dogs, and one guinea pig. We all live together on our five acres of yard, pasture, and garden.
Caring for that many animals is a fair amount of work—on top of raising two young boys. Henry is coming on three years old while Waylon soon will celebrate his first birthday.
We manage what we have by being realistic in terms of how much we can maintain/care for, and by working to create low-maintenance options when and where we can.
Our poultry set-up is incredibly manageable. We wanted to create a low-maintenance system for us while providing excellent care—and quality of life—for our birds.
Between our choice of chicken breeds, coop style, automatic watering system, and installation of time-/money-saving feeding and roost elements, our daily, weekly, and monthly upkeep is minimal while our chickens are happy and healthy.
The same can be said about our miniature horses (“Huck” and “Sawyer”) and pygmy goats (“Oreo” and “Tyrion Lannister”), who collectively are referred to as “the boys.”
Each of our pasture areas includes a run-in shed so everyone can get out of bad weather. As well, there is adequate grazing area to accommodate all four animals, with basic daily chores consisting of supplying fresh water and one feeding of hay.
Our two dogs, “Daisy” and “Tess,” and most recent addition, “Miss Moosie” (the guinea pig), are our more traditional pets. All three of them are easy keepers.
We also maintain a large vegetable garden and keep up with basic lawn/yard and home care.
Caring for livestock/pets, while maintaining any amount of acreage, takes a considerable amount of time, work, and quite frankly money, but we love it. It is a lifestyle.
It is a lifestyle that keeps us busy, that keeps us active, that keeps us connected to nature. It is a lifestyle that provides plenty of opportunities to do things as a family, and one that will teach my two boys the value of hard work and responsibility.
What could be more rewarding (and fun) than growing up on a farm?
Henry will be turning three in three months and he always is eager to help around the farm. He feeds the dogs every morning and afternoon (and doesn’t spill the food all over the floor anymore), helps collect eggs (and there only have been two casualties), and helps bring hay to the mini horses and goats (even though he’s only big enough to carry a small flake).
He helps weed the garden (between breaks of picking and eating strawberries) and helps clean the horse barn next door at Grandma and Grandpa’s (and is insistent on using his own mini wheelbarrow and stall fork).
Sure, there have been times where it would have been much easier to do chores myself and not worry about cleaning up after my eager two-year-old.
But when I see how he gets better at a task each time he does it, how excited he gets to help with a new task, and how he finds a happy routine in our daily chores, it’s all worth it.
I like that my boys will have to care—and be responsible—for something more than just themselves. In the long run, I think it will make them better friends, employees, husbands, and fathers.
Our lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but it’s one that we find joy and value in on many different levels.
I once saw a quote that read, “Build a life that you’ll never need a vacation from.”
And those words are exactly how I feel about building our life here, on the farm, with our boys.