People picture farm mornings as either romantic or brutal. Mostly it is a routine, and the routine is the thing that makes the rest of the farm work.
Before light
The first thing is weather. Not the app, the actual sky and the actual wind. Everything else that morning gets adjusted based on what is coming. Frost changes the water plan. Heat changes the shade plan. Wind changes what gets moved.
The pigs
Pigs get checked first because pigs are the most creative animals on the farm and the most likely to have rearranged something overnight. Water first, feed second, fence line walked third. A pig with water and a mud wallow is a content pig.
The meat birds
The chicken tractors get moved onto fresh grass, then feed and water. The birds walk forward with the shelter and get straight to work on new ground. This is the single most important chore of the day for the quality of the meat and the health of the pasture.
The laying hens
Hens get let out, fed, and watered. Eggs get collected once now and again in the afternoon, since a nest box left full in warm weather invites problems. Eggs come inside, get sorted, and the clean ones get packed.
The bees
Bees do not need daily attention, which is a relief. In season, a walk past the hives to watch the entrance tells you a lot. Heavy traffic and pollen coming in means a healthy colony. No traffic on a warm morning means open it up and look.
Water, always water
Every animal on this farm needs clean water every single day, and in winter that means breaking ice and hauling. More farm time goes to water than any other single task, and it is the one you can never skip.
Fence and eyes
The last piece is just looking. Walk the fence, look at every animal, notice the one standing off by itself. Catching a problem on Tuesday morning is a ten minute fix. Catching the same problem Friday is a veterinary bill.
Then the real day starts
Chores end and the actual work begins. Cutting, hauling, fixing, building, packing orders, texting pickups. But nothing else happens right if the first two hours are not done right.
That is the routine at Bryant Creek Heights in Conway, PA, seven days a week.
