My chickens

About three years ago, I started an exciting animal adventure when I got my first three chickens. Two were roosters and one was a hen. Whoops! I was hoping for three hens!

Fast forward to today, I now have 14 hens and two roosters. I have even hatched my own chickens. I have to clean them out and feed them and give them water and also give them lots of attention. It’s a busy life!

I love my chickens because they are cute and cuddly. They lay eggs, which I sell and they give me lots of responsibility.

Life with horses

My name is Dean Burgess and I live on a farm with horses. On my farm there is an equestrian centre run by my mom and dad, originally owned by my mom’s parents.

In the morning we have to feed the horses, then people arrive to ride horses in lessons. I also ride some of the horses on the farm, but sometimes I have to join a lesson and take the lead. After the horses get ridden we feed them or let them graze the grass in a field, then rinse and repeat! I love my farm because I like the responsibility of being able to help with the horses. Mostly though, it gives me a sense of continuing my family’s traditions on the farm.

Thank you for reading and have a good day.

Finn the sheepdog

Finn is a lovely and friendly sheepdog. He is my auntie’s dog and he is very playful. He is a black and white collie sheepdog, I’m not exactly sure of his age, but it feels like he has been there all my life. When I go to my auntie’s house, he is always there to greet me with a big hug.

He goes by many names. We have Finn, Finnigus and Finnegin. Finn loves his walks. He gets his walks nearly every day. When I’m at my auntie’s house, I always have to play with Finn. We play chase, we play fetch and we race. He always wins! Finn has a smile brighter than the stars. Although his breath could do with a little mint! I hope you enjoyed hearing about Finn, the marvellous sheepdog.

A life with chickens

I have six chickens; Sonic, Nugget, Nasher, Papyrus, Sans and Shadow. Sonic is a silky hen and she is my favourite, she lays one egg each day and she is grey. Nugget is my biggest chicken. He is too heavy to glide and he is a gold colour. Nasher is black and gold, she is the heaviest. Papyrus is the fastest one. He has fluffy feet. Sans is like a mini Nasher. Finally, Shadow is pure black and he is the smallest chicken that I have. That sums up my piece of writing about my chickens except to say why I love them. I love them because they are relaxing to watch as they peck around contentedly in my yard.

About Thunder

Thunder is usually a loud bang that follows lightning, but that is not what I am going to tell you about today. Thunder is a horse that lives down the road from my house. She is not my horse but belongs to a friend of my family.

She is black and looks like a shadow streaking across the field when she runs. She is friendly and allows me to ride her. Riding her feels a bit scary as she is 5’5” (16.1hh), but great fun.

We feed her bread and potato peelings every day. I love Thunder because she is always there, a friend waiting by the gate.

Sheepdogs

Sheepdogs are really clever animals. They are trained to herd sheep. Sheepdogs have been used for many years to help farmers with their sheep. I love sheepdogs and they are really nice animals. They are usually black and white and are really obedient.

I don’t own a sheepdog or a farm, but I have been to a sheepdog show in Malin Beg, Co Donegal, with Away to Me sheepdog trial demonstrations. It is really good because they show how sheepdogs work, what orders you have to give them and how to use them to manage the sheep. I also learned a lot about the local area and got to be close to the dogs. If you have a farm with sheep, then I would recommend having a sheepdog. When a sheepdog is not working on the farm, it can also be a great friend.

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Farmer Writes: Chicken adventures

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