I am so proud of my boy! Josiah wants to be a farmer and has decided he wants to begin his own business to work towards that goal. I am thrilled that at 13 he is taking on the responsibility of his own business. He is a hard worker and very diligent. I pray that God will bless his efforts in this area. We contacted a dear friend, Richard Spain, who happened to have a lot of hens who had just began to lay. Josiah invested some of his own hard earned money and purchased 10 hens. He re-worked one of our chicken tractors – gave them a sun room! And last week we went to visit Richard.
It was a beautiful evening on one of the prettiest farms I have ever seen. The moon was full, the crickets were chirping the weather was a delight – a beautiful spring evening. We followed Richard out to the field that he currently had his portable pen in….and there, on this delightful evening, we began to stealthily sneak up on chickens. (Oh, the things you do for your children!) Lots of chickens….700 chickens! The tricky part was that Josiah had picked out specific breeds. He researched to determine which breeds he wanted so that eventually they would provide meat and eggs. (Josiah is an excellent eviscerator of chickens.) Josiah decided he wanted White Rocks, Buff Orpingtons and a couple of Black Australorps. We also picked up some Rhode Island Reds for our friends over at 3 Fold Cord.
I let Richard and Josiah do the catching for the most part – I carried them back to the cages. The Buffs were the calmest – but also heavy. Richard had just enough White Rocks to fill Josiah's order – but they were the hardest to catch. The Black Australorps were easy, calm, and beautiful – I had never seen one before. But, oh, those Rhode Island Reds. Those were angry hens. I had one in each hand, holding them by the feet. They would curl up and peck my hand….HARD….all the way back to the cage. I lost several small chunks of flesh (but my healing salve took care of that quickly!) Julie, if I didn't love you so much, I would have swung in a circle and let those girls take flight!
So, for my local readers, JOSIAH HAS EGGS FOR SALE! Josiah is asking $2.50 per dozen if you will save him the egg carton…$2.75 if you want a new one each week. The cartons will cost him about $.27 each. His hens are on green grass, with plenty of sunshine and are fed a natural mix specifically created for us by our wonderful, local, "Mom and Pop" farm store, F & M. I highly recommend this store to anyone in the Greeneville TN area. They have been wonderful friends and a true blessing in our lives. Thanks Fain, Melvin and Betty! The eggs are brown and have the deep orange yolk that is an indication of a healthy hen. And, oh, do they ever taste wonderful!
Here is Josiah and the first dozen eggs from his hens!
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We will deliver to Johnson City, when we go to church on Wed. evenings and Sunday mornings. They are always available here on the farm , along with our soaps, salves teas and everything else! Just drop us a line or give us a call if you'd like to purchase eggs from Josiah!
Blessings!
The Essential Herbalist 
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