Maggie Mae Farm presented the poultry display. We brought Captain Thomas our Narragansett tom turkey, a pair of NH Red chickens, a couple of Pekin ducks as well as some chicks and ducklings. Not unexpectedly, the kids seemed to like the baby birds the best, but Tom was a crowd pleaser as well.

We spoke to four 7^th grade classes and three groups of 1st graders. We covered the origins of chickens and their nefarious beginnings – many of the kids were surprised that the first domestic chickens were used for fighting, not for food. We talked about some of the physiological differences and similarities between the varying types of fowl, how to care for them and the reasons people raise them.

We had a great time and so did the kids – they were all very engaged and asked a lot of good questions. Admittedly, the most popular questions seemed to be “why is tom’s head so funny looking?” It caused no end of giggles when we explained that his snood, caruncles, wattle and beard were all designed to be attractive to a turkey hen.

It’s always very encouraging to see kids interested in agriculture and we’re glad to have the opportunity to be part of that exposure.  Here’s to hoping that we’re helping encourage a new generation of potential farmers!

We were in charge of the Poultry station and so brought some of our feathered friends to meet the kids. Captain Thomas Wiggin, our Narragansett tom turkey was a big hit – the kids (and some of the chaperones) were pretty awed by his striking looks and prominent “gobble-gobble.” The students all had a chance to pet a couple of baby chicks, say hello to a pair of our Pekin ducks, as well as see three very different breeds of chickens –a  NH Red, a bantam Barred Rock, and a white Silkie.  One of the ducks laid an egg in the display cage about five minutes before the kids got off the bus. Even though they missed the actual laying part, they enjoyed passing around the egg and checking out how it compared to the chicken eggs they were more used to seeing.

Glenn and I talked about the different types of poultry farmers typically raise, their uses, how to take care of them, and what they ate. (“Omnivore” was the word of the day!) The kids all seemed really excited about meeting the birds and asked some interesting questions about their physiology and care. All in all, it was a pretty interactive station, if a bit chaotic!

Each group of about 12-16 students had a chance to visit a number of agriculture based stations. In addition to learning about poultry, they learned how maple syrup was made, talked about soil structure, growing squashes and gourds, raising dairy cattle, the nutrition in apples, keeping bees, and much more. They had a chance to help drive an absolutely gorgeous oxen team and see how wool is carded and then spun into yarn. Our host, Jeff Keyser of Ramblin’ Vewe Farm, talked about raising sheep and gave demonstrations on shearing – which is always a big hit!

Enormous kudos should go out to the folks at NH Agriculture in the Classroom for putting together a fabulous, engaging and educational day for the kids. They are an extremely valuable asset to the farming community – helping young people learn about their food systems and introducing them to agriculture as it occurs in their community! We were honored to be asked to participate and hope to continue to be involved in the future!