Makayla Winsterman maturate up as an fauna lover and always felt that farming was in her tenderness . But it was n’t until she became a mum in 2019 that her instincts became a reality .
“ I suppose that ’s when the food side of farming click for me , ” recalls Winsterman , who now run theWinsterman Family Farmin central Nebraska alongside her husband , Andrew . “ I found myself researching ways to originate our own food and live more sustainably . As parent we want what ’s best for our children and we found that in farm - to - mesa foods . ”
Winsterman adds that while the farm is on “ a small land area , ” they ’ve handle to work up thing up little by little . “ My husband , Andrew , grow up on a farm , so he ’s teach me a mickle and has been my articulation of abstract thought , ” she says . “ He ’s my John Rock and none of this would be possible without him . ”
Taking a respite from farm obligation , we spoke to Winsterman about how to craft a repurposed chicken coop and the humorous nature of goats . We also sustain to experience the farm ’s resident feline .
The Joy of Repurposing
A post shared by Makayla || Winsterman Family Farm ? ( @winstermanfamilyfarm )
Repurposing and embracing a do - it - yourself state of mind has become a central part of running Winsterman Family Farm .
“ We have an previous grain bank identification number that we were n’t using . My husband had the idea to turn that into our chicken coop instead of buy one , ” explains Winsterman . “ We cleaned it out , corrupt some posts and build a run around it . The fencing we got secondhand , and we even used old Ellen Price Wood from a b that used to be on our property ! ”
“ It has served as the best chicken coop for our chickens , ” she says . “ Since it ’s so tumid , we were able to flesh out our flock very easily this year . ”
show more : What ’s the consummate poulet coop ? Well … it depends .
Bring on the Goats
After looking into adding a dairy farm element to the farm , Winsterman ultimately settled on Nigerian Dwarf Capricorn the Goat .
“ We started with two does , Jade and Juno , then added our buck Dobby in January of this year , ” she says . “ I have to hold , goats were n’t my first alternative for a dairy farm beginning . I really had my heart set on a fellowship dairy farm cow for a long time . [ But ] after talk it through , we decided that goats fit into our farm a little well with where we are at . However , a dairy farm moo-cow is n’t out of the question for the future of our farm . ”
Enjoying Ruminant Humor
“ Capricorn are humourous creatures , ” says Winsterman . “ They get the zoomies . Oftentimes we will look alfresco and see them jumping on tree diagram and almost having what looks like a competition to see who can do the best legerdemain when jumping off . ”
Among the current herd , Winsterman describes Jade as “ our whacky girl ” and characterizes Juno as “ our sassy independent doe . ”
Introducing Indian Runner Ducks
late , the farm receive a paddling of Native American Runner Ducks to the rank . “ This is our first twelvemonth with duck on our farm and , man , are we excited ! ” says Winsterman . “ We had a pretty drawn out engagement with pests in the garden last year , so we are really leaning into our ducks to help in that section . ”
Read more : duck can institute real value to the backyard .
Meet the Farm’s Resident Feline
Winsterman Family Farm is ward by a resident felid named Cookie Monster .
“ We adopted him in January of this yr , ” say Winsterman . “ We were pretty nervous of how he would be around our Gallus gallus at first , as we were told he was a hunter . The first twosome times he was around the chicken he would sort of lurk around them . There was one time he got in his hunting stance and he try sneaking up on a hen . I put myself between them and firmly said , ‘ No . ’ He instantly sat up and just mew at me .
“ It was like he understand at that very moment that the chickens would be off limits . ”
Now that Cookie Monster is firmly embedded into the farm , he likes to spend his days patrolling the property for rodents and give up by to recognize the goats and chickens .
“ He really is the best farm cat that we could have asked for , ” says Winsterman . “ He is low maintenance and very angelical . We are so grateful that he come into our lives . ”
