Fun Facts from the Farm!
The following section is mostly for kids but I am sure adults will enjoy it too. Here we take either pictures or videos of various things on the farm and then explain an interesting fact about that animial or its behavior.
Nothing like a day at the spa!
Have you ever wondered why pigs love to roll in the mud?
There are different reasons why pigs like the mud.
The main reason is to keep cool when it is hot outside. When people get hot, they sweat. Unfortunately, pigs can't sweat. So, to keep cool, pigs roll in the mud. Sometimes here at Kisamore Family Farm, I use a water hose to keep the pigs cool when it is hot, but mud works much better. The water in mud stays on them longer and keeps them cool.
On an extremely hot sunny day, have your parents ever put sunscreen on you to keep you from getting sunburn? Well, mud is like sunscreen to a pig. Pigs do not have a lot of hair like a cow or a goat, so they need mud to shield them from the rays of the sun.
Mud also helps to protect pigs from different insects such as flies, parasites, and biting insects. The mud helps to keep these pesky bugs away from a pigs' sensitive skin.
Some scientists even suggest that rolling around in the mud simply makes pigs feel good. I know here on our farm; the pigs are like a kid in a candy store when they are rolling in the mud!
Isn’t it cool how God made all the different animals? Even the dirty old pig has a place in God’s creation. And God, loving all his creation, made a way for the pig to get all they need to stay healthy, happy, and cool.
Imprinting in the poultry world.
Are you my mother?
We recently bought 4 baby turkeys to see how well they would do on our farm. We decided to put them in with the month old cornish cross broilers because they ate the same food. It seems that the baby turkeys have no problem calling the young, but much bigger chickens, Momma! Imprinting is when a baby chicken or duck or even turkey calls the first thing it sees its mother. Even though the broilers are a different type of bird and are no more than a few weeks older than the turkeys, the baby turkey quickly seeks refudge under the wing the unsuspecting broiler.
It's Morning Time
Why does a rooster crow in the morning?
God gave roosters a sort of built in alarm clock. This clock that God made for them tells them it is mornig time and the rooster wants the whole community to know it. The rooster's sunrise song is also a way of establishing his territory. He is letting anyone or anything know that he is the protector of his flock of hens and they have to go through him to get to them.
Him likkle but him Tallawah
When I was in my 20's I lived in Jamaica for 3 years as a missionary. One of my favorite expressions was "Him Likkle but him Tallawah." This means "He is small but powerful." With this expression the Jamaicans are saying that no one should think they are weak even though they come from a small island. They are very strong. This is the smallest of the two roosters that live on our farm. My son Caleb and his girlfriend Claire nicknamed him "lil Rooster." Our bigger rooster seen in the video before this one is nearly 3 times bigger then him but this little guy stands his ground and does not let anyone or anything get in his way. His breed is called "Old English Bantom."