Photo taken by Kevin Breen as he calls the cows in from the pasture.
by Kevin Breen, Livestock Intern
So far, my experience at the Accokeek Foundation has been quite eventful. I’ve learned to deal with a rooster who has made it his personal goal to attack me whenever I enter the barnyard, the surprise of discovering a black snake hiding in the dark chicken coop while gathering eggs, and then there’s MG, a heifer who strives to make halter training as difficult as possible.
Having worked with livestock for several years, these incidents are not all that uncommon to me. Animals behave as one would expect them to–sometimes unpredictably. Take Bliss for instance. This small heifer is always the first one to greet me when I call the calves from the pasture. With a grain bucket in hand, I lead them back to the barn as Bliss runs up behind me, trying to get the grain before we even reach the barn.
I love waking up each morning, with the dew still on the grass and the sun’s warm rays beaming down. I wouldn’t trade my job at the Accokeek Foundation for anything. Polly has imparted a lot of her knowledge to me so far when it comes to farming. I hope to walk away from this experience a bit wiser than when I first arrived.
