Karina Jones is a real-life ranch wife in the Nebraska Sandhills and one of the most highly sought-after speakers in the cattle industry nationwide!
So, she wants to be a little momma?!?! Welcome back to Ranch Raised.
It’s been a while since I’ve talked about our little Mottley Cluck Crew. Our little gang of 8 hens that roost in the barn instead of their coup and provide is with just the right amount of eggs for our family.
Well, there has been a new development. While we have had chickens for a few years, we have never had a hen go truly broody. But, it seems that is the case with our one and only little greyish lavender Olive Egger hen. Setting up her little shop in a pen with a couple of show does, she has been sitting on her one and only egg for about a week. The problem is, we don’t have a rooster, so all of her effort is going to waste. The girls got me talked in to calling up a neighbor and getting some of their barnyard fertilized eggs.
After a sketchy broody hen relocation mission, she is in a dog kennel on a bed hay with her eggs. BTW, I don’t know if you ever tried dealing with a broody hen but it sort of resembles trying to wrestle a baby T-Rex dinosaur. They have the dog kennel in an isolated location in the barn, where she won’t be as disturbed as she was when a couple of goats were being terrible roommates and trying to stomp on her. We are feeding her keeping her well-watered in her little cozy kennel. And we will hope for the best and probably learn a lot in the next 3 weeks.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, anyone can get an education in classroom, but real learning happens all around us and for now we are getting a lesson in broody hen management and hopefully a little barn yard chick rearing!
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Karina ranches with her husband, Marty, and 3 daughters near Broken Bow, NE. She grew up in western NE, with roots also in southwest SD. The cattle industry and raising kids is her passion.
Watching the cattle industry go the path that it has gone, she could no longer sit quietly at home checking cows, fixing fence, and doing all the everyday tasks wondering when some else was going to make it all better. As she became more active and outspoken on industry issues, she was asked to join the R-CALF USA staff in September 2020 as the Checkoff Petition Campaign manager. That position transcended into her current role as full time Field Director for R-CALF USA.
You can hear her almost every Friday on Your Ag Network’s Hot Barn Report that is broadcast on 60 radio stations with coverage in 9 states, where she deep dives into cattle industry issues and highlights R-CALF’s work on industry reforms. Listen to Ranch Raised on a Your Ag Network hometown station or www.youragnetwork.com where she talks about her daily life on the ranch.
Cattle producers are her people. She will meet you at the county fair, at the sale barn, or anywhere the dusty trail leads.
[email protected] or visit facebook.com/ranchraisedwithkarinajones
