FARM FAMILY ADVENTURES We've had a lot of fun sharing our fowl adventure through our classes and kid tours over the years. In July 2011, we hatched Farm Family Adventures, a bed and egg opportunity.
As a family stay overnight here on the farm in our guest apartment while helping with morning and evening farm chores - feeding, petting & gathering eggs, etc. Put the animals "to bed" at sunset and get them up after sunrise. The eggs they gather in the evening become part of their egg breakfast the next morning. Below are some highlights from Farm Family Adventures
 Trent has quite a way with the geese and Razor was quite willing to let him hold and pet her. She must have sensed your kind heart, Trent.
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Liam was very proud of himself for being able to pick up a chicken without "catching" it. He waited patiently with a bit of food and voila! His patience paid off.
Good job, Liam!(BTW Liam thought the gloves were fun to wear. They're not really required.)
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Their Farm Family Adventure included a morning as "farm hands." The boys each took a section of chicken house to clean - nesting boxes, floors and clean mulch, with the adults filling in and supervising as needed.
All jobs were finished in time for an afternoon in the cool AC. Awesome job, everyone. The chickens are very happy with their clean home
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Great surprise in the chicken yard this evening! A beautiful tree frog
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Chase finds Annona Marcella's favorite spot and gives her a much appreciated neck massage. Understandably, Annona and Chase became very special friends.999
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"Heading out to the farm! Our little farm hands are beyond eggcited! Liam is bringing Lenny an extra special carrot for dessert tonight. Lenny is going to be SO happy."
Thanks, Liam! You are an awesome farm hand!
. Fun with the geese, Lizzie and Razor.
Family Farm adventures are entertaining and education for everyone! Jill has a new understanding of the phrase "you silly goose."
"Had the youngest and middle sons in the chicken yard this morning with me. It's amazing the differences when you have only two of the three with you. Things ran very smooth this morning."
Washable boots are very useful when working in the chicken yard. . 
"We are very sad to be saying goodbye to the farm today. We will miss loving on all of the sweet animals, Egg hunting, and the satisfaction of well done hard work. Thank you rooster Ron and Chickadoo Suz for this fun family experience!"
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"Lenny seemed especially glad to see us this evening, even found his brush. Our stay on the farm comes to a close tomorrow morning when we start our journey home. We have had an "eggcelent" time! Thanks for allowing us to care for your farm family! :-D" ..............
To inquire about a Kid's Tour or a Farm Family Adventure for an overnight, weekend or longer, contact Rooster Ron and Chickadoo Suz at info@mychickendiaries.com
 Having befriended Lenny and mastered the fine art of feeding him his apple one bite at a time, Liam teaches his best friends, Elliot and Ezra how it's done. They found Liam's newfound talents quite impressive. Learn more about our farm adventures for kids. . | | |
Chicken Yard Tours for Kids
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What's included in a Chicken Yard Tour?
Above all else, My Chicken Diaries Chicken Yard Tours are fun! Fun for the kids and for their supervising and accompanying adults (see adult supervision requirements below)
All tours are lead by Rooster Ron and/or Chickadoo Suz. Tours include three basic activities: classroom discussion, hands-on chicken yard eggs-perience, and art & creative eggs-pression.
Keywords for a successful tour are: Respect, Safety and Fun.
Respect for all animals and people.
Safety by following instructions in and out of the chicken yard, and
Fun for both the kids and their adults exploring and learning. Breaking the tour into time slots, it looks like this::
1. Classroom Learning 15 -30 minutes
Tours start in our classroom where Chickadoo Suz, in costume, greets your group. We discuss topics such as bio-security (germ prevention), eggs, feathers, & bio-diversity.
2. Hands-on Chicken Yard Eggs-perience: 30 minutes - an hour. Inside the chicken yard, the tour follows a circular path with stops at the chicken's feed station, watering spots, donkey's pen, trees of different chicken social groups, chicken houses and shaded sitting areas. All members of the group are asked to stay together for safety and ease.
During the chicken yard eggs-perience, we cover topics such as:
- What do they eat?
- How are chicks hatched?
- Looking at the chickens, ihow many ways do they look different from one another?
- How are chicken like and/or different from people?
- Every child is given an opportunity to hold, pet and feed a chicken.
We also have a donkey, two goats, a pair of geese, threee turkeys, and some guineas and ducks. Feeding them is also part of the tour.
3. After time in the chicken yard, is a good time for snacks or sack lunches and drink. 15 - 30 minutes You bring your choice of food and drinks and we'll provide tables and chairs.
4. Strut Your Stuff with Artistic Eggs-pression -. 45 minutes
Every kid is asked to create a chicken Our classroom is stocked with a variety of papers, fabrics, ribbons, glitter, pine cones, etc, and they can use them as their imagination leads them. This is a really fun time and rarely have two chickens looked the same! Even with adult oversight and supervision, from start to clean-up, Creating a Chicken can easily take 45 minutes. If you have tight time limits, let me know so we are sure to finish on time.
5. We wrap up the day's chicken adventure with Public Speaking - 20 min.
With their new creation in hand, the kids invents a story about their new "fowl creation" and shares it with the group. 6. We close our time together by putting away any remaining craft supplies, gathering personal belongings, and receiving a My Chicken Diaries souvenir from Chickadoo Suz, group photos (optional), and goodbyes.
Is a Chicken Yard Tour both entertaining and educational?
Through discussion, hands-on and interactive activities we discuss topics in biology, geography, history, science, anatomy, art, genetics, creative expression and public speaking. Specifics vary depending upon size and age of each group.
Throughout the tours, we encourage kids to join in thoughtful, educational, and entertaining discussions. Examples of the questions we pose (and help answer): - How are roosters and hens different (just the basics)?
- How are chickens different from us and other animals?
- Can you tell one chicken from another?
- Finding a feather in the chicken yard, which bird do you think it came from and why?
- What does a chicken eats? How does it digests food (gizzard)?
- Where and when hens lay eggs? physical and social differences between a rooster and a hen. the biological process involved in changing from a fertilized egg to adult chicken, etc.
A chicken yard tour is a treat for the senses - hearing, sight, touch, and speech. - See the chickens eat from the cup of food given to each kid or from their hand.
- Touch a feather. What part is soft or stiff and why?
- Listen to the sounds of the chicken yard - roosters crows, ducks quacking, hens clucking, etc
- How are the sounds diffierent from where you live? Can you mimic any of them?
- Stop, take a deep breathe and consider how country air is different from the smell of the air in their neighborhood.
If there is special topics you would like covered or specific educational materials you would like to use with your group, you are welcome to use your time in the chicken yard as an outside classroom setting to cover them. Chairs in the shade are provided for extended chicken yard time. Generally, what animals will the kids see?
Chickens, goats, ducks, geese, bantams, turkeys, guinea fowl and Lenny, the Donkey. | | | Who can participate in a Chicken Yard Tour:
MINUMUM AGE TO ENTER CHICKEN YARD IS 3 YEARS OLD.
There is no maximum age. Groups of 15 or fewer Pre-school kids or
Groups of 25 or fewer school age or mixed age kids.
How many supervising and assisting adults need to come with your group?
Groups of up to 15 children pre-school age -
For safety, your group must include a minimum of 2 supervising adult for every 3 pre-school children.
Groups of up to 25 school age kids
For safety, your group must include a minimum of:
2 adults for every 5 or fewer Kindergarteners
2 adults for every 12 or fewer Grades 1 - 3
2 adults for every 16 or fewer Grades 4 -6
2 adults for every 20 or fewer Grade 7 and above More supervising adults are welcome. (There is no fee for supervising and assisting adults. ) Cost:
$15/participant.
Supervising/assisting adults are required to accompany every kid's group. Supervising or assisting parents or adults participate in the tour free of charge.
Length:
Depending upon size and aga of your group, Chicken Yard Tours last 2 to 3 hours.
Mobility Limitations:
While our property and the chicken yard path are flat, they does not have smooth surfaces. Loose dirt, stones, dips and pits are present. Those with limited mobility will probably require assistance or may prefer to observe the chickens from outside the chicken yard. If you notify us of special needs before your visit, we will try our best to accomodate. When:
We do not offer drop-in tours. ALL tours must to scheduled in advance. Tours are generally conducted during mornings, 9am - 1pm and afternoons, 3 -7pm time frames, weekdays and weekends. Mid-day tours, 1 - 3pm are not recommended as the animals and humans are usually napping.
Where:
Our 3 acre working farm is located 30 miles south of Houston, TX.
For privacy and security don't post our exact location. Our course, we share this information when we're discussing specific tours dates and times. Food:
While we don't provide food or drinks other than tap water, We encourage you to bring snacks or lunch, as the drive to and fro and the time here can leave tummies a bit hungry. Tables and chairs are provided.
Other requirements:
Closed-toe, washable shoes or boots are required for entering the chicken yard. Socks are strongly encouraged. Sandals, flip-flops, etc are not allowed. - We practice bio-security (disease prevention). We ask all visitors to wash hands and arms with soap or hand sanitizer and to step in a bio-degradable disinfecting solution to rinse the soles of their shoes
- We cater to Scout Troops, Church Outings, Home Schoolers, Birthday Parties and Educational Outings.
- Chickadoo Suz and Rooster Ron are also availlable to entertain at birthday parties/gatherings or as a guest or educational speaker at your event and location.
- All members of your Chicken Yard Tour group, kids and adults alike, are required to sign a Release of Liability form. (Emailed when tour is scheduled)
- Adult gatherings also available.
Tours are great for photography groups and adult gatherings,
nurturing that kid within us all. Size and activities are flexible.
No supervising adults required. ha ha
The following links provide tour guidelines, info on us, etc.
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In a large city like Houston, there are generations of people, young and old, who have lost their connection to the land, to a farm, to animals and their contributions to the food chain. They are "denatured" kids. Our Kid Tours offer:
Fun
Education
Outdoors adventure
Better understanding of where eggs come from
Expand perceptions of what a chick is and what chicken society is about
An opportunity for kids to explore and question, first hand, about what happens on our farm
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There's still time
2012 My Chicken Diaries Calendar $7
Save $6
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Placing her hand under Juno's breast, Gwen shows how to make a chicken feel safe while being held.  While visiting his grandparents, Jethro, age 3, offers Billy, our Pygmy buck goat, both a scoop of corn and a stick to munch on.. 
Ever wonder what it feels like to have a chicken roost on your arm? Our young German visitors discover its both soft from the feathers and sharp from the claws and lots of fun touring the chicken yard!
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Using the wide assortment of crafts supplies"new breeds" of chickens.
What a fun & creative time!
Wonder what stories they'll make up to go with their "newly hatched" chickens.
Magical moments unfold feeling Petunia's soft feathers and as her warm, little feet go skin to skin walking atop this young hand.
During his Chicken Yard Tour, young Ravi found a freshly laid egg near the tour path. When he picked it up, he learned how really warm an egg is when it's laid. Awesome, Ravi!_ During a little Chicken Yard fun,
Rayven gives a gobble and displays her talents for
strutting and dancing like Tadoka,
our Bourbon Red Tom Turkey.
Never underestimate a kid!
Akorren teaches the group about Ethan's wonderful example. Instead of gifts, Ethan requested birthday donations to buy flocks of chickens from Heifer.org, helping families from Cameroon to the Carribbean. Ethan, you're too cool!
What kind of stories do
times on the farm inspire?  Lizzie, a White Chinese Goose, honks,
Be sure you bring your camera!
and sketch pad's a good idea, too.
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It's predicted that by 2050, 70% of the world's population will reside in urban areas. We offer Guided Chicken Yard Tours for kids (and adults). to promote and sustain "a connection between the land, the ways and means of food production and today's urbanites that has existed throughout human history and helping our agrarian legacy to carry on."
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