Animals On Our Farm

SHEEP

Our Cotswold ewes arrived at our 4H farm from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Suffolk County Farm as lambs in 2017, and became the establishing members of our farming for fiber program.Visitors and campers can enjoy observing them play and graze, or work with our sheep (and their wool!) to learn about pasture development, the biology and behaviors of sheep, proper feeding, grooming and how to call them home to the barn.4H campers, youth and families can also choose to participate in many of the wool processing workshops and classes at camp to learn about the steps that bring us from shearing to spinning to sweater knitting. You may even see some of our yarn incorporated into our fiber arts, crocheting and weaving classes, or as materials in our educational crafting projects.

Adults with an interest in learning about traditional methods of wool processing and crafting can join us for workshops or schedule their own event with us!Youth learners can sign up with Nassau County CCE 4H to complete a 4H Project by working with one or more of our fiber-producing animals on the our working farm. Participants can select from the 4H Sheep Wool Production or Rabbit Wool Production Project by scheduling with our farm educator.Projects are also available through our summer camp classes for resident campers.

Visitors and guests can learn best methods to wash, comb, card, spin or felt, knit, needle felt, crochet, weave, and use traditional tools like drop spindles and lucet forks to make yarn, rope, jewelry or other crafts.Many wool projects can be entered in the Long Island Fair by adults and youth from Nassau County!

RABBITS

Our farm family has several different breeds of rabbits in many shapes, sizes and colors.Our domestic rabbits love to interact with our visitors in bunny circles, or in our enclosed camp bunny-run where visitors can run and hop right next to the rabbit community! Our domestic rabbits travel with our farm educator, and work with visitors on the 4-H farm to educate our community about all aspects of rabbit management and the research-based science behind it.Our rabbits work with youth to facilitate understanding and practice proper rabbit care including grooming, health, nutrition, housing & habitat, behavior, communication, handling and how to present a rabbit in a public show or competition.We offer guidance to new rabbit owners who have adopted or purchased a rabbit as a house pet.

FARM FOWL/POULTRY

Poultry are domesticated birds cultivated for their eggs or meat.This includes chickens and guinea hens as well as water fowl such as ducks and geese.We have a diverse flock of several different types of fowl who live and play together here on the 4-H farm, and love to entertain visitors!Our coop is integrated, with several different breeds of chickens, ducks and guinea hens living together.They are varied in color, shape, size, and personality – but they all share one important trait – they are egg laying breeds, known for delicious and steady egg production.Our chickens, ducks and guinea hens free-range during daytime hours and are trained to return to their respective coops at dusk, where we protect them from night-time predators.

HENS

40 hens in our flock here at the Dorothy P. Flint Camp Farm.We keep our laying hens to provide us with fresh eggs every daily for our summer campers and staff, and sell what’s left over at our East Meadow Farm office.Sometimes the “ladies” will travel with our 4H club members to compete in fairs and competitions, or with our educator, as the main attraction at demonstrations, fairs and educational gatherings for local chicken enthusiasts.

Our flock provides a living demonstration of a working-hen house, complete with Steggie the Rooster who watches over and leads the flock.Our feathered friends exhibit the typical behaviors you would expect from the very complex social structures that develop within a flock and there is always something interesting to observe when you visit the coop!

Thinking about a small backyard flock?We welcome visitors who can tour our chicken coop and our poultry facilities design on the farm.We offer research-based information about handling and eating farm fresh eggs, and answer your questions about keeping back yard chickens.

DUCKS

Our camp ducks arrived on the farm as the result of a late-spring rescue effort in Suffolk County, and quickly won the hearts of many campers.We have several breeds of ducks, including the locally famous Pekin ducks (better known as the ‘Long Island Duck’), who travel with us to fairs and exhibits to educate communities about the economics of the Long Island Duck, and experience some local farm history.

Ducks are one of the most sensitive and expressive of the various farm fowl, and we often call them the “therapists” of the farm.Our ducks are especially good at cuddling up to homesick campers until they smile, and often become a catalyst for exploring our emotional self during leadership trainings and team building activities.

GUINEA HENS

Our guinea hens have been called the “clowns of the farm”, and with good reason!Their painted heads, polka-dot feather patterns, and silly strut make them an entertaining feature on our working 4H farm.Our guineas are free-range, and help us manage bugs and ticks in the garden and around the perimeter of our farm property.They are also wonderful “guard dogs” for the farm, and call-out their alarm in unison to alert the farmer and other fowl when predators are sneaking about.

Guinea Hens lay very tiny eggs, but some chefs prefer them to typical hen eggs due to the flavor.It is said that guinea eggs have less of an “eggy” flavor, so for delicate dishes, they can be substituted… you just need twice the amount.Their tiny eggs and interesting feathers are both very popular among crafters.Our classes utilize the eggs as food and for crafting, and teach youth how to clean the feathers when the hens molt for use in future camp projects, or to make a feather craft to take home with them.

Last updated December 6, 2018