Heyday Farm’s new pair of guardians are sent out to guard the pasture
Published 1:00 pm Sunday, April 29, 2012
Predators beware, there are new guards on patrol and if they don’t deter you with their bark or their bite, they will certainly slay you with their cuteness.
Rainier and Olympus are 4-month-old Maremma sheepdog puppies and are the newest additions to the Heyday Farm on McDonald Avenue.
The breed has been used by Italian farmers for centuries to guard livestock from predators. Alice and Craig Skipton of the Heyday Farm got the puppies to help maintain order around their chickens.
“The dogs add another layer of protection for the layer hens,” Alice Skipton said.
“We are adjacent to Islandwood and have coyotes, raptors, minks and raccoons in the area. We see the livestock guardian dogs as a good way to coexist so that the wildlife predators are deterred and so our hens are that much safer,” she said.
Currently only around
35 pounds, the puppies have already taken to their duties. They sit, patrol and wrestle around the field of chickens, and surprisingly don’t seem tempted to have a feathery snack.
Rainier and Olympus will eventually get up to 130 pounds when fully grown, with a thick white furry coat.
The Skiptons moved to Bainbridge Island in 2009 from Seattle with the dream of starting a farm.
“A place for peopled to gather and share food,” Skipton said. “Food is such a positive thing and you can make it fit with your values.”
After some planning, Heyday Farm was established in May 2011. Craig Skipton said that business has so far been good. Islanders can subscribe to get fresh eggs, or purchase them locally at Hitchcock Deli in Winslow, or at Pane d’Amore at Lynwood Center.
In addition to eggs and chickens, the Heyday Farm also has cattle, pigs, turkeys for the Thanksgiving season, and vegetable crops. Their goal is to provide locals with as much of the food pyramid as possible.
“It’s part of a whole diet for community supported agriculture, all locally grown,” Craig Skipton said.
Heyday also provides education opportunities for local schools, which send students to experience a farming operation up close.
