From November 2024 through pretty much today, weather and its residual effects have not been kind to Lifesprings Farm and Aviary. A harsh winter storm began in November and dumped close to three feet of snow in one day. After that, the snow kept coming and coming and coming. It was accompanied by brisk, cold air that lingered.
Needless to say, the winter was hard on the birds but we were able to make them comfortable. We had great hopes for spring.
Then, on March 29, 2025, a fierce ice storm hit our area. We had freezing temperatures along with nonstop freezing rain for three solid days and nights. Half way through the first day, electricity for most went out. For us, the power was out for close to 12 days. Other, more rural folks than us, waited up to 3 weeks to see their electricity restored.
Day two began with the trees breaking with a sound like a rifle shot followed by tops of trees falling to ground. Many people had large branches fall on their roofs. We were fortunate in that our home, barn, and cabin/garage were spared.
Then, on day three, a large red pine tree on our neighbor’s tree plantation fell – not just the top of the tree but the entire 70 foot tall thing. And fell smack on top of our main aviary and ponds.
The pheasant and quail pens also took a good hit and are still awaiting some repairs.
Thankfully, we had moved some of the most valuable birds inside a day earlier. The ones that remained outside had a bad time of it. Some of them flew away (we keep the birds full winged). The rest we caught, but some of them died due to the stress of the storm and its damage and/or internal injuries they had sustained.
We do have other smaller aviaries that did not take much to repair and that have given water and open air to them, which is necessary to raising healthy waterfowl.
As we rebuild the aviary and continue to deal with storm aftermath, we ask for your patience. We are caring for our remaining birds as best we can and have raised some young ducks. At this time, we do not have the larger inventory for sale that we have had in the past.
It has been a real struggle for the birds and for us as well, and we are thankful to have had the mild success that we are blessed with. But this means that we are going to attend only a handful of swap meets this fall and will bring along what we do have for sale. Online orders will be limited as well. The dates of the swap meets at which you can find us for fall of 2025 are:
September 13 – Montrose, MI
September 20 – Shipshewana, MI
October 4 – Imlay City, MI
See the Michigan Bird & Game Breeders Association for more information on swap meets in Michigan.
Life-Springs-Farm and Aviary 