Kerri Bruce
In Town: “I work for the Springfield Public Schools as a Literacy Coach at Holland Elementary in Springfield, Mo.,” said Kerri. “I’ve been with this school for four years and with the district for 10 years. I love reading and what I do allows me to bring that love of reading to teachers and students in my building.”
In the Country: Kerri and her husband, Scott, along with their three children, Klaire, 20, Klee, 12 and Kade, 7, run a family farm in Ozark, Mo. “This truly is a family run farm; everyone helps out,” stated Kerri.
The Bruce family raises Red Wattle hogs and a variety of chickens and ducks. “The biggest part of our operation is the chickens. We raise about 30 chickens at a time, depending on the time of year,” explained Kerri, who has raised chickens for 15 years.
Kerri continued, “We raise a variety of breeds. We like a colorful flock and colorful eggs. We have a few older breeds including Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds and Ameraucanas. We do a lot with the eggs. We’re in this to know where our eggs come from and to raise meat birds. We’re not in it to sell eggs – that’s just a bonus.”
The Bruce family keeps their flock in a coop and two chicken tractors. Kerri explained, “One tractor is used for the banty chicks only and the other is for the “teenagers,” as we like to call them. We keep the adult birds in the coop. We move the tractors about every two days. This allows them to eat bugs and also fertilize at the same time.”
When it comes to hatching chicks Kerri said, “We incubate the eggs in our laundry room. Then the chicks are kept in nursery housing for three weeks so we can regulate temperature and monitor conditions. We want them to be as healthy and strong as they can be.”
Balancing Both: “This really is a team effort,” stated Kerri. “Everyone has a part they enjoy so they don’t mind to pitch in.
“With my job I am off some time in the summer, which is when I can hone in on the batch I am about to hatch. This allows me to be home during the nursery stage. In the summers is when I also figure out the plan for the next school year.”
