Our Family Farm History: From 1858 to Today — and How It Led to CluckDoc

A Family Farm History Spanning Generations

When my parents moved in, they were raising two boys and four girls. The farm became the backdrop for everything — weddings in the yard, huge family gatherings, and endless hunting stories. Hunting was how my parents fed us back then. Venison was a big part of keeping the family going.

On the main farm, my father milked 100 head of cows, and the second farm — the one we call home today — was used for the young stock. Early mornings, long days, cold winters, and muddy boots were a normal part of life. You don’t realize you’re being shaped by it until you look back years later.

As time went on and the farm changed hands, my wife and I knew we wanted to do something meaningful with the land again. We thought about raising beef cattle, or goats, or anything that could give us a little extra food and income. But after a lot of thinking, we chose something simpler — and honestly, something that made us happy.

We chose chickens.

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Raising chickens brought joy back to the farm in a way we didn’t expect. But when we lost a few young chickens early on, it hit us harder than we imagined. One day while watching the flock, I found myself thinking:

“There has to be a way to help people keep their chickens healthier… something that makes it easier and more enjoyable.”

And that moment is exactly when CluckDoc was born.

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This farm has always been about providing — whether it was beef, milk, venison, or now, healthier chickens. CluckDoc is just the next chapter in a legacy that started long before any of us were here. A chapter built on the same care, effort, and love that generations before us poured into this land.

From an 1858 farmhouse to a modern AI app — that’s our story. And it’s one we’re proud to share.

Writer: Tom Mante — backyard chicken keeper & co-founder of CluckDoc - If you want to read more about what life on our farm has taught us, you might enjoy this story:👉 What Winter Taught Us About Chicken Health — And the Hard Lessons We’ll Never Forget