Meet Shawna Higel of Cherry Creek

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawna Higel.

Hi Shawna, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
7 Anubis Farms is a Small Farm with Big Dreams. Our journey started with a desire to be more self-sufficient and return to our roots of growing up in a small town. Paul works as an IT Architect, and I was a Graphic Designer. We had a large garden at our home in Littleton, and we were looking into getting chickens. Then the pandemic hit. I lost my job, and Paul was able to get a position working remotely. Not having to go into the office every day made us realize that we no longer needed to live in the city. So in February of 2022, we sold our house in Littleton and moved to a 15-acre farm in Akron, CO, 2 hours east of Denver and 45 minutes from where we grew up in Sterling.
The farm came with a handful of chickens, ducks, and geese. Now, 3 years later, we have 5 turkeys, 2 guinea fowl, 8 bantam chickens, 118 laying hens, 7 geese, 25 ducks, and 16 Berkshire pigs. Our saying is “Our animals only have one bad day.” We do everything we can to ensure our livestock is happy and healthy. In addition to the livestock, we have 3 acres of market gardens, fruit trees, cherry and raspberry bushes, and flowers. beds. We grow all our produce in a chemical-free, no-till garden. We are very dedicated to regenerative farming and no-till gardening. Both are a great boost to water and soil conservation. We do anything we can to be good stewards of the flora and fauna.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would like to say our journey so far has been all rainbows, but I can’t. Our first hurdle was making sure the animals had a better place to live. We built a pond for the ducks and geese, expanded the original chicken coop and run for the turkeys and guineas, and built a new area complete with a larger house for all of our chickens. Our infrastructure that was in place for the pigs was built for smaller pigs, and our Berkshires can reach 600 lbs. We have made quite a few changes to the area where the pigs live, including making alleys to allow them to be able to easily take them out to the pasture where they can live their lives as close to nature as possible.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
What do we do? Well, we are stewards of the land, raising livestock and produce to help feed Colorado’s families. My area of focus is livestock, and Paul’s expertise is in the market garden. Our pork and chicken are raised hormone and antibiotic-free on pasture using rotational grazing, and all our produce is grown free of chemicals in a no-till garden.
I would say we are known for raising happy animals. People know that we care for them and that they are well cared for.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. Every small farm is unique in how it operates. What works for one farm may not work for another. Find what works for you and stick to it. Don’t give in and try the newest fad in small farming. We have found what works for us and we stick with it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.7anubisfarms.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/7anubisfarms/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/7AnubisFarms
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@7anubisfarms
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@7anubis.farms

Image Credits
Shawna Higel with 7 Anubis Farms, LLC