August 19, 2024 • 41 mins
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What happens when a lifelong dedication to animal nutrition meets the world of horse companions and dealer sales? Join us as we chat with Gretchen, a remarkable national customer business manager at the Purina Animal Nutrition Center, who has dedicated 30 years to Land O'Lakes. Listen to Gretchen reveal her extensive role in managing sales and marketing events, and discover the fascinating investment Land O'Lakes has made in their research farm. From field sales to lifestyle events, Gretchen opens up about her varied responsibilities and passion for her work.
Gretchen Riley, MBA
Gretchen is a National Customer Business Manager at the Purina Animal Nutrition Center in Gray Summit, MO where she manages all the sales and marketing events related to Horse, Companion and Dealer/Sales Training. She obtained her Bachelors in Equine Science and MBA in Agricultural Business, both from Colorado State University and joined Purina Animal Nutrition in 1994. Gretchen spent 13 years as an Equine Specialist in Arizona and then 5 ½ years as an Equine Specialist/Show Feed Specialistma in California before transferring to Gray Summit, MO to work at the Purina Animal Nutrition Research Center. She has been a horse owner and rider since she was 8 years old and enjoys her small farm with horses, mini burros, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats and honeybees.
Finally, we take a moment to appreciate the dedication of individuals like Gretchen, who are the heart and soul behind the trusted brands we use. Tune in for a heartfelt conversation that will leave you grateful and excited for what's next.
You can follow Gretchen here https://www.instagram.com/lifeofrileyfarm/
“Where education fuels compassion.”
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Mel (00:00):
So now we are up, we are very excited and holy smokes, I
cannot believe you're sittinghere.
We moved mountains together.
We literally moved mountainspeople.
You have no idea that.
I'm so grateful, though thatGretchen just didn't be like nah
, I'm sorry, I'm out of here.
I'm not dealing with this mess.
Gretchen (00:20):
No, it's all good, I am easy going.
Mel (00:22):
But anyone that knows me knows that we are super excited
that you're here and notake-backs.
So like you can't vanish, I'vealready got you right here.
Gretchen (00:31):
I'm good, I'm good.
Mel (00:35):
Hey y'all, I'm Mel and you are listening to Wilma the
Wonder Hen.
Are you a chicken-mouth-lovingmama or daddy?
Together, together, we'll diveinto the latest poultry keeping
adventures, chat about everydaylife, with a generous mix of
some hilarious stories, bringingyou fascinating interviews with
(00:58):
poultry owners from all over.
You'll find tips and basicadvice from your local
veterinarian, along with newchicken keeping gadgets and
reviews.
I'm going to see what MrJangles and Wilma has to say
about that.
We're going to encourage andhelp you build a stronger,
healthier flock.
Let's go see what Mr Janglesand Wilma is up to.
Let's go let these heifers out.
Hey y'all, welcome back.
(01:24):
Today's guest is Gretchen.
She is a national customerbusiness manager at the Purina
Animal Nutrition Center whereshe manages all the sales and
marketing events related tohorse companion and dealer sales
training.
Her background is prettyextensive, but she is just like
us.
She owns lots of little animalsand critters and we are very
(01:45):
excited to have her with ustoday.
But she is a big deal over atLand O'Lakes and we are so
honored to have Gretchen with us.
So, hi, gretchen, welcome toWilma.
The Wonderhunt's podcast.
Gretchen (01:59):
Thank you.
I am totally super excited andhumbled to be asked to be on
your podcast, so I'm happy to behere and hopefully be able to
share what, what your audiencewants to hear.
I'm kind of an open book.
I'll tell you whatever you wantto do.
Mel (02:15):
Okay, awesome.
Yeah, that's so exciting.
Well, first of all, I know ourlisteners would love to hear who
you are currently, you know,and then we'll kind of do like a
backtrack of how you got there.
But definitely would love tohear who you are currently, you
know, and then we'll kind of dolike a backtrack of how you got
there, but definitely would loveto hear your current stats and
what.
Just be proud of yourself andjust go ahead and tell us all
about you.
Gretchen (02:36):
Okay, well, let's see here.
So, so, work, why you want toknow work?
Mel (02:42):
Anything.
Well, let's just give you thisyou can give our listeners work
wise and then tell us you knowwhere you're from, who you are,
and all that good stuff.
Ok, ok, give us an idea why,why what you're going to share
with us is on that expert level,just.
Gretchen (03:03):
OK, okay.
Mel (03:03):
Okay.
Gretchen (03:04):
Um, okay, so I uh, if you saw my Instagram story, I've
been with uh, Land O'Lakes,purina for 30 years.
Uh, december 1st will be 30years and I have been in my
current role for the last 11.
Um and so.
So what I'm doing now and thereason that I got to come to the
(03:25):
farm is back in 2013,.
Land O'Lakes um made a reallylarge, very important um
investment into the researchfarm to make sure that we had
the right facilities, the rightuh research equipment, buildings
, you name it to kind of furtherour research capabilities, and
(03:47):
so when they did that, alongwith doing research here, the
farm is also a way for us to doa lot of education and selling
events is what we call them.
And so I, prior to this, I wasin the field as a salesperson
and I thought, oh my, my gosh,they're putting together a team
(04:08):
to go work at the farm to helpmanage the events, to help
manage training, to do all thatkind of stuff.
And I had already been withPurina for 19 years as a
salesperson and I thought thefarm is like the epitome of the
company I.
I need to go and work there.
So I chose to take this role,and I am on a team we call
(04:32):
ourselves the farm team, but Iam on a team that wear a lot of
different hats.
So I help to manage what we callour lifestyle events, so
anything that has to do withchickens or the horses or
companion animals, but dealertraining, sales training,
everything that's not livestock,how about that?
So I manage all of thatactivity.
(04:54):
I do a lot of tours, I take alot of people around the farm
and tell them what we do, andthat's kind of the short version
.
And then and then we we have alot of tracking and data
collection that we send along tothe company to help support
what we do.
Mel (05:11):
So, ooh, I have so many questions about just what you
said right there, okay, so, sowell, I have lots of questions,
so I'll break down a few of them.
Um, do you, when you prior saidthat you were more like on the
dealer side type of thing beforeyou got to the farm, does that
mean like you would go to thedifferent feed stores that that
(05:33):
um deal with?
You know that, carry y'all'sproducts or whatever, and you
got to talk to the managers andall those things like at chick
days or just for the product,all that good stuff.
Oh, oh, my gosh.
Gretchen (05:45):
Everything, everything .
So yeah, so when I graduatedcollege, I had a lot of
interviews but landed on Purinabecause it sounded the most cool
and the most fitting for me.
But I was hired by a salesmanager.
So I was on the Purina salesteam and my role was to pretty
(06:05):
much work with and call on theretailers in my area and I was
in Arizona first and then wentto California for a little while
, but so I worked with theretailers that carried our feed
products and also the customersthat fed our feed.
So I worked with large horsefarms and rabbit owners and
(06:27):
sheep and goat and poultry Imean, you name it, all of our
animal categories.
And so I was in the fieldhelping to support the customers
and what questions and concernsthey had about feeding our feed
.
But then I also worked with thedealers to make sure they knew
about promotions and all thatand then help them with events
like chick days and things likethat.
(06:47):
So so I was involved in everyaspect of the business that a
that a retailer would be workingwith okay, so now at the farm.
Mel (06:55):
How does that?
How is that different?
Do they come to you instead ofyou going out to them now?
Gretchen (07:00):
correct correct, yep, so, um.
No, no, correct, correct, yep,so um.
So the events that we host here, um, you know, have a have a
few different requirements, butbut the sales team that's out in
the field invites largecustomers to come here and learn
about what we do, gotcha, so soright.
So we, we stay here, we help tomanage the events, make sure
(07:23):
that everyone has a greatexperience you know, learns
about us, really understands whowe are, and and you know the
fact that we do research andjust that we're a bunch of real
cool people.
Everybody comes to us here.
Mel (07:38):
Yes, Got to throw that in because we are yes, ok, so when
you were, when you were you,when you were little, uh, did
you own animals?
Did you ever think that youwould be like where you are
right now, professionally andyou know, with your own?
Um, obviously I don't see howyou would separate that like the
(08:00):
job that you have.
I can, I can, I couldn't seesomeone having the job that you
have.
I can, I can, I can see someonehaving the job that you have
and not having, like, a love ofanimals or any animals at all.
Gretchen (08:10):
Yeah, yeah.
So I would say it goes hand inhand and my, my role definitely
fits my lifestyle and I'vealways described, you know,
having a career with Purina.
It's really a lifestyle,because we don't ever really
turn off Purina, because we loveit, you know.
And if you know, when I was notriding horses near as much as I
(08:34):
used to, but I'd be out riding,if someone has a horse question
or a feed question, then youbet let's chat about it, so.
So it's kind of how we live ourlives, and so I don't know that
I dreamed about doing what I'mdoing, but I've been an animal
(08:54):
lover since I was a kid.
Now I didn't grow up on a farm,I grew up in a.
I moved different places, but Imostly grew up in a suburb of
Pittsburgh, pennsylvania, and sowe had a cat and a dog.
But I got involved with ridinghorses when I was about eight
years old and went to a parkwith my dad.
(09:17):
He was flying his modelairplanes and I got bored, so I
went down the hill to thestables and said I want to learn
how to ride horses.
So there we went.
So anyway, so I've been ridingsince I was eight and um, and
then when I got hired withPurina, I just just animals in
general and I've always wantedto have them, so I've always had
(09:39):
horses.
You know, we have our miniburrows.
And then when I, when I wasable to have property to own the
chickens and the ducks and allthat, then, um, those came along
because I could, and um, andthen we did actually did a big
project here at the farm withhoneybees, and so, um, I got to
learn all about them, and thatwas back in 2015.
(10:01):
So I then became a beekeeper.
So I've been a beekeeper forthe last eight years or so.
So it's just kind of what Ilike in life and what I enjoy at
home and the fact that I have acareer that lets me talk about
it and help our customers andhelp educate people.
I mean it's just kind of a fullcircle opportunity.
Mel (10:23):
So so just yep Fits my life pretty well.
Yeah, obviously there's no wayyou could have that job and not
love animals of some sort.
But I know in the the thechicken community is a lot
larger now, I think, than it'sprobably ever been and, uh,
possibly that is because of thisshift to companion, looking at
(10:47):
chickens as companion animalsinstead of just livestock.
But, like I said, we always sayyou know, if livestock is, if
that's what your intendedanimals are for, we never step
in front of anyone who providesfor their family and all that
good stuff.
But there is a large communitynow that are just companion
(11:08):
chickens.
Do y'all see that on your side,where it's more of people are
wanting to care for theirchickens longer?
You know they want theirchickens to live longer because
they are companions.
Do you hear a lot of thosequestions?
Gretchen (11:24):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely , and it and it makes sense.
You know, I think we obviouslysaw a big shift during COVID
Because, you know, people werehome and they had time.
You know, maybe maybe theydidn't have time because of the
type of job that they had andthey realized that, wow, I
(11:46):
enjoyed being home and havingthis capability and maybe they
wanted to do it before, but they, but they couldn't.
Um, anyway, I think the mindsetchanged a lot and and the
wonderful thing about chickensis is they're fairly easy.
You know, if, if you, if you'renot familiar with raising you
know a livestock type animal,they're easy and it doesn't take
(12:10):
a huge piece of property orincredible fencing, you know, to
keep them.
And so, yes, I think there'salways been that kind of
division of thought processwhere you know maybe a a more, a
more homesteady type family,you know, is raising them for
eggs and meat, you know thingslike that.
(12:31):
And then there's the companiongroup, which is great.
You know my, my chickens havenames and I like the eggs.
So so you know, we, we totallyappreciate both sides and sides
and we have information for bothsides, we have feeds for both.
You know thought processes orchoices.
(12:53):
Should I say we just want tomake sure that everybody that
has questions gets, you know,the right answers and good
information.
And you know, and we're here tohelp.
We truly are.
We're all animal lovers.
We want you guys to succeed,just like we want our own selves
(13:20):
to succeed, and so we, that'swhat we're here for.
Mel (13:22):
But, yeah, there's definitely.
I think that perina does areally good job um with their
website.
Uh, you know, for answering,there's lots of information on
the internet and we definitelydon't want to point out, but
there's a lots of lots ofmisinformation out there.
(13:42):
A lot of it, I think, is we'vetalked about this prior in our
podcast of the generations pastand nothing wrong.
You know a lot of people, likeI said, if your chicken gets
sick, it's typically you knowthey.
(14:03):
Just that's the end of that,you know.
But now, with people withcompanion chickens, they are
seeking out more veterinariancare, you know, to provide basic
care for their chickens, sothat they do, you know, if they
get sick, they want to give thatan opportunity, just like a cat
or a dog.
But, yeah, and I think that'sgreat that we can each do our
(14:28):
own part of um spreading, uh,the correct information, which
is and I like that prina doesthat with, especially with now
that you have you're talkingabout the farm and I know that
y'all do a lot of research therewith different feeds and
formulations and you know allkinds of things.
(14:48):
Oh, my gosh, my brain just diedfor a minute.
I had a question, somethingabout the farm?
Maybe Something about the farmyeah, it's about the farm anyway
.
But we know that y'all spend alot of time doing that research
and that.
So do you feel that you hearmore questions about people
needing uh veterinarian care?
(15:10):
Or I know, I know that y'allaren't typically just going to
give veterinarian careinformation, but do you find
that is?
I feel like it's lacking in ourchicken community, because a
lot of uh people will say, hey,I have a vet, but you know they
don't want to see chickens, sodo you?
Do you see those questions?
Are you not in the midst of thedirect questions of customers
(15:33):
and you know?
Gretchen (15:34):
um, I'm I'm not heavy into the mix of questions.
You know, dr biggs are yes, drbiggs yes yep, great guy he.
Dr Biggs.
He answers a lot of thosequestions, but we, you know, and
if we have events here and acustomer has a question, then
yes, I visit with a lot ofpeople what, what we, what we as
(15:57):
a feed company, don't want todo is step on the toes of a
veterinarian, because therethere are certain scenarios
where you know we could helpwith management or you know kind
of some.
I don't want to say basicquestions because we get into
some pretty good discussionsabout things, but you know the
veterinarian field andveterinary care is very
different than what we do, andso we try to steer folks towards
(16:21):
true veterinary care if theyneed it, because you know we're
educated in nutrition and feedformulations and things like
that.
We're not necessarily on thehealth side of things.
It may be basic stuff, but notto the level of a great
veterinarian.
So we do try to separateourselves a little bit.
We do try to separate ourselvesa little bit.
(16:46):
Um, and you know it, it is.
It is tough, because I don'tknow that there's a lot of vets
out there that that do spend alot of time with backyard
poultry.
Um, cause, it's, it's a, it's ashift in the community for sure
, because in the past, you know,chicken is a chicken and they,
they live for a while and thenthey die, and so I'm hoping that
there is more veterinary careavailable and that everybody can
(17:10):
get access to someone that canhelp them.
Mel (17:13):
So do y'all have a?
I know you said you have eventsat the farm for your larger
customers, I assume likeretailers and things like that
but do you go and do events likein the community?
Um, so, like step one, this ishow you take care of a chicken.
It's up to you, you know yes,well and so.
Gretchen (17:36):
So we rely on on our feed dealers and retailers to to
help host those events.
Okay, I gotcha, yeah and and sohere at our farm we're a little
bit different purpose Gotcha,but our retailers, we definitely
support them.
We can kind of bring the farmdiscussion to an outside event,
(17:58):
but so most of the events thatwe do for I would say 95% of our
customers are at the retailerlevel that we join to be a part
of.
Mel (18:09):
No, I got you.
Okay, all right, we can move onto less of the.
I sound like I'm grilling you,really not.
Gretchen (18:19):
I'm just.
Mel (18:19):
I'm really interested, that's all.
Yeah, yeah sure reallyinterested, that's all.
So, yeah, yeah, sure, uh, Iknow well we'll move on, but, um
, who do you think would be theyou would say is the most
influential for your career?
Once before we move on to thechicken keeping tips and all
that, I just I really would, I'mreally interested of who you
think has influenced you themost to where you are today, or
(18:43):
even to sustain you to continue.
Did you think there was a timethat, during your career, you
wanted to give up?
Do you?
Did you find it challenging orno?
Gretchen (18:53):
Um, you know, not real , not really.
I, you know, I've I've beenhere a long time because of a
lot of different reasons, butbut I think some of the biggest
reasons are one the type ofpeople that gravitate to Purina
to work here because of theirbackground or their values or
(19:17):
what they like to do every day.
You know, I think there's a lotof different factors.
The people that work for Purinaare are wonderful people and so
and so that's what keeps a lotof us here for a long time,
because we enjoy who we workwith, we enjoy the fact that we
can help other animal owners.
And so you know, I will say, atyear 11 for me, I had
(19:45):
headhunters coming after me andI really didn't want to leave,
but I ended up going to apharmaceutical company for a
little while and after about ayear I'm like, nope, this just
doesn't fit me very well.
Interesting, fortunately, Isaid hey, purina just doesn't
fit me very well.
So interesting.
Fortunately, I said, hey, purina, can you take me back?
And they said, sure, so.
(20:06):
So thank goodness.
But that was an odd time for mebecause I didn't really want to
go, but I thought, am Isupposed to do something
different?
I guess, do you say, stay withsomething for your whole career?
But but you know, that was so.
That was the one time that it'slike, yep, nope, that was the
deciding factor, that this iswhere I need to be, this is
(20:27):
where I want to stay, this iswhat I enjoy doing every single
day.
And so you know.
So there's a lot, of, a lot ofinfluences, I think, that that
keep me here, and it's it's thepeople that I work with, the
people that I get to help.
You know, our customers.
I love our customers, I lovehelping, I love answering
questions, I love giving themgood information, you know, and
helping them understand, maybehelping them wade through what's
(20:50):
true and what's not true, orwhat makes sense and what really
doesn't.
So it's, there's just many,many things that keep me here.
Mel (21:02):
Yeah, I always ask like can I come clean the coops?
You know, can I do anything atthe farm?
Can you just let me come, Canyou?
Gretchen (21:06):
You know what we could .
We could probably figure outhow to get you here for a visit,
for sure you know, I will notmake you clean anything.
Mel (21:13):
I'll feed the chickens.
You know I'm really good atcleaning out chicken coops.
Ok, I'm really good at cleaningout chicken coops.
Okay, I'm really good.
You know, I'll do anythingy'all ask me to do, just you
know.
So that's our shameless that'sour shameless ask.
But now we can kind of move onto what like.
(21:34):
Where would you direct someone?
Obviously Prina, but do youhave any other resources that
you would direct, say, to newchicken keepers?
Obviously you cover otheranimals.
You know you have other animalsthat you work for and with and
all that good things.
But typically Wilma's, we kindof focus on chickens, so that's
(21:58):
why I'm kind of limiting that onthat.
I don't know anything abouthorses.
I couldn't even ask you aquestion on it.
I love horses.
I think they're amazing and Igot to ride one when I was.
It was actually on my birthdaytrip to California to see my
friend, and that was like fouryears ago.
So I'm not going to say how oldI am, but I'm like.
Gretchen (22:21):
I am a Gen X-er.
Mel (22:23):
Okay, I'm a Gen X, so y'all can figure that out.
But yeah, it was the mostexciting thing, but I have no
idea about anything.
Horses don't even pretend to.
Where would you send newchicken keepers?
Or maybe not, if you don't wantto name anything Like are there
things that you should look for?
You know that would say, okay,this is not a biased article, or
(22:45):
something like that.
Gretchen (22:46):
Well, so I'll give you the perspective that we try to
do, and obviously all of ourfeed products are research,
research base, you know.
So we want to, we want toprovide products that we know
are going to work, and we wantto provide information that we
know is true because of factualinformation, scientific findings
(23:11):
, things like that, and so so wemay not be like the fun, fluffy
kind of thing, but but you know, we want to provide good, solid
, sound information, and so youknow, yes, our website is a
great place to go there.
There are a lot of good, youknow, university articles,
(23:35):
things like that.
And I would say another thingthat we try to do a lot is
educate our dealers andretailers to have the same good
information.
And so I think if the communitycan find a really good feed
(23:55):
retailer that is knowledgeable,either has ownership or has been
involved in the business for along time, you know I I even ask
the feed store that I shop atlocally here about, you know,
typically, other things otherthan animals, but I trust their
information because I've been inthe industry for a long time,
and so so I think you, I thinkeverybody, just has to take
(24:19):
everything with a grain of saltand and say, okay, is this, is
this valid?
Do I, do I trust where theinformation is coming from?
Is it, does it kind of makesense or does it seem a little
extravagant?
You know, and there's, andthere's great people out there.
I, I just recommend everybody,just you know, take a step back
(24:41):
and does this seem correct ordoes it seem a little
opinionated or emotional, orsomething like that?
You know, try to stay to thefacts, and I think there's good
facts out there and I don't knowthat I can, you know, point
your crew to that place to go,or anything like that.
(25:04):
Just, you know, be reallydiligent about finding good
information and tend to look atseveral different places and try
to find the consistencies thatI see everywhere.
So I figure, if more than justone place or one spot or one
(25:30):
article or one person is sayingthe same exact thing, then I
think that's probably some goodinformation.
Mel (25:38):
No, I agree, that's kind of what we preach.
A lot is not just take oneperson's, you know, look for the
science.
Emotions don't mean that it'swhat they're saying is correct.
So, you know, look for thescience.
And we all know that socialmedia can be a great place to
share, definitely gets a lot ofcommunity-like type environment
(26:02):
and you can bounce ideas off ofeveryone and you can learn from
each other.
But the Internet can also be avery dangerous place, as we all
know.
Yep, things got a little iffythere, but we never give up.
So we never, we never give up.
We never give in to umuneducated individuals.
Gretchen (26:28):
Anyway, moving right along, yeah, well, and it is,
you know, and you're right, Imean, I, I have a love-hate
relationship with social mediayou know, it's like I I love it
because the community there isgreat.
I hate it because sometimes somepeople can be evil on social
media.
That's the part that I don'tlike.
Yeah, but it's very true, yeah,there's there's just so much
(26:53):
emotion behind some things, andso.
So it's where each individualhas to really kind of put their
logic hat on, take some emotionout and say, okay, would XYZ
really do XYZ?
That kind of doesn't make sense.
(27:14):
So I think it just takes somepersonal evaluation.
Mel (27:20):
Yeah, and things always seem to work themselves out and
correct themselves.
You know however long that maytake, but yeah.
So what breeds of chickens doyou have and what would be your
favorite?
I won't tell any of yourchickens that you said this, so
(27:41):
you can be as honest as you wantto be.
Gretchen (27:44):
So I love Easter Eggers, just because they're
such a nice variety.
I love my Buff Orpingtons.
I have lots of different breedsand I actually have a few new
ones that they're not old enoughquite yet for me to know
exactly what their personalitiesare like, but I got some
starlight eggers, oh yeah, andthey seem like they have
(28:07):
wonderful personalities.
So I have four of those littleladies.
I'm very excited.
I have a young crew of.
I Am Samanis.
And they seem amazing.
I mean just sweet and docile.
And the groups that I got.
I ended up with four roostersand two hens.
(28:28):
Of course yeah, of coursethere's the logic there or
mostly slosh as I say yes, butthey're all just sweet.
So those are just to name a few.
Um, I have a lot of wyandotsand they're kind of middle of
the road.
I kind of like them.
Some are a little bit strongerpersonalities than others, so,
(28:50):
yeah, they're um.
One breed that I that I reallydon't like is um cinnamon queens
, is that what they're called?
Mel (28:58):
oh yeah, the isobrown either.
Isobrown, cinnamon queens, uh,red comets I kind of think
they're all like grouped in thesame, sadly, sadly, they don't
live very long they're.
They're bred to not servelongevity.
I think they're more for moreegg production and less
(29:19):
longevity and less longevity.
Gretchen (29:21):
Yeah, well, I had two and I guess I only have one left
and she's not nice.
So, um, so you know, but I Iwill have to say that I I really
haven't had any horriblechickens.
Yeah, the Polish ones were notvery friendly for some reason, I
(29:42):
don't know, I think that'sbecause they can't see.
Mel (29:45):
They can't see very well.
They're always on the guard.
They're not very smart.
I had a black crested PolishBannum cockerel and he would
walk into the wall.
I mean, he was, he was notbright, he definitely could not
protect any of his hens.
There's just they wouldliterally leave him in the yard
(30:09):
and go back to the coop.
They're like this guy is anidiot, but he was really cute
and he, I think he passed away.
He was like six or seven, maybeI don't remember, but yeah, his
name is blue and he was notvery bright.
So what are your chickensfavorite snacks?
They got any favorite snacks.
I know the 90 10 rule, but theygot to have some snacks right,
(30:33):
I know they, I right.
I work for a nutrition companyand I absolutely, I know you,
you have to you have to feed, abalanced feed all the time, but
um watermelon rinds like whenyou cut out the watermelon, they
love watermelon rinds and theylove, of course, everybody's
favorite, the mealworms.
Gretchen (30:51):
They will, like you know, climb the walls for those
they will yes and I found a newone of some cucumbers.
We had some extra cucumbers inour garden so they love those.
Um, but I'm trying to think wedon't.
I'm trying to think of whatthey don't like.
That because I have fed themsome stuff and they're like at
now uh, strawberry tops, theylike strawberry yeah, yeah, yeah
(31:14):
and and I think I've spoiledthem a little bit to expect some
sweet treats like watermelonand strawberries, because then
you give them something that's agreen vegetable and they're
like uh, excuse me, lady, what'sthat?
Mel (31:26):
I'm not eating it I know, I know my mine have surprised me
about the cucumbers.
Mine, do you love cucumbers?
They love watermelon, they lovezucchini.
They don't love squash but theylike the zucchini because I
think it's a little more, youknow, water dense than regular
yellow squash.
(31:46):
But yeah, they love all thoseand that's great, you know, for
during the summer, for hydration, yeah.
But do you have any tips for,let's say, moving into the fall,
since summer is not over, butit's kind of like at the tail
end into the fall, sincesummer's not over, but it's kind
of like at the tail end?
But do you have any fall tipsfor people who have little?
Gretchen (32:06):
flock.
I guess my basic tips are justare be prepared, you know.
Think now about what yourenvironment is going to need.
You know, do you need someheaters?
Do you need, do you need to dothings differently with you know
, kind of containing the warmthand keeping out the cold?
You know, do you have an openair coop that needs to be
(32:26):
bundled up during the wintertime?
Do you have stuff thatpotentially could freeze and
make sure that you have?
You know you're not puttingplastic buckets on top of a
really hot heater kind of athing, so kind of all the normal
stuff.
But you know one thing,nutritionally, that I do with my
flock, and they are, they arestarting to molt.
(32:46):
It's very if someone in yourkind has seen what molting looks
like you're getting featherseverywhere, and so mine are
starting to molt, and so I tendto switch mine to our Hypro
layer.
Okay, yes, okay, yes.
Yes, I hate to say it that theymight've changed the name, but
anyway.
So so our high protein versionof Laena, just to help them kind
(33:10):
of get get feathers growingback again after they've molted.
I like that, and then duringthe winter time, I actually will
switch to BlockRazor becausethey're not laying eggs.
So just manage your nutritionbased on what your birds are
going to either reduce eggproduction or they're going to
(33:42):
stop laying eggs until thelonger daylight hours come back.
Mel (33:48):
Yes, so that's.
Gretchen (33:49):
That's a little tip we just throw right in there yes,
yes for sure, and and that's,and that really is very
important.
Um, you know, daylight.
Daylight manages reproductivecycles in many, many, many
animals besides chickens, and soit's a very it's a very natural
thing to do.
(34:09):
You know, you don't want babiesbeing born in the very cold
wintertime.
That's why reproductivereproductive cycles shut down
for animals, and so there's aMother Nature reason why egg
production slows down when it'scold.
So, very reasonable, and Idon't have any need or reason to
(34:30):
keep my chickens under lightsduring the wintertime.
I don't need nonstop eggproduction, I'm okay with that.
So I manage my nutrition and myenvironment based uh, based on
what they're, what they're doingyear round.
Mel (34:43):
So, yeah, that's kind of how we do it.
Uh, we don't use lights.
I know some people do.
Uh, maybe that's just part ofhow they earn money for their
family and obviously the theoffset the cost.
Uh, I do think they recommendthat you turn the lights on in
the morning, early morning hours, let them sleep, that you turn
the lights on in the morning,early morning hours, let them
sleep and then turn the light onyou know earlier, like 6 am or
(35:07):
something, and then let themhave a couple of extra hours,
become daylight until later inthe day.
Hopefully that made sense.
Start the light in the morning,not in the evening.
Gretchen (35:18):
Turn it on in the morning and let it go out in the
evening.
Mel (35:20):
Yes, yeah, let it go out, let it come on for a couple
hours so you get that extradaylight, not in the evening,
let them sleep, let them girlssleep, because they need so much
energy, for you know, eggproduction.
It takes so much, and that'syou know.
When they're moltingting, likeyou said, we we switch to flock
razor, um, and I think thathelps them through their molt.
(35:45):
I'm not really worried aboutthem, you know, laying any eggs,
because obviously they'respending all their energy to
produce those beautiful feathers.
I know that we had a bigproduction before this and I
certainly don't want to take anymore of your time.
I do have a few questions atthe end, but I certainly want
you to.
I feel like, after the interviewis over, I have like 10
different questions that Ishould have asked and I feel
(36:09):
like I'm good, I'm here, for Ishould have asked that.
And then I'm like, oh well, so,but I think that gives me an
opportunity to maybe next time.
Next time, you know, I can belike okay, uh, gretchen, can you
come back?
Yeah, we do part two for sure,you know for sure.
And uh, sometimes we like totake questions from our
followers and then ask you know,um, that, so we may do that
(36:33):
after this episode, like put inthe show notes, you know if they
have any questions or somethinglike that.
But I do have three, threequestions at the end if you're
interested in them.
So what is your favorite movieand why?
Gretchen (36:47):
it's probably cheesy hope floats is my oh, yeah, yeah
, okay, yeah, it's just, I love,I like romantic comedies and
then that kind of thing, andthat was just a great movie
because I don't know, it justwas a small town and so anyway
yeah, that's.
Mel (37:05):
That's a really that's a very popular movie.
So what is your favorite book?
Do you have a favorite book?
Gretchen (37:11):
that's a hard one because I don't sit still very
well to read I don't either.
Mel (37:20):
So if you ask me, I'd be like that's okay, you don't have
to answer, you know I don'thave a favorite book.
Gretchen (37:25):
I read a very hilarious book and and it's just
one of those short little booksand it's about cats and it's
like why I peed on that and itwas hilarious.
Mel (37:32):
Okay, that's a great one.
See that, could you know?
Do you remember who wrote it sowe can give a recommendation?
I don't.
Gretchen (37:40):
I can get it to you, but I can't.
Mel (37:44):
I think it gives people ideas of different books they
may not have heard of.
Okay, if you could put anythingon a billboard, what would you
put on the billboard and why?
Gretchen (37:56):
I would just like to tell people to just be nice to
everybody.
We can all get along andeverything is not a disaster.
No, I agree.
I think be nice to your fellowperson would be a good thing to
put on a billboard.
Mel (38:15):
Heck yeah, we all need a little kindness.
The world's crazy enough, it is, I know.
We just need a little kindness.
The world's crazy enough, wedon't it is.
I know we just need to cometogether and I think a lot of
times we need to just give graceto our neighbor and the person
on the other end of the eitherour phone or tablet or whatever.
Gretchen (38:33):
So yeah, yeah, and you never know what's going on in
everybody else's world.
But be nice and give grace.
I like that, that's like,that's that's how, and and hope
they listen right, and hope theylisten.
Mel (38:47):
If they don't, whatever, that's right, that's not my
problem, but anyway, we are sograteful and honored to have you
with us.
Um, like I said, I'll probablyhave 14 000, but that's okay.
We have on camera Gretchensaying that she will come back
at some point, so she can't goback on that.
Gretchen (39:09):
It would be my pleasure.
It's been fun.
I love visiting, I love talkingabout what I do and how to help
, and not that I like somemassive encyclopedia of
information.
Mel (39:18):
Right, but you are in that environment all the time, so I
think that does come with, youknow, credibility.
So, and we look to perina'swebsite and we do try and point
others to it.
This is not a promotion forperina.
We love perina, we do work withperina, but this has nothing to
do with perina.
I just am fascinated byGretchen and what she does, and
(39:42):
it is a little humanizing tohumanize that.
There are some amazing peoplebehind the brands that you see
online, and Prerna just happensto be one of them.
So we are grateful.
Gretchen (39:55):
Yeah, and we, we like opportunities like this to let
everybody know that you know,trina is a company, but there's
really good people behind thatbrand and people that care about
what we're sending out, peoplethat care about the people that
are feeding our products, peoplethat want to help whoever needs
(40:16):
help and has questions.
You know I mean there's so.
So, yeah, there's the companyand then there's the people, and
, and, and, honestly, the people, like I said earlier, is what
is what keeps me here, becauseit's a lot of really good people
that that are just here to todo good things for animal owners
.
Mel (40:33):
I agree, and y'all have earned a spot on our world
famous Wilma the Wonderhandspodcast.
Gretchen (40:42):
We appreciate that.
We appreciate the folks thatput that trust in us and want to
do that so so we thank you.
Mel (40:49):
You are more than welcome, but that's it for now.
Thanks, gretchen.
Gretchen (40:54):
Okay, yeah, thank you so much.
I appreciate the invitation andI look forward to part two.
So now we are up, we are very excited and holy smokes, I
cannot believe you're sittinghere.
We moved mountains together.
We literally moved mountainspeople.
You have no idea that.
I'm so grateful, though thatGretchen just didn't be like nah
, I'm sorry, I'm out of here.
I'm not dealing with this mess.
Gretchen (00:20):
No, it's all good, I am easy going.
Mel (00:22):
But anyone that knows me knows that we are super excited
that you're here and notake-backs.
So like you can't vanish, I'vealready got you right here.
Gretchen (00:31):
I'm good, I'm good.
Mel (00:35):
Hey y'all, I'm Mel and you are listening to Wilma the
Wonder Hen.
Are you a chicken-mouth-lovingmama or daddy?
Together, together, we'll diveinto the latest poultry keeping
adventures, chat about everydaylife, with a generous mix of
some hilarious stories, bringingyou fascinating interviews with
(00:58):
poultry owners from all over.
You'll find tips and basicadvice from your local
veterinarian, along with newchicken keeping gadgets and
reviews.
I'm going to see what MrJangles and Wilma has to say
about that.
We're going to encourage andhelp you build a stronger,
healthier flock.
Let's go see what Mr Janglesand Wilma is up to.
Let's go let these heifers out.
Hey y'all, welcome back.
(01:24):
Today's guest is Gretchen.
She is a national customerbusiness manager at the Purina
Animal Nutrition Center whereshe manages all the sales and
marketing events related tohorse companion and dealer sales
training.
Her background is prettyextensive, but she is just like
us.
She owns lots of little animalsand critters and we are very
(01:45):
excited to have her with ustoday.
But she is a big deal over atLand O'Lakes and we are so
honored to have Gretchen with us.
So, hi, gretchen, welcome toWilma.
The Wonderhunt's podcast.
Gretchen (01:59):
Thank you.
I am totally super excited andhumbled to be asked to be on
your podcast, so I'm happy to behere and hopefully be able to
share what, what your audiencewants to hear.
I'm kind of an open book.
I'll tell you whatever you wantto do.
Mel (02:15):
Okay, awesome.
Yeah, that's so exciting.
Well, first of all, I know ourlisteners would love to hear who
you are currently, you know,and then we'll kind of do like a
backtrack of how you got there.
But definitely would love tohear who you are currently, you
know, and then we'll kind of dolike a backtrack of how you got
there, but definitely would loveto hear your current stats and
what.
Just be proud of yourself andjust go ahead and tell us all
about you.
Gretchen (02:36):
Okay, well, let's see here.
So, so, work, why you want toknow work?
Mel (02:42):
Anything.
Well, let's just give you thisyou can give our listeners work
wise and then tell us you knowwhere you're from, who you are,
and all that good stuff.
Ok, ok, give us an idea why,why what you're going to share
with us is on that expert level,just.
Gretchen (03:03):
OK, okay.
Mel (03:03):
Okay.
Gretchen (03:04):
Um, okay, so I uh, if you saw my Instagram story, I've
been with uh, Land O'Lakes,purina for 30 years.
Uh, december 1st will be 30years and I have been in my
current role for the last 11.
Um and so.
So what I'm doing now and thereason that I got to come to the
(03:25):
farm is back in 2013,.
Land O'Lakes um made a reallylarge, very important um
investment into the researchfarm to make sure that we had
the right facilities, the rightuh research equipment, buildings
, you name it to kind of furtherour research capabilities, and
(03:47):
so when they did that, alongwith doing research here, the
farm is also a way for us to doa lot of education and selling
events is what we call them.
And so I, prior to this, I wasin the field as a salesperson
and I thought, oh my, my gosh,they're putting together a team
(04:08):
to go work at the farm to helpmanage the events, to help
manage training, to do all thatkind of stuff.
And I had already been withPurina for 19 years as a
salesperson and I thought thefarm is like the epitome of the
company I.
I need to go and work there.
So I chose to take this role,and I am on a team we call
(04:32):
ourselves the farm team, but Iam on a team that wear a lot of
different hats.
So I help to manage what we callour lifestyle events, so
anything that has to do withchickens or the horses or
companion animals, but dealertraining, sales training,
everything that's not livestock,how about that?
So I manage all of thatactivity.
(04:54):
I do a lot of tours, I take alot of people around the farm
and tell them what we do, andthat's kind of the short version
.
And then and then we we have alot of tracking and data
collection that we send along tothe company to help support
what we do.
Mel (05:11):
So, ooh, I have so many questions about just what you
said right there, okay, so, sowell, I have lots of questions,
so I'll break down a few of them.
Um, do you, when you prior saidthat you were more like on the
dealer side type of thing beforeyou got to the farm, does that
mean like you would go to thedifferent feed stores that that
(05:33):
um deal with?
You know that, carry y'all'sproducts or whatever, and you
got to talk to the managers andall those things like at chick
days or just for the product,all that good stuff.
Oh, oh, my gosh.
Gretchen (05:45):
Everything, everything .
So yeah, so when I graduatedcollege, I had a lot of
interviews but landed on Purinabecause it sounded the most cool
and the most fitting for me.
But I was hired by a salesmanager.
So I was on the Purina salesteam and my role was to pretty
(06:05):
much work with and call on theretailers in my area and I was
in Arizona first and then wentto California for a little while
, but so I worked with theretailers that carried our feed
products and also the customersthat fed our feed.
So I worked with large horsefarms and rabbit owners and
(06:27):
sheep and goat and poultry Imean, you name it, all of our
animal categories.
And so I was in the fieldhelping to support the customers
and what questions and concernsthey had about feeding our feed
.
But then I also worked with thedealers to make sure they knew
about promotions and all thatand then help them with events
like chick days and things likethat.
(06:47):
So so I was involved in everyaspect of the business that a
that a retailer would be workingwith okay, so now at the farm.
Mel (06:55):
How does that?
How is that different?
Do they come to you instead ofyou going out to them now?
Gretchen (07:00):
correct correct, yep, so, um.
No, no, correct, correct, yep,so um.
So the events that we host here, um, you know, have a have a
few different requirements, butbut the sales team that's out in
the field invites largecustomers to come here and learn
about what we do, gotcha, so soright.
So we, we stay here, we help tomanage the events, make sure
(07:23):
that everyone has a greatexperience you know, learns
about us, really understands whowe are, and and you know the
fact that we do research andjust that we're a bunch of real
cool people.
Everybody comes to us here.
Mel (07:38):
Yes, Got to throw that in because we are yes, ok, so when
you were, when you were you,when you were little, uh, did
you own animals?
Did you ever think that youwould be like where you are
right now, professionally andyou know, with your own?
Um, obviously I don't see howyou would separate that like the
(08:00):
job that you have.
I can, I can, I couldn't seesomeone having the job that you
have.
I can, I can, I can see someonehaving the job that you have
and not having, like, a love ofanimals or any animals at all.
Gretchen (08:10):
Yeah, yeah.
So I would say it goes hand inhand and my, my role definitely
fits my lifestyle and I'vealways described, you know,
having a career with Purina.
It's really a lifestyle,because we don't ever really
turn off Purina, because we loveit, you know.
And if you know, when I was notriding horses near as much as I
(08:34):
used to, but I'd be out riding,if someone has a horse question
or a feed question, then youbet let's chat about it, so.
So it's kind of how we live ourlives, and so I don't know that
I dreamed about doing what I'mdoing, but I've been an animal
(08:54):
lover since I was a kid.
Now I didn't grow up on a farm,I grew up in a.
I moved different places, but Imostly grew up in a suburb of
Pittsburgh, pennsylvania, and sowe had a cat and a dog.
But I got involved with ridinghorses when I was about eight
years old and went to a parkwith my dad.
(09:17):
He was flying his modelairplanes and I got bored, so I
went down the hill to thestables and said I want to learn
how to ride horses.
So there we went.
So anyway, so I've been ridingsince I was eight and um, and
then when I got hired withPurina, I just just animals in
general and I've always wantedto have them, so I've always had
(09:39):
horses.
You know, we have our miniburrows.
And then when I, when I wasable to have property to own the
chickens and the ducks and allthat, then, um, those came along
because I could, and um, andthen we did actually did a big
project here at the farm withhoneybees, and so, um, I got to
learn all about them, and thatwas back in 2015.
(10:01):
So I then became a beekeeper.
So I've been a beekeeper forthe last eight years or so.
So it's just kind of what Ilike in life and what I enjoy at
home and the fact that I have acareer that lets me talk about
it and help our customers andhelp educate people.
I mean it's just kind of a fullcircle opportunity.
Mel (10:23):
So so just yep Fits my life pretty well.
Yeah, obviously there's no wayyou could have that job and not
love animals of some sort.
But I know in the the thechicken community is a lot
larger now, I think, than it'sprobably ever been and, uh,
possibly that is because of thisshift to companion, looking at
(10:47):
chickens as companion animalsinstead of just livestock.
But, like I said, we always sayyou know, if livestock is, if
that's what your intendedanimals are for, we never step
in front of anyone who providesfor their family and all that
good stuff.
But there is a large communitynow that are just companion
(11:08):
chickens.
Do y'all see that on your side,where it's more of people are
wanting to care for theirchickens longer?
You know they want theirchickens to live longer because
they are companions.
Do you hear a lot of thosequestions?
Gretchen (11:24):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely , and it and it makes sense.
You know, I think we obviouslysaw a big shift during COVID
Because, you know, people werehome and they had time.
You know, maybe maybe theydidn't have time because of the
type of job that they had andthey realized that, wow, I
(11:46):
enjoyed being home and havingthis capability and maybe they
wanted to do it before, but they, but they couldn't.
Um, anyway, I think the mindsetchanged a lot and and the
wonderful thing about chickensis is they're fairly easy.
You know, if, if you, if you'renot familiar with raising you
know a livestock type animal,they're easy and it doesn't take
(12:10):
a huge piece of property orincredible fencing, you know, to
keep them.
And so, yes, I think there'salways been that kind of
division of thought processwhere you know maybe a a more, a
more homesteady type family,you know, is raising them for
eggs and meat, you know thingslike that.
(12:31):
And then there's the companiongroup, which is great.
You know my, my chickens havenames and I like the eggs.
So so you know, we, we totallyappreciate both sides and sides
and we have information for bothsides, we have feeds for both.
You know thought processes orchoices.
(12:53):
Should I say we just want tomake sure that everybody that
has questions gets, you know,the right answers and good
information.
And you know, and we're here tohelp.
We truly are.
We're all animal lovers.
We want you guys to succeed,just like we want our own selves
(13:20):
to succeed, and so we, that'swhat we're here for.
Mel (13:22):
But, yeah, there's definitely.
I think that perina does areally good job um with their
website.
Uh, you know, for answering,there's lots of information on
the internet and we definitelydon't want to point out, but
there's a lots of lots ofmisinformation out there.
(13:42):
A lot of it, I think, is we'vetalked about this prior in our
podcast of the generations pastand nothing wrong.
You know a lot of people, likeI said, if your chicken gets
sick, it's typically you knowthey.
(14:03):
Just that's the end of that,you know.
But now, with people withcompanion chickens, they are
seeking out more veterinariancare, you know, to provide basic
care for their chickens, sothat they do, you know, if they
get sick, they want to give thatan opportunity, just like a cat
or a dog.
But, yeah, and I think that'sgreat that we can each do our
(14:28):
own part of um spreading, uh,the correct information, which
is and I like that prina doesthat with, especially with now
that you have you're talkingabout the farm and I know that
y'all do a lot of research therewith different feeds and
formulations and you know allkinds of things.
(14:48):
Oh, my gosh, my brain just diedfor a minute.
I had a question, somethingabout the farm?
Maybe Something about the farmyeah, it's about the farm anyway
.
But we know that y'all spend alot of time doing that research
and that.
So do you feel that you hearmore questions about people
needing uh veterinarian care?
(15:10):
Or I know, I know that y'allaren't typically just going to
give veterinarian careinformation, but do you find
that is?
I feel like it's lacking in ourchicken community, because a
lot of uh people will say, hey,I have a vet, but you know they
don't want to see chickens, sodo you?
Do you see those questions?
Are you not in the midst of thedirect questions of customers
(15:33):
and you know?
Gretchen (15:34):
um, I'm I'm not heavy into the mix of questions.
You know, dr biggs are yes, drbiggs yes yep, great guy he.
Dr Biggs.
He answers a lot of thosequestions, but we, you know, and
if we have events here and acustomer has a question, then
yes, I visit with a lot ofpeople what, what we, what we as
(15:57):
a feed company, don't want todo is step on the toes of a
veterinarian, because therethere are certain scenarios
where you know we could helpwith management or you know kind
of some.
I don't want to say basicquestions because we get into
some pretty good discussionsabout things, but you know the
veterinarian field andveterinary care is very
different than what we do, andso we try to steer folks towards
(16:21):
true veterinary care if theyneed it, because you know we're
educated in nutrition and feedformulations and things like
that.
We're not necessarily on thehealth side of things.
It may be basic stuff, but notto the level of a great
veterinarian.
So we do try to separateourselves a little bit.
We do try to separate ourselvesa little bit.
(16:46):
Um, and you know it, it is.
It is tough, because I don'tknow that there's a lot of vets
out there that that do spend alot of time with backyard
poultry.
Um, cause, it's, it's a, it's ashift in the community for sure
, because in the past, you know,chicken is a chicken and they,
they live for a while and thenthey die, and so I'm hoping that
there is more veterinary careavailable and that everybody can
(17:10):
get access to someone that canhelp them.
Mel (17:13):
So do y'all have a?
I know you said you have eventsat the farm for your larger
customers, I assume likeretailers and things like that
but do you go and do events likein the community?
Um, so, like step one, this ishow you take care of a chicken.
It's up to you, you know yes,well and so.
Gretchen (17:36):
So we rely on on our feed dealers and retailers to to
help host those events.
Okay, I gotcha, yeah and and sohere at our farm we're a little
bit different purpose Gotcha,but our retailers, we definitely
support them.
We can kind of bring the farmdiscussion to an outside event,
(17:58):
but so most of the events thatwe do for I would say 95% of our
customers are at the retailerlevel that we join to be a part
of.
Mel (18:09):
No, I got you.
Okay, all right, we can move onto less of the.
I sound like I'm grilling you,really not.
Gretchen (18:19):
I'm just.
Mel (18:19):
I'm really interested, that's all.
Yeah, yeah sure reallyinterested, that's all.
So, yeah, yeah, sure, uh, Iknow well we'll move on, but, um
, who do you think would be theyou would say is the most
influential for your career?
Once before we move on to thechicken keeping tips and all
that, I just I really would, I'mreally interested of who you
think has influenced you themost to where you are today, or
(18:43):
even to sustain you to continue.
Did you think there was a timethat, during your career, you
wanted to give up?
Do you?
Did you find it challenging orno?
Gretchen (18:53):
Um, you know, not real , not really.
I, you know, I've I've beenhere a long time because of a
lot of different reasons, butbut I think some of the biggest
reasons are one the type ofpeople that gravitate to Purina
to work here because of theirbackground or their values or
(19:17):
what they like to do every day.
You know, I think there's a lotof different factors.
The people that work for Purinaare are wonderful people and so
and so that's what keeps a lotof us here for a long time,
because we enjoy who we workwith, we enjoy the fact that we
can help other animal owners.
And so you know, I will say, atyear 11 for me, I had
(19:45):
headhunters coming after me andI really didn't want to leave,
but I ended up going to apharmaceutical company for a
little while and after about ayear I'm like, nope, this just
doesn't fit me very well.
Interesting, fortunately, Isaid hey, purina just doesn't
fit me very well.
So interesting.
Fortunately, I said, hey, purina, can you take me back?
And they said, sure, so.
(20:06):
So thank goodness.
But that was an odd time for mebecause I didn't really want to
go, but I thought, am Isupposed to do something
different?
I guess, do you say, stay withsomething for your whole career?
But but you know, that was so.
That was the one time that it'slike, yep, nope, that was the
deciding factor, that this iswhere I need to be, this is
(20:27):
where I want to stay, this iswhat I enjoy doing every single
day.
And so you know.
So there's a lot, of, a lot ofinfluences, I think, that that
keep me here, and it's it's thepeople that I work with, the
people that I get to help.
You know, our customers.
I love our customers, I lovehelping, I love answering
questions, I love giving themgood information, you know, and
helping them understand, maybehelping them wade through what's
(20:50):
true and what's not true, orwhat makes sense and what really
doesn't.
So it's, there's just many,many things that keep me here.
Mel (21:02):
Yeah, I always ask like can I come clean the coops?
You know, can I do anything atthe farm?
Can you just let me come, Canyou?
Gretchen (21:06):
You know what we could .
We could probably figure outhow to get you here for a visit,
for sure you know, I will notmake you clean anything.
Mel (21:13):
I'll feed the chickens.
You know I'm really good atcleaning out chicken coops.
Ok, I'm really good at cleaningout chicken coops.
Okay, I'm really good.
You know, I'll do anythingy'all ask me to do, just you
know.
So that's our shameless that'sour shameless ask.
But now we can kind of move onto what like.
(21:34):
Where would you direct someone?
Obviously Prina, but do youhave any other resources that
you would direct, say, to newchicken keepers?
Obviously you cover otheranimals.
You know you have other animalsthat you work for and with and
all that good things.
But typically Wilma's, we kindof focus on chickens, so that's
(21:58):
why I'm kind of limiting that onthat.
I don't know anything abouthorses.
I couldn't even ask you aquestion on it.
I love horses.
I think they're amazing and Igot to ride one when I was.
It was actually on my birthdaytrip to California to see my
friend, and that was like fouryears ago.
So I'm not going to say how oldI am, but I'm like.
Gretchen (22:21):
I am a Gen X-er.
Mel (22:23):
Okay, I'm a Gen X, so y'all can figure that out.
But yeah, it was the mostexciting thing, but I have no
idea about anything.
Horses don't even pretend to.
Where would you send newchicken keepers?
Or maybe not, if you don't wantto name anything Like are there
things that you should look for?
You know that would say, okay,this is not a biased article, or
(22:45):
something like that.
Gretchen (22:46):
Well, so I'll give you the perspective that we try to
do, and obviously all of ourfeed products are research,
research base, you know.
So we want to, we want toprovide products that we know
are going to work, and we wantto provide information that we
know is true because of factualinformation, scientific findings
(23:11):
, things like that, and so so wemay not be like the fun, fluffy
kind of thing, but but you know, we want to provide good, solid
, sound information, and so youknow, yes, our website is a
great place to go there.
There are a lot of good, youknow, university articles,
(23:35):
things like that.
And I would say another thingthat we try to do a lot is
educate our dealers andretailers to have the same good
information.
And so I think if the communitycan find a really good feed
(23:55):
retailer that is knowledgeable,either has ownership or has been
involved in the business for along time, you know I I even ask
the feed store that I shop atlocally here about, you know,
typically, other things otherthan animals, but I trust their
information because I've been inthe industry for a long time,
and so so I think you, I thinkeverybody, just has to take
(24:19):
everything with a grain of saltand and say, okay, is this, is
this valid?
Do I, do I trust where theinformation is coming from?
Is it, does it kind of makesense or does it seem a little
extravagant?
You know, and there's, andthere's great people out there.
I, I just recommend everybody,just you know, take a step back
(24:41):
and does this seem correct ordoes it seem a little
opinionated or emotional, orsomething like that?
You know, try to stay to thefacts, and I think there's good
facts out there and I don't knowthat I can, you know, point
your crew to that place to go,or anything like that.
(25:04):
Just, you know, be reallydiligent about finding good
information and tend to look atseveral different places and try
to find the consistencies thatI see everywhere.
So I figure, if more than justone place or one spot or one
(25:30):
article or one person is sayingthe same exact thing, then I
think that's probably some goodinformation.
Mel (25:38):
No, I agree, that's kind of what we preach.
A lot is not just take oneperson's, you know, look for the
science.
Emotions don't mean that it'swhat they're saying is correct.
So, you know, look for thescience.
And we all know that socialmedia can be a great place to
share, definitely gets a lot ofcommunity-like type environment
(26:02):
and you can bounce ideas off ofeveryone and you can learn from
each other.
But the Internet can also be avery dangerous place, as we all
know.
Yep, things got a little iffythere, but we never give up.
So we never, we never give up.
We never give in to umuneducated individuals.
Gretchen (26:28):
Anyway, moving right along, yeah, well, and it is,
you know, and you're right, Imean, I, I have a love-hate
relationship with social mediayou know, it's like I I love it
because the community there isgreat.
I hate it because sometimes somepeople can be evil on social
media.
That's the part that I don'tlike.
Yeah, but it's very true, yeah,there's there's just so much
(26:53):
emotion behind some things, andso.
So it's where each individualhas to really kind of put their
logic hat on, take some emotionout and say, okay, would XYZ
really do XYZ?
That kind of doesn't make sense.
(27:14):
So I think it just takes somepersonal evaluation.
Mel (27:20):
Yeah, and things always seem to work themselves out and
correct themselves.
You know however long that maytake, but yeah.
So what breeds of chickens doyou have and what would be your
favorite?
I won't tell any of yourchickens that you said this, so
(27:41):
you can be as honest as you wantto be.
Gretchen (27:44):
So I love Easter Eggers, just because they're
such a nice variety.
I love my Buff Orpingtons.
I have lots of different breedsand I actually have a few new
ones that they're not old enoughquite yet for me to know
exactly what their personalitiesare like, but I got some
starlight eggers, oh yeah, andthey seem like they have
(28:07):
wonderful personalities.
So I have four of those littleladies.
I'm very excited.
I have a young crew of.
I Am Samanis.
And they seem amazing.
I mean just sweet and docile.
And the groups that I got.
I ended up with four roostersand two hens.
(28:28):
Of course yeah, of coursethere's the logic there or
mostly slosh as I say yes, butthey're all just sweet.
So those are just to name a few.
Um, I have a lot of wyandotsand they're kind of middle of
the road.
I kind of like them.
Some are a little bit strongerpersonalities than others, so,
(28:50):
yeah, they're um.
One breed that I that I reallydon't like is um cinnamon queens
, is that what they're called?
Mel (28:58):
oh yeah, the isobrown either.
Isobrown, cinnamon queens, uh,red comets I kind of think
they're all like grouped in thesame, sadly, sadly, they don't
live very long they're.
They're bred to not servelongevity.
I think they're more for moreegg production and less
(29:19):
longevity and less longevity.
Gretchen (29:21):
Yeah, well, I had two and I guess I only have one left
and she's not nice.
So, um, so you know, but I Iwill have to say that I I really
haven't had any horriblechickens.
Yeah, the Polish ones were notvery friendly for some reason, I
(29:42):
don't know, I think that'sbecause they can't see.
Mel (29:45):
They can't see very well.
They're always on the guard.
They're not very smart.
I had a black crested PolishBannum cockerel and he would
walk into the wall.
I mean, he was, he was notbright, he definitely could not
protect any of his hens.
There's just they wouldliterally leave him in the yard
(30:09):
and go back to the coop.
They're like this guy is anidiot, but he was really cute
and he, I think he passed away.
He was like six or seven, maybeI don't remember, but yeah, his
name is blue and he was notvery bright.
So what are your chickensfavorite snacks?
They got any favorite snacks.
I know the 90 10 rule, but theygot to have some snacks right,
(30:33):
I know they, I right.
I work for a nutrition companyand I absolutely, I know you,
you have to you have to feed, abalanced feed all the time, but
um watermelon rinds like whenyou cut out the watermelon, they
love watermelon rinds and theylove, of course, everybody's
favorite, the mealworms.
Gretchen (30:51):
They will, like you know, climb the walls for those
they will yes and I found a newone of some cucumbers.
We had some extra cucumbers inour garden so they love those.
Um, but I'm trying to think wedon't.
I'm trying to think of whatthey don't like.
That because I have fed themsome stuff and they're like at
now uh, strawberry tops, theylike strawberry yeah, yeah, yeah
(31:14):
and and I think I've spoiledthem a little bit to expect some
sweet treats like watermelonand strawberries, because then
you give them something that's agreen vegetable and they're
like uh, excuse me, lady, what'sthat?
Mel (31:26):
I'm not eating it I know, I know my mine have surprised me
about the cucumbers.
Mine, do you love cucumbers?
They love watermelon, they lovezucchini.
They don't love squash but theylike the zucchini because I
think it's a little more, youknow, water dense than regular
yellow squash.
(31:46):
But yeah, they love all thoseand that's great, you know, for
during the summer, for hydration, yeah.
But do you have any tips for,let's say, moving into the fall,
since summer is not over, butit's kind of like at the tail
end into the fall, sincesummer's not over, but it's kind
of like at the tail end?
But do you have any fall tipsfor people who have little?
Gretchen (32:06):
flock.
I guess my basic tips are justare be prepared, you know.
Think now about what yourenvironment is going to need.
You know, do you need someheaters?
Do you need, do you need to dothings differently with you know
, kind of containing the warmthand keeping out the cold?
You know, do you have an openair coop that needs to be
(32:26):
bundled up during the wintertime?
Do you have stuff thatpotentially could freeze and
make sure that you have?
You know you're not puttingplastic buckets on top of a
really hot heater kind of athing, so kind of all the normal
stuff.
But you know one thing,nutritionally, that I do with my
flock, and they are, they arestarting to molt.
(32:46):
It's very if someone in yourkind has seen what molting looks
like you're getting featherseverywhere, and so mine are
starting to molt, and so I tendto switch mine to our Hypro
layer.
Okay, yes, okay, yes.
Yes, I hate to say it that theymight've changed the name, but
anyway.
So so our high protein versionof Laena, just to help them kind
(33:10):
of get get feathers growingback again after they've molted.
I like that, and then duringthe winter time, I actually will
switch to BlockRazor becausethey're not laying eggs.
So just manage your nutritionbased on what your birds are
going to either reduce eggproduction or they're going to
(33:42):
stop laying eggs until thelonger daylight hours come back.
Mel (33:48):
Yes, so that's.
Gretchen (33:49):
That's a little tip we just throw right in there yes,
yes for sure, and and that's,and that really is very
important.
Um, you know, daylight.
Daylight manages reproductivecycles in many, many, many
animals besides chickens, and soit's a very it's a very natural
thing to do.
(34:09):
You know, you don't want babiesbeing born in the very cold
wintertime.
That's why reproductivereproductive cycles shut down
for animals, and so there's aMother Nature reason why egg
production slows down when it'scold.
So, very reasonable, and Idon't have any need or reason to
(34:30):
keep my chickens under lightsduring the wintertime.
I don't need nonstop eggproduction, I'm okay with that.
So I manage my nutrition and myenvironment based uh, based on
what they're, what they're doingyear round.
Mel (34:43):
So, yeah, that's kind of how we do it.
Uh, we don't use lights.
I know some people do.
Uh, maybe that's just part ofhow they earn money for their
family and obviously the theoffset the cost.
Uh, I do think they recommendthat you turn the lights on in
the morning, early morning hours, let them sleep, that you turn
the lights on in the morning,early morning hours, let them
sleep and then turn the light onyou know earlier, like 6 am or
(35:07):
something, and then let themhave a couple of extra hours,
become daylight until later inthe day.
Hopefully that made sense.
Start the light in the morning,not in the evening.
Gretchen (35:18):
Turn it on in the morning and let it go out in the
evening.
Mel (35:20):
Yes, yeah, let it go out, let it come on for a couple
hours so you get that extradaylight, not in the evening,
let them sleep, let them girlssleep, because they need so much
energy, for you know, eggproduction.
It takes so much, and that'syou know.
When they're moltingting, likeyou said, we we switch to flock
razor, um, and I think thathelps them through their molt.
(35:45):
I'm not really worried aboutthem, you know, laying any eggs,
because obviously they'respending all their energy to
produce those beautiful feathers.
I know that we had a bigproduction before this and I
certainly don't want to take anymore of your time.
I do have a few questions atthe end, but I certainly want
you to.
I feel like, after the interviewis over, I have like 10
different questions that Ishould have asked and I feel
(36:09):
like I'm good, I'm here, for Ishould have asked that.
And then I'm like, oh well, so,but I think that gives me an
opportunity to maybe next time.
Next time, you know, I can belike okay, uh, gretchen, can you
come back?
Yeah, we do part two for sure,you know for sure.
And uh, sometimes we like totake questions from our
followers and then ask you know,um, that, so we may do that
(36:33):
after this episode, like put inthe show notes, you know if they
have any questions or somethinglike that.
But I do have three, threequestions at the end if you're
interested in them.
So what is your favorite movieand why?
Gretchen (36:47):
it's probably cheesy hope floats is my oh, yeah, yeah
, okay, yeah, it's just, I love,I like romantic comedies and
then that kind of thing, andthat was just a great movie
because I don't know, it justwas a small town and so anyway
yeah, that's.
Mel (37:05):
That's a really that's a very popular movie.
So what is your favorite book?
Do you have a favorite book?
Gretchen (37:11):
that's a hard one because I don't sit still very
well to read I don't either.
Mel (37:20):
So if you ask me, I'd be like that's okay, you don't have
to answer, you know I don'thave a favorite book.
Gretchen (37:25):
I read a very hilarious book and and it's just
one of those short little booksand it's about cats and it's
like why I peed on that and itwas hilarious.
Mel (37:32):
Okay, that's a great one.
See that, could you know?
Do you remember who wrote it sowe can give a recommendation?
I don't.
Gretchen (37:40):
I can get it to you, but I can't.
Mel (37:44):
I think it gives people ideas of different books they
may not have heard of.
Okay, if you could put anythingon a billboard, what would you
put on the billboard and why?
Gretchen (37:56):
I would just like to tell people to just be nice to
everybody.
We can all get along andeverything is not a disaster.
No, I agree.
I think be nice to your fellowperson would be a good thing to
put on a billboard.
Mel (38:15):
Heck yeah, we all need a little kindness.
The world's crazy enough, it is, I know.
We just need a little kindness.
The world's crazy enough, wedon't it is.
I know we just need to cometogether and I think a lot of
times we need to just give graceto our neighbor and the person
on the other end of the eitherour phone or tablet or whatever.
Gretchen (38:33):
So yeah, yeah, and you never know what's going on in
everybody else's world.
But be nice and give grace.
I like that, that's like,that's that's how, and and hope
they listen right, and hope theylisten.
Mel (38:47):
If they don't, whatever, that's right, that's not my
problem, but anyway, we are sograteful and honored to have you
with us.
Um, like I said, I'll probablyhave 14 000, but that's okay.
We have on camera Gretchensaying that she will come back
at some point, so she can't goback on that.
Gretchen (39:09):
It would be my pleasure.
It's been fun.
I love visiting, I love talkingabout what I do and how to help
, and not that I like somemassive encyclopedia of
information.
Mel (39:18):
Right, but you are in that environment all the time, so I
think that does come with, youknow, credibility.
So, and we look to perina'swebsite and we do try and point
others to it.
This is not a promotion forperina.
We love perina, we do work withperina, but this has nothing to
do with perina.
I just am fascinated byGretchen and what she does, and
(39:42):
it is a little humanizing tohumanize that.
There are some amazing peoplebehind the brands that you see
online, and Prerna just happensto be one of them.
So we are grateful.
Gretchen (39:55):
Yeah, and we, we like opportunities like this to let
everybody know that you know,trina is a company, but there's
really good people behind thatbrand and people that care about
what we're sending out, peoplethat care about the people that
are feeding our products, peoplethat want to help whoever needs
(40:16):
help and has questions.
You know I mean there's so.
So, yeah, there's the companyand then there's the people, and
, and, and, honestly, the people, like I said earlier, is what
is what keeps me here, becauseit's a lot of really good people
that that are just here to todo good things for animal owners
.
Mel (40:33):
I agree, and y'all have earned a spot on our world
famous Wilma the Wonderhandspodcast.
Gretchen (40:42):
We appreciate that.
We appreciate the folks thatput that trust in us and want to
do that so so we thank you.
Mel (40:49):
You are more than welcome, but that's it for now.
Thanks, gretchen.
Gretchen (40:54):
Okay, yeah, thank you so much.
I appreciate the invitation andI look forward to part two.
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