Building a legacy rooted in respect for the earth, family traditions, and shared knowledge
This year’s batch of turkeys arrived on the farm in late July. It’s amazing how fast they grow compared to the chickens. In a month’s time, they’ve doubled in size and are already feathered out.
The weather is warm enough that they’re able to brood on pasture instead of a heated brooder space. They’re thriving in the grass and are enjoying the sunshine, bugs, and grass.
I’m sure the neighbors think we’re crazy by this point…
It’s still a bit chilly at night so we have the heat lamps in the chicken tractors while they’re out in the front pasture. At night, the white tarps glow from the lights and remind me of Chinese Lanterns. Delicious, yummy, chicken flavored Chinese lanterns.
One of the things we take pride in when slaughtering animals is that we use as much of the animal as we can. It’s one of the ways that we honor its sacrifice to our family. This is just one such example. Most people don’t have much use for the chicken feet but we take the time to dehydrate them. This preserves the feet for weeks (even months) and makes for fantastic, healthy dog treats.
It’s time to process another batch of our pasture-raised Cornish Cross chickens. This batch looks great and will provide nutrient packed meals for our family as well as our customers’ families. They’re moved to a new batch of fresh grass each day where they get to eat bugs, forage on clover and other grasses, and enjoy premium non-GMO feed. They live a fantastic life here on the farm and it shows in the results.
Today we welcomed 25 turkeys to the farm. They’ll spend the next four months with us in their deluxe accommodations where they’ll have access to the great outdoors and the pristine views of our pasture. They’ll eat gourmet meals consisting of bugs and insects as well as premium non-GMO feed.
If you are interested in any of these turkeys, they’ll be looking for new homes just before Thanksgiving.
Kaylee, our youngest daughter, performed in her VPK play for Thanksgiving. She had the honor of being one of the turkeys, not just one of the pilgrims. Keep in mind, the turkeys have much more of a role in the performance- they sing the classic “Turkey Time” and get to walk around the entire seating area as they gobble and sing.
Continue reading “Our little turkey”The Thanksgiving turkeys are getting big. They are enjoying their diet of pesticide-free pasture, GMO-free feed, and bugs / insects. These birds will make a great addition to your holiday meal. They will be available for pickup on the Monday before Thanksgiving so that you have time to brine them with your favorite recipe. They are delivered fresh, not frozen, for optimal flavor.
Do the chickens drive the tractor?
That’s just one of the questions that we’ve been asked about our “chicken tractors” that led us to write this post and describe them a bit more. Continue reading “What’s a chicken tractor?”
