Chickens

We raise Cornish Cross meat birds in pastured pens that are rotated daily, and often twice a day as they near butcher weight. They are fed a fixed ration of local grains in the morning and evening, and the rest of their nutrition comes form grasses, clovers, bugs and insects. Every day is a fresh piece of ground is ready to be sampled and devoured by the chickens. The plot of ground left behind is left alone and will not see any chickens back on it for another year, giving plenty of time for the manure of one day to break down into the soil and disrupt and potential pathogens.

We are not currently licensed for butchering our own poultry at this time. There has been steady interest though in pastured chickens, and we hope to be able to fulfill that interest in the future. At this time however, we do not yet have the building up to house all the needed supplies. The cost to have birds butchered for our small operation are not practical, as we would have to transport our birds all the way to Warren, Maine and back, and pass on all those costs to the consumer. We apologize, but it is just not feasible at this time. However, we can offer free butchering services after the sale, so long as you ask us to process for you the same day we are processing our own birds. We will not be quartering or further processing of chickens. Our free service only includes killing, scalding, eviscerating, removal of head and feet, and chilling.

We currently harvest our own birds, early in the season, outside in the fresh air. We set up a table and process in one day. We will have a limited number of birds available for 2013 for those of you who are interested in handling your own birds. We can only sell live birds at this time, and all birds must be picked up the day we are butchering. Please bring with you a box for your chickens, or, if you have requested butchering then a cooler with ice and gallon zip lock bags so that you can take your birds home for further processing. We have found that the majority of time is spent getting cuts the way we like them, and packaging according to our needs. With whole birds, you can do the same. See the recipes section to see Aislinn's recipe for marinated, frozen chicken breasts. Just the ticket for a quick and easy, highly flavorful meal right after work!

Our small flock of laying hens is a mix of hardy heritage breed, large bodied chickens. They take to foraging so well, in fact, that they are a bit of work to ensure we don't lose all our tomatoes and trample our corn! We have a limited number of eggs on hand and they always sell fast. If you are interested in buying eggs, please contact us.

For pricing on chicken and eggs, see our price list.

Chickens cleaning up suet.

Pest patrol using two breeds of hens.

Our chicken coop.

“The girls” taking a break.

Chicken coop interior.