We strive to produce food that respects and protects the natural world, improve soil quality, and ensure the health and happiness of our animals.
Egg CSA:
Our Egg CSA runs for 8 weeks at a time. Choose the day that is best to pick up the eggs, and they will be here waiting for you. No wasted drives, no wasted gas only to find out we have no eggs. There are a limited number of egg share available, so get them fast!
Chicken CSA:
Our chicken is $6/lb when bought later on in the year. Chicken CSA members will be saving a lot by pre-paying half of the cost of their chicken. The CSA member price is $5/lb. You can specify if you would like a smaller or larger bird. The sizes vary somewhat, but average around albs. A deposit of $10 per bird is paid now with the remaining balance paid upon pick-up day.
ALL CSA MEMBERS ALSO GET FIRST CHOICE ON ANY OTHER PRODUCE AVAILABLE IN SEASON.
We are not certified organic as our small size does not justify the expense currently, but we follow organic methods such as composting, crop rotation and cover cropping. We don’t use any chemicals or pesticides, but rely on old-fashioned soil health and hand labour to control pests. Our animals health and happiness are of utmost importance to us. They have access to the outside all year round and are able to enjoy the sun on their backs and wind on their faces. We use no growth hormones, don’t practice tail-docking, beak trimming, or de-horning, all common practices in the conventional food system.
All chickens always have fresh greens and water to eat and drink daily along with non-genetically modified feed (no GM products in it).
Laying Hens
Every morning our hens are let out to share the pasture with the sheep. They run around, catching bugs, bath in the dirt, make friends, lose friends, and have full chicken lives. Watching one chicken find a tasty treat and run away from al the others letting all the other chickens know how clever she is makes it all worth it. In return they grace us with delicious eggs packed full of nutrients from the varied diet they eat.
They have ample acces to shelter, entertainment, and activity. Sometimes we wish they would be a little less active.
After 4 predator free years, we tragically lost most of our chickens to a mink last autumn. It was very sad. This spring, after re-predator proofing our coop, we will be offer egg shares again.
Meat Birds
When the birds arrive they are put in with their “foster chickens”, older hens that love parenting and really teach the chicks how to be chickens. We have noticed that if chicks have adult chickens to model from, their behaviours are different than if they never interact with their own species. When they are old enough the birds then go into the pasture pens in groups.
Our pens are made so the birds have access to sun or shade, and dry ground if it rains. If the wind picks up we make sure the birds have wind blocks to protect them from drafts. Each bird has at least 2 square feet in a pen to prevent crowding and unnecessary fights, which is possible when the males get older.
The pasture pens get moved every day, twice a day if the manure load under the birds is heavy. We don’t like them sitting in their own manure for too long.
We bring our birds to a local processor that we feel has the birds interest in mind until the very end. The finished birds and vacuum packed to prevent freezer burn.
Each bird averages around 5lbs.