POULTRY
There’s nothing like a freshly laid, organic egg. Almost the first thing we did when we moved here was to buy 50 chickens and build a coop to house them which, over time, has evolved into 1,400 hens kept in small flocks in an extensive pasture-based system. This is evolving too – we’re moving towards an alley-cropping system in which we keep the chickens in between rows of fruit, nut and timber trees to maximise biodiversity and carbon capture.
Our chickens are free-range in the true sense of the word – they can forage, scratch and take all the dust baths they want in the day, and nest in their houses at night. Since we bought the farm we’ve been on a mission to develop the ultimate chicken house, which we think we’ve pretty much cracked. The houses we favour are built on skids so they can be moved around, which gives the chickens constant access to new plants and insects and ensures that no area of land becomes overused. They’re also on stilts which, along with the slatted floors we use, allow for better ventilation and air circulation, both of which result in much more hygienic conditions. In summer there’s the added benefit that the houses provide additional shade, by dint of being raised above the ground.
Our ambition is to be able to hatch chicks under our own broody hens but as we work towards that, we buy our chickens as a mixture of day-old chicks and organic point-of-lay hens. We believe that the chickens’ microbiome evolves with the farm so the younger they are when they come here, the stronger and more resilient their immune systems. This makes for healthy, long-lived birds, and we’re proud that we keep ours for about 30 months, rather than the typical 12-16. It’s true the older hens lay slightly fewer eggs but the eggs are larger – and every bit as delicious.
Our chickens are free-range in the true sense of the word – they can forage, scratch and take all the dust baths they want in the day, and nest in their houses at night. Since we bought the farm we’ve been on a mission to develop the ultimate chicken house, which we think we’ve pretty much cracked. The houses we favour are built on skids so they can be moved around, which gives the chickens constant access to new plants and insects and ensures that no area of land becomes overused. They’re also on stilts which, along with the slatted floors we use, allow for better ventilation and air circulation, both of which result in much more hygienic conditions. In summer there’s the added benefit that the houses provide additional shade, by dint of being raised above the ground.
Our ambition is to be able to hatch chicks under our own broody hens but as we work towards that, we buy our chickens as a mixture of day-old chicks and organic point-of-lay hens. We believe that the chickens’ microbiome evolves with the farm so the younger they are when they come here, the stronger and more resilient their immune systems. This makes for healthy, long-lived birds, and we’re proud that we keep ours for about 30 months, rather than the typical 12-16. It’s true the older hens lay slightly fewer eggs but the eggs are larger – and every bit as delicious.