Our Animals
Here is a brief description of the animals we have on the farm and why we choose to raise these particular breeds and how they are fed.
Our Poultry:
All of our animals are pasture based. This is very important because it allows the animals to have an enjoyable life full of valuable nutrition, and to live the way birds should, freely. This is great for us because they fertilize the soils and encourage nutritious grasses, clovers and legumes to grow. Poultry does a great job of revitalizing land. We raise them in mobile coops with mobile fencing, and they start outside like this from the very beginning of life. They start in small brooder houses where they can go in and out a little and as they grow we move them to larger and larger coops. Even though they are on pasture, all the time, this allows them to get in where it is safe and cozy any time they want to. We have an intricate pasture plan where the cows and horses rotate through the fields first and then the poultry follows. They have lush pastures to graze in, within the large animal pastures.
We also feed all of our poultry grain. We have our grain custom made for us, because we try to buy as much grain grown in Vermont as we can. It isn't always available, but we can usually have our wheat and soy grown in Vermont. we have Ken Van Hazinga, the grower, take the grains to Green Mountain Feeds where they supplement the Vermont grain with the extra grains and vitamins we need. We also grow carrots and sunflowers for our animals. All of our animals love the sunflower seeds, and the rabbits love the whole flower. They are 100% organically grown and packed full of nutrients the animals need. As we grow our farm we look forward to producing more of our own grain right here on the farm, by animal power.
Meat Chickens: Our Meat birds are the Cornish Cross breed. This is a fast growing, amicable bird. They are great to have around, love foraging through the pastures and they produce Juicy tender meat! They grow to be about 4-5 pounds. This year we are experimenting with breeding our own, which we are very excited about.
Turkeys: We are growing two varieties of turkeys this year:
The Broad Breasted White: This is a fast-growing large and soft-natured bird. They produce the juicy, rich flavor that we all associate with Thanksgiving! They grow to be anywhere from 15-30 pounds. (you can specify what size you prefer)
The Bourbon Red Heritage Breed Turkey: This is delicious, very rich flavored meat. The meat is darker than the white turkeys, but the flavor is outstanding. This breed of bird has won taste tests around the world time and time again. They are smaller, averaging about 13 pounds. They are not as docile as the Whites but are still pretty friendly and extremely loyal! We like to have some color on the farm.
Pheasants:
Ring-necked Pheasant: We are so excited to be raising pheasants! They are beautiful to look at and produce an incredibly rich flavor. They are much smaller than a chicken, and the meat is a little darker, but not much. It has a silky rich flavor that melts in your mouth! They mature in five months to be about 3-4 pounds. The way the pheasants and the Bourbon Turkeys grow is that they only develop their bone structure and internal orgns for the first six to eight weeks of life, before they ever put a whole pound of muscle on their bodies. The other breeds begin producing meat immediately. These guys take longer to grow and need a slightly more specialized diet to make sure they grow well. The special taste and the variety definitely make it worth it.
Pekin Ducks: When you go to a restaurant and see duck on the menu, this is the kind of duck that is offered. They are a meaty and tender duck variety that grows quickly and cleanly. The meat is lean and flavorful at the same time. They mature to be 3-5 pounds. Again, they love to eat sunflowers and corn and any other organic treats we can give them. just like in books, they do love little bits of organic bread. We have two small pools in which they can swim around.
Laying Hens: We have Buffs Orpingtons, Barred and Plymouth Rocks. About a quarter of our hens we bred and hatched right here on the farm with our own hens and rooster! All of the birds are reliable layers, friendly to each other and to us. They are great foragers as well. We feed them a combination of grain, corn, oyster shells and grit. They need the oyster shell for extra calcium and the grit to help fully digest all of the nutrients they get from their grain and foraging treats. We also grow sunflower seeds that we add to their diet for extra nutrition for us and delicious treats for them.
Our Game:
Rabbits: We raise New Zealand rabbits, the most comon for meat production. We keep eight does and two bucks here on the farm. This is important because it allows all of our rabbits to be bred and born right here. The meat is very lean and mild and tender, and crazy as it sounds, Kids love it. The meat is great for roasting and barbecueing, soups and anything! They mature to be about 3 pounds. Rabbits are great foragers. They love our organic sunflowers and carrots and turnips. Their veggie and pasture diet is supplemented with rabbit pellets. This is the only kind of grain we cannot have custom made for us, as rabbits are so sensitive and we do not what to upset thier balanced diet. They eat great fresh veggies for the bulk of their diet, and do a fantastic job of grazing down the plants in the pastures that other animals like cows, pigs and chickens, dislike. They Live in Mobile hutches with mobile fencing, and are moved at least once every day to make sure they are getting all the fresh grasses they want and need. This also keeps them from digging deep holes!
Our Pigs:
The Tamworth, or "Bacon" Pig: These pigs are often referred to as the bacon pig because they have very long sides, or plenty of room for bacon! They also are a heritage breed which means that they are smart and hearty. We do cross sometimes with Berkshire and Hampshire boars so as to provide the richest flavor of pork and to keep our herds from becoming inbred. They are pasture based and forage around all of our land. We feed them organic apple drops from our own apple trees, corn, sunflower seeds, pumpkins and root veggies from our gardens, and hormone and antibiotic-free, Vermont Grown grain.
Our 100% Grass-fed Cows:
Black Angus and Hereford: Our cows are very special cows because they are born and raised in East Montpelier. All the cows live on huge lush wonderful pastures in he summer, and in the winter are given high quality, nutritious hay. They are still able to roam around through the snow and soak up the sun all winter.la of any kind. Our cattle have a richer flavor that is less gamey than other primarily grass fed beef. Its more flavorful without sticking to your pallete the way beef sometimes can. Their meat is lean and flavorful and satiating. We spend time with the cows as well, which makes them great to be around and easy to handle.