Adventures in CHICKENS!

That’s right friends, the rumors are true- Red Wiggler will be adding CHICKENS to our farm this season! Ready to start this project off on the right foot, Andrea and Liz headed out to Whitmore Farms at the beginning of March to visit our old friend Loran and our new friends, Will and Kent, owners of Whitmore Farm. Whitmore Farm is a certified organic farm that specializes in American Heritage breed livestock raised on pasture. Loran showed us around, giving us the chance to see how they raise their laying hens, have a look at their mobile coops, and see the hatchery operation, where our Red Wiggler Chicks will come from!

All in all, the day was a huge success! We walked away knowing exactly what we’ll need in a chicken wagon and how to get it, as Whitmore Farms has offered to sell us one of theirs (that beauty in the picture above). We also got to meet the various heritage breeds that will make up our flock- The Welsumers, deep red chickens that lay large, dark brown speckled eggs;

Delawares, our white feathered friends with the bright red comb, eye, and wattle laying light brown eggs (the light yellow chicks )

and the Ameraucanas, best known by their beautiful blue eggs (pictured below as fluffy little chicks).

Since our visit, we have been busy plotting and planning both our strategy for raising a happy healthy flock and thinking about how we’ll get the support we need to make our chicken dreams a reality as soon as possible. We have decided to go organic and raise our flock on pasture, which means these chicks will be tended by us from their second day out of the shell. This also means that there will be a long period where we’ll be supporting the chickens before they are mature enough to produce eggs to sell. If you'd like to support this new project please consider making an on line donation. We are very excited to watch them grow, and if you are too, let us know!