Birds of Agricola
Our naturally raised, pastured heritage chickens provide us with both eggs and meat.
Our poded ducks are both skilled working staff at a local rice farm and provide us with delicate meat for a little bt of variety in our meat diet.
Our poded ducks are both skilled working staff at a local rice farm and provide us with delicate meat for a little bt of variety in our meat diet.
EGGS
Our flocks of Buff Orpington and Welsummer hens provide eggs that we use for our pasta (for sale by pre-order only). We unfortunately do not have enough eggs to reliably sell to customers but if you come by the Farm Stand, and ask, we may have a few dozens now and again.
Our flocks of Buff Orpington and Welsummer hens provide eggs that we use for our pasta (for sale by pre-order only). We unfortunately do not have enough eggs to reliably sell to customers but if you come by the Farm Stand, and ask, we may have a few dozens now and again.
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CHICKENS - MEAT BIRDS
We are extremely proud of our meat birds. It is very rare to find heritage, non-GMO meat birds on the market. Even small family farms often do not raise heritage meat birds. Most farmers purchase the cornish cross or the french ranger birds, which are genetically modified to grow from egg to 4 Lbs in 5 weeks. Normal chickens take 5 months to reach maturity.
We learned on our own skin that there are several GOOD reasons why farmers do not use heritage chickens. The main reason is that you need to rebuild the genetics behind your flock. You cannot rely on commercial hatcheries that sell you day-old chicks sent via mail because these hatcheries have abandoned selecting the heritage birds for their meaty carcasses since most farmers have moved to select the GMO breeds. Thus, even heritage breeds that our great grandfathers used for meat have become tiny birds with small carcasses. The first year we tried they toke 5 months to grow to 1- 2 Lbs of weight (including bones). Also, the carcasses were so small that it was hard to process them and the meat, even if delicious, was too little to bother. Therefore, we embarked in a genetic journey that lasted 6 generations (bird-generations - equal to a total of 3.5 years of work). We have been selecting the largest hens and the largest roosters and carefully collected their eggs to then hatch the next generation, and so on and so forth.
At generation 6th... Tacco emerged. Tacco stands for "tacchino" (italian for turkey) because... he is a massive rooster standing about 8 Lbs tall (but with a gentle soul). Tacco is a mix between a Jersey Giant and a Java and... by mistake... a bit of a Silky White genes. What can I say... Marshamello - a Silky White rooster, found a way inside the breading pen one day and ... a month later... our genetics were modified, but it was too late to start again so we kept the Silky in the genetics. Fortunately, Marshamello was a HUGE rooster who was excellent at foraging and hunting and definitely had a way with the girls (all good qualities in a rooster). I have no idea how Marshamello arrived at the farm, I believe someone dropped him off (it happens a lot with roosters) so we just feel it was meant to be. Eva (Ale's daughter) named him Marshamello because he was all white, but Silky Whites have black meat and black skin (it is a melatonin characteristics). So the meat in our birds tends to be a natural darker color.
Our chickens now vary between 4 and 6 Lbs and we raise about 200-300 a year. I suggest you make a reservation because they go quickly! The first time I tried our chicken my reaction was "THIS is chicken..." almost like meeting a long lost flavor that my body knew it existed even if I never tried it before. Tell us your impression of our chicken! Did you have the same reaction? Do you taste the difference? Any other difference compared to commercial or to regular white chicken? Another thing that you should be aware is that our chickens have black feathers. Even when you pluck a chicken very carefully, some stubs remain in the skin. If you have white chickens the stubs are not visible, but with colorful chickens the stubs are quite obvious. People started responding negatively to these details and that is why now we have mostly white birds on the market; but how boring is to have only white birds in the fields?? Next time you see a little black or red dot on your chicken, know you are supporting a world full of color and diversity.
One more cool thing about our chickens: They are sturdy, athletic and fearless birds! I love them! Our chickens roost on top of 15 feet high trees, where foxes cannot get them. If a owl threatens the flock, the roosters will run from all directions to protect their girl (I saw them fighting an owl off and saving a hen - they are tough!). And of course they are awesome foragers and hunters. In the summer months they cannot be bothered with the grains we give them, there are too many berries, fruits, legumes and herbs around to pick from. The bagged feed is boring to them. One claim we cannot make is that our chicken had a vegetarian diet. Our chickens hunt, and they do it well! They hunt frogs, moles and even snakes. They are quite suave too. There is nothing more moving than seeing a hen leaping in mid air to snatch a grasshopper or a dragonfly. She defeats gravity and all her awkwardness on land vanishes for a second. She. is. beautiful. Okay one last thing (I have a hard time stop talking about our birds... it is a recognized problem), some of you reading this may not like this but... they have great personalities. At night a group of them figured out how to make a nest in the bush right outside our dining room window. Most of the chickens are locked up in their coop for safety reasons but... you try at dusk to retrieve those that roost 15 feet up high on top of a tree... so... once all the humans are locked into their glowing human globe, the chickens come and peak at the window while we have dinner. At times, they knock at the window (maybe they are expressing an opinion on something we did?). In the evenings, when we are able to finish farming earlier than dusk, the best entertainment at the farm is chicken football. Grab few pieces of cold leftover pasta, sit on a chair under the apple tree then toss one noodle and see the entire flock running to pick up the noodle, running after the chicken that got the noodle, trying to tackle and escape. I bet this is how the first idea for football came up! People inevitably ask me how I can harvest them if I like them so much. I don't know how ... but I can. I can care for them, enjoy them, respect them and give them all I got to keep them safe and happy while they are under my watch and then I can let go of them. One thing I do promise them though is that they will not be wasted so I do hope our chicken becomes an important part of a dinner memory you are sharing with family and loved ones. Knowing that our chicken has a key role in an important moment in your life is what makes it possible for me to continue to raise and care for these wonderful animals. Buon Appetito.
We learned on our own skin that there are several GOOD reasons why farmers do not use heritage chickens. The main reason is that you need to rebuild the genetics behind your flock. You cannot rely on commercial hatcheries that sell you day-old chicks sent via mail because these hatcheries have abandoned selecting the heritage birds for their meaty carcasses since most farmers have moved to select the GMO breeds. Thus, even heritage breeds that our great grandfathers used for meat have become tiny birds with small carcasses. The first year we tried they toke 5 months to grow to 1- 2 Lbs of weight (including bones). Also, the carcasses were so small that it was hard to process them and the meat, even if delicious, was too little to bother. Therefore, we embarked in a genetic journey that lasted 6 generations (bird-generations - equal to a total of 3.5 years of work). We have been selecting the largest hens and the largest roosters and carefully collected their eggs to then hatch the next generation, and so on and so forth.
At generation 6th... Tacco emerged. Tacco stands for "tacchino" (italian for turkey) because... he is a massive rooster standing about 8 Lbs tall (but with a gentle soul). Tacco is a mix between a Jersey Giant and a Java and... by mistake... a bit of a Silky White genes. What can I say... Marshamello - a Silky White rooster, found a way inside the breading pen one day and ... a month later... our genetics were modified, but it was too late to start again so we kept the Silky in the genetics. Fortunately, Marshamello was a HUGE rooster who was excellent at foraging and hunting and definitely had a way with the girls (all good qualities in a rooster). I have no idea how Marshamello arrived at the farm, I believe someone dropped him off (it happens a lot with roosters) so we just feel it was meant to be. Eva (Ale's daughter) named him Marshamello because he was all white, but Silky Whites have black meat and black skin (it is a melatonin characteristics). So the meat in our birds tends to be a natural darker color.
Our chickens now vary between 4 and 6 Lbs and we raise about 200-300 a year. I suggest you make a reservation because they go quickly! The first time I tried our chicken my reaction was "THIS is chicken..." almost like meeting a long lost flavor that my body knew it existed even if I never tried it before. Tell us your impression of our chicken! Did you have the same reaction? Do you taste the difference? Any other difference compared to commercial or to regular white chicken? Another thing that you should be aware is that our chickens have black feathers. Even when you pluck a chicken very carefully, some stubs remain in the skin. If you have white chickens the stubs are not visible, but with colorful chickens the stubs are quite obvious. People started responding negatively to these details and that is why now we have mostly white birds on the market; but how boring is to have only white birds in the fields?? Next time you see a little black or red dot on your chicken, know you are supporting a world full of color and diversity.
One more cool thing about our chickens: They are sturdy, athletic and fearless birds! I love them! Our chickens roost on top of 15 feet high trees, where foxes cannot get them. If a owl threatens the flock, the roosters will run from all directions to protect their girl (I saw them fighting an owl off and saving a hen - they are tough!). And of course they are awesome foragers and hunters. In the summer months they cannot be bothered with the grains we give them, there are too many berries, fruits, legumes and herbs around to pick from. The bagged feed is boring to them. One claim we cannot make is that our chicken had a vegetarian diet. Our chickens hunt, and they do it well! They hunt frogs, moles and even snakes. They are quite suave too. There is nothing more moving than seeing a hen leaping in mid air to snatch a grasshopper or a dragonfly. She defeats gravity and all her awkwardness on land vanishes for a second. She. is. beautiful. Okay one last thing (I have a hard time stop talking about our birds... it is a recognized problem), some of you reading this may not like this but... they have great personalities. At night a group of them figured out how to make a nest in the bush right outside our dining room window. Most of the chickens are locked up in their coop for safety reasons but... you try at dusk to retrieve those that roost 15 feet up high on top of a tree... so... once all the humans are locked into their glowing human globe, the chickens come and peak at the window while we have dinner. At times, they knock at the window (maybe they are expressing an opinion on something we did?). In the evenings, when we are able to finish farming earlier than dusk, the best entertainment at the farm is chicken football. Grab few pieces of cold leftover pasta, sit on a chair under the apple tree then toss one noodle and see the entire flock running to pick up the noodle, running after the chicken that got the noodle, trying to tackle and escape. I bet this is how the first idea for football came up! People inevitably ask me how I can harvest them if I like them so much. I don't know how ... but I can. I can care for them, enjoy them, respect them and give them all I got to keep them safe and happy while they are under my watch and then I can let go of them. One thing I do promise them though is that they will not be wasted so I do hope our chicken becomes an important part of a dinner memory you are sharing with family and loved ones. Knowing that our chicken has a key role in an important moment in your life is what makes it possible for me to continue to raise and care for these wonderful animals. Buon Appetito.
DUCKS - the off-farm working staff
Ducks are absolutely adorable to hatch. Their little feet are irresistible but, as they grow up, their manure, their feed needs and overall lifestyle are a pain (at least they are to me). So, I was not going to raise ducks (not on a large scale, there is always room in my heart for a few duckling taking residence as guest tenants). Until ... Bobby made friend with a rice farmer, the owner of Boundbrook Farm (http://www.vermontrice.net/).
See, Erick grows rice and he figured that ducks are great at weeding and fertilizing his paddies, but he does not want to, or is not set up to do the hatching, the finishing, the harvesting and the selling of his little team of cheap seasonal workers. We, on the other hand, have limited space in our ponds at the farm and, after looking at the numbers of what it takes to feed ducks ... ggghhhh ... cannot afford raising ducks in a humanely and sustainable way. So, we joined forces. Our final goal is 600 duckling per year but we are far from that goal so grab your ducks at the market or at the farm stand while we have some!
See, Erick grows rice and he figured that ducks are great at weeding and fertilizing his paddies, but he does not want to, or is not set up to do the hatching, the finishing, the harvesting and the selling of his little team of cheap seasonal workers. We, on the other hand, have limited space in our ponds at the farm and, after looking at the numbers of what it takes to feed ducks ... ggghhhh ... cannot afford raising ducks in a humanely and sustainable way. So, we joined forces. Our final goal is 600 duckling per year but we are far from that goal so grab your ducks at the market or at the farm stand while we have some!
here is a picture of the ducks at Boundbrook Farm (http://www.vermontrice.net/latestquacks)
A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF A DUCK
WINTER
The breeders (we started in 2019 with 10 girls and 10 boys) are in the barn with their little kids-pool where they make a major mess every day and transform the boring barn hallway into an ice-bowling ring. Everyone, bi-ped or not, has tripped at least once in front of their pen. The most helpless were a group of 4 runaway piglets that were going full speed followed by stefano in tow and then, unknown to them: ice! Their little feet had no idea what was going on and they went spinning down the bowling ring towards the omnipresent group of chickens that are bothering their own business. You can imagine the explosion of sounds once spinning piglets met standing chickens. Between the squealing, the screaming chickens flying through the air, the laughing ducks, and of course all the pigs got scared and start "barking" and running. The sheep, on the other hand, for once during the day routine, were quiet observing everything going on, but they started baaing as soon as all the other animals were quiet again. Otherwise winter is quiet, boring and peaceful for the ducks.
SPRING
We collect the eggs and carefully place them in the incubator. The incubator needs a presentation... we are taking about a WWII piece of machine that is sturdy as they used to make them and also quite accurate (when it works). It can host 600 +eggs. We go for 200 or 300. The incubator is located in the warmest room in the house, the front office with the pellet stove, on the first floor. This remarkable piece of machine not only is sturdy but it vibrates to a frequency that manages to keep the whole farm house up through the night. This means that, if we are hatching, we are in a bad mood, because no one gets to sleep with the constant buzzing noise that fills every corner of the 3200 sq feet house. Trust me... we have looked for a quiet corner!! After 28 days we all start eagerly visiting the room where the incubator is located and wait to hear the familiar peeping noises of the new arrivals. It is hard to resist as we wait at least 24 hrs before we open the incubator (we do not want to upset the humidity level which could prevent some slower duckling to hatch successfully). Then we open up the incubator and all the irritability caused by the lost sleep vanish when the little guys start stumbling around. And those feet! those cute little feet! They make everyone's heart melt away. After 2 weeks, right when the inverse relationship between cuteness and stinkiness reaches a critical point, off they go to the rice farm.
SUMMER
one of these days I will post a video of the first time the ducklings jump into the rice patty. The pure JOY they express is priceless. Forget your cute 2-year-old waking up on Christmas day, these ducks are cuter :). They go insane bathing and flopping and diving. They are seeing all that food and that water and all these other ducks and I am pretty sure they are thinking: "A place like this exists for real? You are kidding right? I was born to do this!" So we leave them there in the care of Erick, their N1 ally in the fight against predators and we return to the farm to attend the other animals.
FALL
Right when the leaves start turning, their work is no longer needed, and the weeds run low at the rice farm, this is when they come home - in style! We drive an old hay wagon modified to house them from Ferrisburgh to Panton (about 8 miles). I am pretty sure we have turned the heads of a few people that smile, nod and mumble "only in Vermont..." . At the farm, we house them in our converted and purified manure pond, which is not half as exciting as the rice farm, but it is a safe and quiet place. We provide them with bagged feed to help them put up some weight after all that work in the rice patties. At the end of Fall, right when the first frost starts hitting the farm, we select the breeders for next year and place them in the barn in an area protected from wind and cold, and we harvest the rest of the ducks and bring them to your dinner table where you celebrate special events for you and your loved ones. And then the cycle begins again
WINTER
The breeders (we started in 2019 with 10 girls and 10 boys) are in the barn with their little kids-pool where they make a major mess every day and transform the boring barn hallway into an ice-bowling ring. Everyone, bi-ped or not, has tripped at least once in front of their pen. The most helpless were a group of 4 runaway piglets that were going full speed followed by stefano in tow and then, unknown to them: ice! Their little feet had no idea what was going on and they went spinning down the bowling ring towards the omnipresent group of chickens that are bothering their own business. You can imagine the explosion of sounds once spinning piglets met standing chickens. Between the squealing, the screaming chickens flying through the air, the laughing ducks, and of course all the pigs got scared and start "barking" and running. The sheep, on the other hand, for once during the day routine, were quiet observing everything going on, but they started baaing as soon as all the other animals were quiet again. Otherwise winter is quiet, boring and peaceful for the ducks.
SPRING
We collect the eggs and carefully place them in the incubator. The incubator needs a presentation... we are taking about a WWII piece of machine that is sturdy as they used to make them and also quite accurate (when it works). It can host 600 +eggs. We go for 200 or 300. The incubator is located in the warmest room in the house, the front office with the pellet stove, on the first floor. This remarkable piece of machine not only is sturdy but it vibrates to a frequency that manages to keep the whole farm house up through the night. This means that, if we are hatching, we are in a bad mood, because no one gets to sleep with the constant buzzing noise that fills every corner of the 3200 sq feet house. Trust me... we have looked for a quiet corner!! After 28 days we all start eagerly visiting the room where the incubator is located and wait to hear the familiar peeping noises of the new arrivals. It is hard to resist as we wait at least 24 hrs before we open the incubator (we do not want to upset the humidity level which could prevent some slower duckling to hatch successfully). Then we open up the incubator and all the irritability caused by the lost sleep vanish when the little guys start stumbling around. And those feet! those cute little feet! They make everyone's heart melt away. After 2 weeks, right when the inverse relationship between cuteness and stinkiness reaches a critical point, off they go to the rice farm.
SUMMER
one of these days I will post a video of the first time the ducklings jump into the rice patty. The pure JOY they express is priceless. Forget your cute 2-year-old waking up on Christmas day, these ducks are cuter :). They go insane bathing and flopping and diving. They are seeing all that food and that water and all these other ducks and I am pretty sure they are thinking: "A place like this exists for real? You are kidding right? I was born to do this!" So we leave them there in the care of Erick, their N1 ally in the fight against predators and we return to the farm to attend the other animals.
FALL
Right when the leaves start turning, their work is no longer needed, and the weeds run low at the rice farm, this is when they come home - in style! We drive an old hay wagon modified to house them from Ferrisburgh to Panton (about 8 miles). I am pretty sure we have turned the heads of a few people that smile, nod and mumble "only in Vermont..." . At the farm, we house them in our converted and purified manure pond, which is not half as exciting as the rice farm, but it is a safe and quiet place. We provide them with bagged feed to help them put up some weight after all that work in the rice patties. At the end of Fall, right when the first frost starts hitting the farm, we select the breeders for next year and place them in the barn in an area protected from wind and cold, and we harvest the rest of the ducks and bring them to your dinner table where you celebrate special events for you and your loved ones. And then the cycle begins again
