Chickens
Over the last twenty years we’ve kept perhaps seventy breeds of chickens, both heritage breeds, like Australorp and Speckled Sussex, and mainstream breeds such as Leghorns, New Hampshire Reds, and Barred Rocks. We were looking for a breed that were good layers as well as hardy in the frigid winters of New England and eventually focused on chicken breeds that are not sold in grocery stores to give our patrons a unique poultry experience.

We have found some success with heritage breeds such as Cuckoo Marans, Speckled Sussex, Australorp, and the Ameraucana, to name only a few. Our two main table birds are the Cuckoo Maran and the Speckled Sussex.

The Marans chicken is a lovely heritage-breed chicken originally from the port town of Marans, France with several varieties – Cuckoo, Black Copper, Wheaten to name a few. The chicken is a descendent of fighting game chickens of Indonesia and India. It lays more than 150 large dark-brown eggs annually, a moderate amount, common for heritage breeds. Its tender meat is found on plates in chic French restaurants.

The Speckled Sussex is a heritage-breed chicken originating in the British Isles. This sweet little bird has beautiful black and white markings on its brown feathers. It’s a dual-purpose chicken, laying around 250 large light-brown or tan eggs annually, a high quantity for a heritage chicken. After its laying life is over, the meat makes a fine meal.

We buy new chicks at least once a year, and the joy of listening to their noisy cheeps never fades. We house them first in a small bin in the warm house, as we usually buy them in deep winter, then, within days, they are in the baby coop in the barn, under a warm light. When they get bigger, about two months old, they go into a teenage coop for about another two months, then they are slowly introduced to the main coop over a period of a week or so.

Usually between two and three years of age, the chickens are rotated out of production. We process the old hens and fill our freezer with chicken for delicious and nutritious meals. This is life on a farm, where all is best-used and little is wasted.