Pastured, Free Range Eggs for Sale
Pastured, free range eggs are available from our laying flock effective immediately! We will sell them for $3 /dozen but you are likely to get a few more thrown if for free for a limited time. Stop by the farm at any time to pick up a couple of dozen or order on our website for delivery August 29th during the next buying club sale.
Our chickens live in the “Coopestoga” – a chicken coop on wheels that allows us to move the flock behind the cattle herd. The Coopestoga provides shelter, water, nesting areas, organic grain and free choice suppliments; basically everything a chicken needs to thrive except for bugs, grass, and a little freedom which they find just outside.
Moving the Coopestoga several days behind the herd accomplishes several things. First chickens aren’t comfortable in long grass and the cattle have just mowed it allowing the chickens to be more active and relaxed. Second the chickens harvest many of the parasites that thrive behind the cattle herd. Think of the flocks of birds following the great bison herds or the wildebeast migrations. This is a great source of protein for the birds that ends up positively effecting your eggs. The birds also spread their manure through out the farm eliminating any problems associated with their high nitrogen manure. Finally the birds eat a significant amount of green matter. Their favorite is clover but they eat many types of grasses and legumes. All of this positively effects the nutritional value of the eggs when compared to store bought eggs raised in barns.
The birds are let out of the Coopestoga early in the morning. They eat and forage all day. Around dark the chickens naturally start heading into the Coopestoga to roost. We round up the staglers, collect the eggs, and close up the wagon for the evening to keep out predators. Come out and give us a hand sometime. Its a relaxing experience and a chance to be apart of your food chain. Also remember to save your egg cartons for us.
Tags: Chickens, Eggs, Sale Notice
December 12th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I love your Coopestoga. In terms of predator protection, I’d be interested in the end construction. Is it chicken wire or another, stronger fence? I have predator problems in my area with fox and dogs during the day, wondering if you have had problems with fox or raccoons during the night. We also have fisher cats that are capable of ripping poultry netting for entry (had one rip open a rabbit cage and eat the rabbit a few years back).
Thanks for the great idea, I found your blog via the Lost Creek Customer page
January 1st, 2010 at 9:24 am
Sorry, Martha your comment got caught up in the spam protection. The ends are chicken wire. We don’t have predator problems when the birds are in the coopestoga even though we have plenty of foxes, coons, coyotes, and dogs around. Our predator loses happen when the birds are foraging during the day and the hawks swing by for a snack. We’ve got a couple of ideas that we are going to try this year. We’ll keep you posted.
October 31st, 2010 at 10:25 am
The Coopestoga is very cool …. I am looking for inspiration to build a mobile shade and milking structure (maybe 8′ X 10′?) for my family cow (a Jersey named Dawn). I am wondering how you attached the hoops to the base of the wagon and if you think it could be adapted to a lightweight setup with the hoops attached to skids — I’m thinking the skids could be fastened to each other with SS chain across front and back (I am hoping to move this using human power since we don’t own a truck or tractor). I would plan to “stake” the structure much like a tent so it won’t blow away! Any info or ideas would be welcome. Thanks!