For more images of the farm, go to the gallery section.



Expand menuProduce intro
Expand menuConservation intro
Expand menuFarming intro
Expand menuEvents intro

Starting out with just a few chickens for our own egg supply, it seemed a natural progression to sell eggs alongside our Back to Nature lamb and beef.

Our hens are a commercial egg-laying breed, and are kept in free-range conditions. This means they naturally produce a high number of eggs but that they have plenty of room (about three acres) in which to scratch around, run and behave naturally.
When a hen's comb is bright red, it means that they are laying. The hens stop laying naturally as the winter draws in, and start again in late winter/early spring. To prolong the laying season, electric light can be used to create a longer day. However, these hens are generally productive for fewer seasons.
 Chickens with bright red combs

Hens begin to roost in the early evening

In the evening, the hens roost in the chicken house, safe from predators and protected from the elements.
Foxes are the biggest predators of hens so we surround the chicken area with electric fencing to prevent the foxes from entering. Foxes will prey on chickens during the day as easily as during the night, and we lose an average of 20 chickens per year in this way.
Our hens are fed a non-GM layers feed containing protein and fibre from wheat, barley or maize, omega 3 oils from soya or linseed, and vitamins and minerals; all of which are derived from the natural raw materials.

Our traditional breed geese are bought as day-old goslings in May.

They are kept indoors under a heat lamp for the first few weeks, although after the first week or so we start to take them out into the garden for a couple of hours per day, when the weather is warm. During the night they huddle together under the lamps to keep themselves warm.
The goslings are fed non-GM chick crumbs, and like our other animals, have unrestricted access to clean drinking water.
Small goslings like these are easy prey for foxes so they are kept in a high-sided pen and supervised when they are taken out!

Three day old chicks under heat lamps

The first bath!

Until the goslings are around four weeks old, we use the childrens' old sandpit for them to splash around in. The water helps them to preen their feathers, especially as they begin to shed their yellow down and grow white feathers. The goslings start to show patches of white and grey at around two to three weeks old.
At around six weeks, we let the goslings have daytime access to pasture. They have an area of around two and a half acres fenced with electric to deter predators. Every evening they are brought back into the pen and the warmth of the heat lamps.
We finish feeding chick crumbs at around ten weeks when they are nearly full grown and have become white. They graze the pasture during the day and receive a small amount of non-GM maize in the evening when they come indoors. Using this method, the geese mature slowly and traditionally on natural pasture.

As Christmas approaches, we start feeding ad-lib a non-GM poultry finishing feed containing protein and fibre from wheat, barley or maize, omega 3 oils from soya or linseed, and vitamins and minerals; all of which are again derived from the natural raw materials. This gives the geese plenty of food during the autumn and winter months, when short, succulent grass is not available, and ensures that they have enough protein to keep putting on weight right up until Christmas.

Fully grown free range geese
Links
British Goose Producers Association   Recipes, cooking tips and information
Hi-Peak feeds   Livestock feed company with information on manufacture and ingredients
The Poultry Site   News and info for the poultry industry
British Poultry Council   Facts, news and information for producers and consumers

Click here for Copyright statement click here for Terms of Use