All posts tagged: sustainable farm

The First Set

๐ŸŒฟAnd So It Begins๐ŸŒฟ

This week I stepped into the hatching shed and cleared the space of its winter slumber. The ladies have begun to lay and everyday we are seeing new colors emerge that we will be enjoying for the 2019 season.


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I looked over the eggs collected, cheerful little gems, filled with the possibility of life and took a deep breath. I said a good long prayer over our eggs, our birds, our land, our infrastructure, our family, the folks who help us, and all of the people who support us.

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You see, breeding chickens and hatching eggs is so much more than that simple act for me. We provide jobs for folks, we preserve genetics, help with local food security and biodiversity of life all over the United States. We educate folks on connecting with the traditions of the past. We connect families with their land, help close loops in their lives, help reduce carbon footprints – one egg, one conversation at a time.


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Our genetics, our soil, our air, water and energy is concentrated in the eggs we collect everyday. All that is hatched and then sent out to all of you. A little piece of me is in every life we bring into the world and ship out.

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I ended my prayer, loaded the eggs and turned on the incubators. The deep hum of the fans brought back all of the memories of seasons past. The fans whispered the promise of life to come in just three short weeks. Three weeks and the sweet smell of freshly hatched chicks will fill the air, the sound of peeping and and scrabble of little curious feet scampering about the brooder.

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We are so honored each year to get to share this journey of the creation of life with you all. Thank you for your support of us and for recognizing the need for humane treatment of chickens. We could not do what we do without you! โค๏ธ

alchemist_farmThe First Set
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Golden Laced Orpingtons

๐ŸŒฟGolden Laced Orpingtons๐ŸŒฟ

I have a lot of folks ask me if a particular breed is โ€œchattyโ€ or โ€œnoisyโ€. I have found that all of the breeds we work with are naturally quiet unless they are laying an egg or a predator is present which seems like an appropriate time to make some noise!
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The common mistake chicken owners make is giving their flock treats in the morning. If the group gets used to having treats first thing they will start to call for you, wondering where their daily deliciousness is. We favor giving table scraps during the afternoon. Everyone comes running but they donโ€™t bok at me if I am out to look at a watering system or auto door. ๐Ÿ˜Š
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For their size, our golden laced orpingtons are remarkably quiet. They will give low cooing noises but I can only hear it when I am right next to them. They are not prone to a daily egg song as a cream legbar is. They are in and out of the nest without much fanfare or fuss โค๏ธ
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It is rare that a hen is equally as beautiful as a rooster of the same breed. The golden laced Orpington is one of those breeds that is just all around beautiful, personable, safe for all ages to handle and hilarious to watch. They are not particularly agile birds, they romp around the farm when running and when walking they saunter like large clouds or your grandmothers boat of a Cadillac. ๐ŸŒฟ
If you are looking for a breed for overall sweetness, pet like ability and large eggs – this is the breed for you! โค๏ธ

alchemist_farmGolden Laced Orpingtons
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Moss Eggers

๐ŸŒฟMoss Eggers๐ŸŒฟ

We are always tinkering to find new depths of color for eggs. Colorful eggs make excellent conversation starters that lead to discussions on where our food comes from and how it is treated along the way.
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Not all eggs are equal in terms of nutritional value. Every chicken has the ability to turn an egg into something exquisitely nutritious but they must be given the proper forage and feed to be able to pass on whole nutrients to us.
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In a world of factory farmed/caged pearl leghorn chickens you will never find a green egg such as this. This color, and all the colors we breed for represent something different. To us they represent a different possibility for our food systems. A possibility in which animals are treated with respect and given excellent living conditions. A possibility in which we feed our families real food that is raised in integrity with our environment.

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It does not have to be out of reach, it can be a reality and it can start with your own backyard. One small coop, a few hens, a small garden and before you know it – you and your family are eating pure food โค๏ธ
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alchemist_farmMoss Eggers
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A Photo Review Of 2018

๐ŸŽ‰ 2018! ๐ŸŽ‰

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You have been a year full of beauty and community connections. A year where grace was poured over our farm and we were able to pour it back on our community. Thousands of chicks were hatched – countless hatching eggs wrapped and shipped, all with a smileโค๏ธ
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With open hearts and open minds we do a chicken dance into 2019, we took photos of our breeding groups for the coming year and are so elated to share them with you in the coming weeks!

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Do you all sit down and write your intentions for the coming year? We do! It is a tradition I have followed for years, I save each years proclamations and it is always fun to look back and see what we were calling in and how God got us to where we REALLY needed to be ๐Ÿ˜Š
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Letโ€™s call in an amazing 2019 together!

alchemist_farmA Photo Review Of 2018
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Trust

๐Ÿ’™Trust๐Ÿ’™

We handle every single animal on our land. I can turn my back to any rooster, bend down in-front of and pick up one of their hens without fear of being attacked. Any of our birds can be flipped upside down, held comfortably on one arm, pet, adored and then respectfully released back into the field.

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Learning the language of animals is something that cannot be taught in a book, it is all field experience. A simple call or stance speaks volumes to me about a birds mood. Each breed has a temperamental theme and each bird within that breed has its own character. I had a gorgeous Marans cockerel last year that did not physically do anything to me but every time I went to feed the flock I could feel that he was thinking about chasing me off. I would stop my feeding, crouch down, look at him and throw the same energy back at him, he would casually strut away knowing his place but even that exchange was one I did not want to breed so let him go. Chickens and roosters in particular are quite emotionally loud if we listen. We start each breeding group with 10 boys and narrow it down to two or three whose personality we want to pass on to future generations.
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It is our hope that over the years we will be able to educate folks that roosters and chickens are safe to be around. There is no reason to keep a mean rooster in your life when there are plenty of good reliable ones that can step up to protect your flock.

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Pictured here is one of our Sage Egger roosters. Sage Eggers are one of the breeds we have available in our 2019 lineup of birds. He is a gorgeous boy with exceptional creole patterning on his saddle feathers. Fun fact, the saddle feathers on roosters are used for fly fishing.

 

alchemist_farmTrust
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The Making of Blue

๐Ÿฆ‹The Making Of Blue๐Ÿฆ‹
๐Ÿฆ‹Selective Breeding๐Ÿฆ‹
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Many people ask what kind of quail lay our blue speckled eggs. The answer is a domesticated coturnix quail. The blue egg layers come in a feather types and are the size of traditional coturnix pharoh quail you may have seen folks keep as pets.
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This photo illustrates how the blue eggs were achieved overtime with selective breeding. From left to right we can see the closest egg to us was laid with a heavy bloom, next is an egg with a blue tint followed by a white egg with a slight blue tint then more and more blue saturation of color as the line continues.
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I love playing with egg colors and and the quail allow me to achieve colors that could take a lifetime with chickens. It takes an average of 5 1/2 months for a chicken to lay. It takes 6-8 weeks from birth for a quail to begin laying.
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With every egg selected and incubated we are creating something beautiful. Our pairing with nature and gift to all of you!
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We are done shipping quail chicks for 2018 but we will be shipping fertile hatching eggs of both the blue and brown speckled quail eggs if you would like to try to hatch them at home! โค๏ธ

alchemist_farmThe Making of Blue
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