These chicks that Eric and Andrew are giving their first drink to are male, Naked Neck, Turken's. They are our first commercial batch of meat birds which will spend their lives on the pasture here at Eatwell Farm. Rosie the 'Free Range' Organic Chicken from Petaluma Poultry has nothing on these guys. Each day they will move in their chicken tractor onto fresh pasture. They will be fed certified organic feed as a supplement to the pasture. A regular broiler in a confinement chicken house is ready at 39 to 45 days. These guys will take almost double that time, you cannot rush a good thing. We choose the Turkens because they are good foragers and will get a larger proportion of their diet from the pasture. They have a delicious flavor and thin crispy skin when roasted. In July we will have a batch or Cornish Cross chicks arriving. These will be raised in the same way as the Turkens and be available at the same time. In this way we hope you can help us decide which variety to put into production next year.
Their droppings will fertilize the pasture for future crops. They will all be available in September firstly to members of the farm and then at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market if there are any left.