Behind the Scenes... (written April 2021)
As of this winter, we now have two “eggmobiles” on our farm! Our eggmobiles are old holiday trailers that we’ve converted into living quarters for our laying hens. In winter, the eggmobiles are parked on our farmyard and the hens explore and clean up around the entire farmyard. On warmer, sunny days, they spend most of the time outside. On colder, snowy days, they choose to spend more time inside their shelter where it is warmer and dry.
When the grass turns green in spring, the eggmobiles are pulled out to the pasture, where the laying hens serve a very practical purpose on our farm. They follow our cattle around in their grazing rotation, cleaning and debugging the freshly grazed pastures before the grass gets a rest period and is grazed again. Chickens LOVE bugs and are delighted to do their pasture work! Utilizing the chickens to debug the pastures means the cows are exposed to less parasites and flies, which makes for healthier, happier cattle too! It is a symbiotic relationship at its best and the whole process improves the soil over time as well! Flavorful, nutrient-dense eggs are a wonderful by-product of this symbiosis!
And our livestock guardian dogs help keep the predators away from the hens, even when they’re far away from the yard.
