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Hen House Spring Cleaning

written by

Ben Simmons

posted on

May 19, 2018

Farm Update –

Wednesday afternoon Beth & I "Spring Cleaned" our portable hen house and then sanatized it. We regularly take out, clean, and replace the next box bedding - but after a year the structure just needed a good overall cleaning. Additionally, we wanted to clean it in preparation of receiving our new pullets on Friday. 

Yesterday, we received 350 new pullet hens. We had some extra folks on hand to help us put a white band on their leg so we can tell them apart down the road from other groups. These came from the same farmer in WV that supplied our first group. He sales about 1.2 million pullets per year. Amazing!

The Bloomin' Eggs - did you know? A hen's body creates a protective layer over the shell of an egg right before she lays it. This is called the “bloom”, which seals the shell pores and protects from bacteria entry.  When eggs are washed,  the "bloom" is removed which decreases shelf life and requires refrigeration. This can result in bacteria sneaking through, which is why you must refrigerate washed eggs at a temperature of around 45 degrees. Have you ever noticed your eggs tasting like whatever they were stored near? Believe it or not, because of these pores, eggs tend to pick up hints of flavor of whatever they are stored around.

As hens age their eggs tend to grow larger. Beth has gathered several eggs that weigh as much as a standard large egg - WOW! Currently our production is about 50% Jumbo & Ex Large and 50% large. With our diverse customer base including grocery stores, restaurants, and website customers, we are able to move all the eggs our girls supply. 

Recently a customer shared a PBS video (12 minutes) about organic eggs. People can really take something simple and make it complicated and confusing to consumers. To watch the video please click here.

Recipe Spotlight: Beth has fixed this 4-Way Beef Roast recipe several times and it has been thoroughly enjoyed by all. She has served in tacos, sandwiches, stand-alone and with eggs for breakfast.  The recipe calls for a chuck roast but you could easily use our shoulder roast. And its great to know our beef is a healthy choice and very affordable - especially when you buy the 15 lb bundle and save 15%. Check out the recipe here

Customer Feedback- 

"Great fat and flavor in your ribeyes!" ~H Trussell

Quote Worth Re-Quoting –  “We’re not talking about feeding the world like this. You know the world wants cheap food. You got some people that want a Mercedes, and some people that want a Hyundai. It’s not good and bad, It’s just what you want.."   Will Harris, White Oak Pastures

As always, thank you for supporting our regenerative, local farm.

Ben & Beth

More from the blog

Farm & Market Updates

Market Update – Our farm objective is to raise nutrient dense meats without all the chemicals, vaccines, hormones, and etc. And be able to provide them to a community of families at a reasonable price. We measure success based on pounds sold verses dollars earned. Current beef prices are making that harder to accomplish as families seek options to reduce their food bills. I know we have not passed along the full impact of higher prices to our customers which means we are not making as much as before nor are we selling as much beef.

Beef Pricing Update & Sausage

Beef Pricing Update – Beef prices continue to increase and hit a new All-Time high AGAIN last week. This week, the Chief Production Officer (CPO) for JBS Meats (one of the four largest beef packers) stated that prices will remain high for at least the next two years. His rationale was the low cow herd numbers, little to no indication farmers/ranchers are retaining females to grow their herds (at these high prices they are taking the money now while it is there); when females are being retained it will take over 2.5 years before a calf will be ready for harvest (9-month gestation + about 24 months old at harvest). Lastly, consumer demand remains strong.

Taste Test

Greetings Ben and Beth, I'm really looking forward to my next order pick up. I'm trying to improve my cholesterol numbers, thus eating more chicken, and ran out of your chicken products. I ended up buying some industrially produced chicken, and man was that a mistake! It smelled terrible raw, also while it was being sauteed, and also later when I reheated it to put into an otherwise healthy salad. I have enough of this subpar stuff to last until I pick my order, but I don't think I can ever buy this CAFO stuff again.