Restock Dates: Please see our Farm Blog where we post our weekly newsletter for the latest updates

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 Improvements

Farm Improvements – Fresh water is a necessity for raising healthy animals on pasture. Until recently, we used an ICB tote on a small tralier that we would refill from our well. During the summer the frequency greatly increases in order to keep the chickens hydrated. So, I called my buddy at Southern Pipe and ordered pipe, fittings, etc. and then rented a trencher for May 16th to install 2,700 feet of 1.25 inch PVC pipe. Along the line we added 15 Plasson Quick Coupler Valves that we will hook to as we move the animals through our pastures.

My Advise How To Jump Start Small Farms In Mississippi

“Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world.” — Henry Kissinger The fight to change food from addictive to nutritive will most likely be harder than the fight regarding tobacco (smoking) in public places that started back in the 1980’s. Note that my comments are NOT a condemnation of anybody who may use tobacco in any way as this can be a sensitive topic. However, it is personal to me as my Dad smoked at least 45 of his 75 years and died of lung cancer.

Small Farm Republic

Pasture Talk With Our Cows– Tuesday morning I was out checking on our cows and took the opportunity to record a short 2-minute story about the time I saved the life of one of the “pet” cows Number 608. Click to watch here. Small Farm Republic- is a book written by John Klar. A former attorney who contracted Lyme disease, John now farms in Vermont. I spent much of last weekend reading his book. He is very pro-small farms and presented a lot of evidence to support his position. On page 77 he makes a comparison to the number of farms and farmers during the Great Depression versus today. During the Great Depression the American population was 100 million. According to USDA charts