We have a lovely little flock of organically-raised heirloom chickens, now reliably laying nice, brown eggs.
Door County fresh, organic, free range eggs available at the Herbologie Shop, unit B-19 on Saturdays from 11 am – 5 pm and on Sundays from 11 am – 4 pm, located at the south end of the Top of the Hill Shops, 9331 Spring Rd. in Fish Creek, phone 920.868.5500.
The flock is made up of primarily heavy breeds, meaning that they will happily lay through our cold Wisconsin winters, given the warm, protective lodging of our new coop. We provide supplemental light to meet the need for the 15 hours of sunlight required for them to lay. I did do some research, due to my concern that this would represent “forcing” them to lay outside of nature’s intent.
I have learned that chickens naturally live further south, where days never become as short as they do here. So, as long as they are provided with the proper diet – and they are – they appropriately lay year-around, with short periods of time-off, when individual hens give themselves a little break between cycles.
We have Buff Orpingtons, Black Jerseys, New Hampshire Reds, Silver Lace Wyandottes and Light Brahmas, all of which lay brown eggs and are laying nicely now. We also have Ameraucanas who have just begun laying very pretty, blue and green-shelled eggs. The Ameraucanas are smaller, spunky, fast and smarter – to the extent that one chicken is smarter than the next – and they look zany, with unpredictable variation in color and odd feathering… they remind me of Mardi Gras costumes, but with legs.
I am looking for folks who are interested in a routine arrangement, which would involve stopping at either my farmhouse in Sister Bay or the Herbologie shop at the Top of the Hill in Fish Creek, once weekly for egg pick-up. The eggs cost $4 per dozen, which is enough to cover their organic feed. I realize that this price is only a little less than what one pays for organic eggs in the store, and adds the inconvenience of stopping by either location to retrieve them, but the benefits of very freshly-laid, local eggs may well be worth it to you.
There really is a difference! My cellphone number is 920.559.9522. And please, feel welcome to share this story with anyone you think may be interested.
In the meantime, I have eggs on hand, and will take them with me to the Herbologie Shop, unit B-19 on Saturday from 11 am – 5 pm and on Sunday from 11 am – 4 pm, located at the south end of the Top of the Hill Shops, 9331 Spring Rd. in Fish Creek, phone: 920.868.5500.
Be well,
Elizabeth
