Brooding
We pick up our chicks, poults (baby turkeys), goslings and ducklings direct from Schlecht Hatchery, a small family-owned hatchery in Miles, Iowa. As we learn more about raising poultry, we are also doing some of our own breeding and hatching. When the babies arrive, they are placed indoors on wood shavings. After a kiss from the Behnke kids, the chicks are free to run about, eat, drink, and GROW!
Growing
The birds are given more space as they grow. When they are big enough, they are let outside during the day for fresh air and exercise. They also forage for bugs and weeds. At the end of the day, the birds come inside for a meal consisting primarily of ground corn and soy. Minerals are added for proper nutrition, but antibiotics or hormones are never included in their ration. The feed is specially mixed and delivered for us by Kent Feeds in Maquoketa, Iowa. The birds are often treated to kitchen and garden scraps from the Behnke household as well. At night the birds rest inside on dry wood shavings or ground corn cobs, safe from rain and predators. The used bedding is later composted to fertilize the fields and garden.
NEW in 2011: The chickens will be raised outdoors in portable pens which are moved daily to provide fresh forage. This practice has been made famous by Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms in Virginia. (This is the "beyond organic" farm that is featured in the documentaries "Fresh" and "Food Inc.")
Processing
When the birds are ready to be harvested, we take them to Valley View Poultry Processing in Bloomfield, Iowa. Valley View is a State inspected processing facility. Freeman and Sarah Schwartz are an Amish couple who own and operate this new clean facility. Every step of the process is done by hand. No chemicals are used. The finished poultry is plunged into clean ice water for chilling, then weighed and packaged.
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