Livestock

Happy little piglets grow into huge hogs. Here they are still quite young, but enjoying the pen.
Last year was all about the chickens. In 2010, we will introduce a new brood of chicks so you can watch them grow
The goats just love people, and chickens too!

Each year brings a surprise to our animal barn.

For years, sheep wandered about in our large covered pen.

In 2006 , Rosie and Coco wandered the pigpen in constant search for the next customer-fed cider donut. How quickly they sprouted from adorable little piggies, and grew to huge pigs with personality. They would run back and forth in the field, sometimes doing 360’s in mid air in leaps of apparent jubilation.

In 2007 , we modified the pen to set up house for 100 cackling hens, and yes, they agreed to allow us to sell their eggs. These were such a hit, that we now bring in a 300 cackling hens to entertain us as well as lay 20 dozen eggs a day.

Our livestock pen is open for viewing and is always a treat for the little ones.

Now here come the goats! Six very friendly goats have come to us from a farm in New Hampshire as well a farm in Amesbury to pay us a visit until November. And if that weren't enough, a neighbor has dropped off 3 turkeys and a guinea hen.

About Our Chickens

Type of chickens - These girls are a breed called Red Star.

Growth rate - Chickens grow very fast and are ready to lay eggs at about 22 weeks old.

What they eat - Chickens love grains such as cracked corn, but will eat all sorts of bugs and greens as well. Our girls love lettuce and especially tomatoes.

Laying eggs - Our chickens are all girls. We have no roosters in the pen because we are not looking for fertilized eggs, plus they create quite a bit of stress for the hens. It is true that hens lay eggs with or without roosters, and our Red Star layers are extremely productive as each hen will lay about 5 eggs a week.

What happens to the chickens at the end of the season - We will try to over winter the chickens and sell the eggs locally.

In our early days of farming here, Karen and Glenn grew chickens for 13 years, housing as many as 17,000 at a time! No wonder Glenn's back is just about shot............