Each year, when the end of the spring is starting to feel the warmth of summer, the brooding house at Barnyard Organics is filled with the sound of hundreds of little chicks, all gathered under a warm light or huddled around the feeders.  At four weeks of age we move them from the brooding area to the pasture where they pick away at the grass and bugs while the summer sun warms their feathers.  The portable pasture system ensures that they get fresh grass each day and lots of exercise. 

We have the enormous benefit here at Barnyard Organics of being able to produce all our own organic grains and mix them ourselves so we know exactly what is going into the feed and where it comes from, which leads to a confidence in our product that many others can’t guarantee.  Beginning as little weightless balls of yellow fuzz we raise them outdoors on pasture to a 6-12 1b broiler.

Along with our hundreds of broiler chickens we also raise a number of laying hens each year, for our organic egg production.  The layers are completely free range, having access to the entire farm, but preferring the safety and shade of the trees.  Again, raised on our own homegrown and mixed organic grains, we know the quality of our eggs stands up to the strictest standards in taste and quality. 

Having grown up on a sheep farm, Sally came to Freetown with certain biases about exactly what breed she wanted to deal with and where they came from. In 2007, the first ewes arrived, which were sheep that Sally had purchased or received from her mother, Winnie Wilson, throughout her time spent working with them at her home farm, Fredwin Family Farm in West Branch, NB. They were polled dorsets, which while not known for their large size or growth rate, are reknowned for their quiet manner and maternal instincts.

For a beginning sheep farmer with small children these were two important qualities that Sally insisted on. The first certified organic lambs were born in the spring of 2008 and the flock continues to grow. For 2009, if all goes well, we look forward to the possibility of up to 24 new organic lambs bouncing around the barn and fields by March, some of them ready for sale by the fall.

We are proud to say that we supply certified organic lamb to a local bed and breakfast/café, Maplethorpe in Bedeque, PEI. See their website in our links page. Once again, we have the privilege of producing all our own hay and grains, so we know exactly the source and high quality of feed that the livestock receive.