The farm
Farm eggs, and the flock we are building toward
A pastured laying flock is one of the first additions we plan to make on this farm.
We plan to keep a laying flock here. Hens out on the same ground the broilers work, following along behind them, and eggs sold direct off the farm the way the chicken already sells.
Eggs are not part of what we offer today. They sit near the top of the list of what we intend to add, and we are building the list of interested households first so the first flock gets sized to real people rather than to a guess.
What follows is what we have in mind, roughly in the order we plan to do it. If a standing dozen from this farm is something you would want, tell us and it moves up.
What we have in mind for the flock
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Hens outdoors on pasture
Birds out on grass with room to move, the same as the meat birds. That is the standard we intend to hold, and it is the one thing about how the flock will live that we are ready to commit to in writing before the first hen arrives.
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A flock that follows the broilers
The plan is to run layers behind the meat birds across the same ground rather than parking them in one place. Birds that keep moving do better, and the ground does better for having them pass over it rather than sit on it.
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Eggs that taste like the season they came from
A flock outdoors gives you a different egg in June than in January, and gives you fewer of them in the dark months. We think that is a feature. It is what eating from a real farm looks like rather than from a shelf that never changes.
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A standing dozen you can count on
The version worth building is a regular arrangement. You know eggs are coming, we know how many to plan for, and nobody spends the week guessing. That is the shape we are aiming at from the very first flock.
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Built to run straight through winter
Housing and water that hold up in February are going in before the birds do. An Iowa winter is what decides whether a laying flock is a real business or a hard chore, so we intend to solve that end of it first.
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Sold direct, same as the chicken
Ordered ahead and picked up here, with nothing in between taking a cut. That is already how the meat birds move and it works well, so eggs will ride on the same arrangement rather than needing a new one built around them.
How we plan to get there
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1
Finish a broiler season well
One thing at a time, done properly. The meat birds are the base of this business and they are teaching us the ground, the water and the workload. Everything else layers off that once it is solid.
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2
Build the winter setup first
Housing, water that keeps moving in the cold, and a plan for the stretch when nothing wants to be outside. Getting that right before the birds arrive is what turns a laying flock into something that lasts more than one year.
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3
Size the first flock to the list
We would rather start with a known number of households than build for imagined demand. The list is how we find that number, which is why we are asking now rather than after the coop is up.
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4
Fold eggs into pickup
Once eggs are steady they join everything else collected here, so one trip out covers the chicken, the eggs and whatever else is ready. Adding a product should never mean adding an errand.
Why eggs are worth doing properly
Eggs are the thing people ask a small farm for more than anything else, and the reason is simple. They are the easiest weekly habit to change. Most people are not going to reorganize their whole kitchen around a farm, but almost everyone will happily get their eggs from someone they can name.
Alex puts it in terms of what a household actually controls. Get a deep freeze, put ten chickens in it from a farmer down the road, and you have made one real decision about your own food supply rather than leaving all of it to a shelf. Eggs are the smallest and easiest version of that same decision, which is exactly why they come up first.
There is a real difference between an egg from a flock on grass and one that has traveled a long way to reach you, and it shows up in the pan. Part of the appeal of buying close to home is that you can ask the person who raised them how it was done and get a straight answer.
So the plan is to build the flock the careful way from the start, with the winter housing and the ground rotation sorted before the birds arrive, so that doing it well is also the easy way to keep doing it. That is worth a little patience up front.
Questions people ask
When do you expect to have eggs?
Once we have a broiler season fully under our belt and the winter housing built. We would rather give you a real answer than invent a date, so the list hears the moment it is settled and well before anyone else does.
Are the hens the same as your meat chickens?
No, they are different birds. Broilers are raised for meat and do not lay, so a laying flock is a separate undertaking rather than something that comes along automatically once you are already raising chickens.
Will the hens be raised outdoors on pasture?
Yes, that is the plan, out on the same ground the broilers work and moving along behind them. It is the standard we intend to hold to and the reason the flock takes a little more setting up than a shed and a feeder would.
Can I put my name down for a standing dozen?
Yes, and it is the most useful thing you can do. The number of households on the list is what decides how big the first flock is and how soon it is worth starting, so a name on it genuinely moves the timeline.
Will eggs be available all year?
Production from a flock outdoors dips in the short days of winter and picks back up in spring, so expect the supply to move with the season. We would rather be straight about that than promise a flat number every week.
How will I hear when this starts?
Through the list. It is the channel we use for anything time sensitive, including the first round of eggs, and people on it get told before anything changes anywhere else. Joining costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Elsewhere on the farm
Would you take a standing dozen?
Your answer decides how big the first flock is and how soon it happens. Getting on the list costs you nothing and commits you to nothing.
Join the list