Since the beginning of the farm, chickens have played an important role at Ananda Hills Farm. What started as a soil improvement program developed into an egg business and most recently into a breeding program that provides heritage chicks to the region.
Over the years I have raised many different breeds of chickens, mostly for eggs, some for meat. The first few years I had at least 12 different kinds of laying hens to see what fit best on the farm. I like hens that are good foragers of some of their own feed (or course supplemented with organic grain), calm, good egg producers and of heavier body type in order to provide yet another gift at the end of their productive laying life: a stewing hen. Typically I have found the non hybrid, standard bred poultry to work best in my system.
In thinking about long term sustainability for my farm, I chose the Black Australorp as my breed due to their calm nature, good egg production, and excellent foraging ability. The older hens make great stewing hens due to their large size. The young roosters also provide a lovely table bird at four months. I invested in an incubator and hatcher and high quality breeding stock. In the spring of 2015 my first Black Australorp chicks were sent from Pat Whitaker of Forest Farm in North Carolina. Pat is well known for her productive and beautiful Australorps as well as her generous sharing of expertise. More recently I have had the pleasure of partnering with several other knowledgeable poultry breeders to produce locally hatched chicks for our region. For detailed information about our work and how to purchase our chicks please visit Peninsula Poultry Breeders.
Availability in 2021
The only on-farm sales for this coming spring season are a limited availability of fertile hatching eggs. To learn more about availability and pricing, email us at anandahillsfarm@gmail.com.
Over the years I have raised many different breeds of chickens, mostly for eggs, some for meat. The first few years I had at least 12 different kinds of laying hens to see what fit best on the farm. I like hens that are good foragers of some of their own feed (or course supplemented with organic grain), calm, good egg producers and of heavier body type in order to provide yet another gift at the end of their productive laying life: a stewing hen. Typically I have found the non hybrid, standard bred poultry to work best in my system.
In thinking about long term sustainability for my farm, I chose the Black Australorp as my breed due to their calm nature, good egg production, and excellent foraging ability. The older hens make great stewing hens due to their large size. The young roosters also provide a lovely table bird at four months. I invested in an incubator and hatcher and high quality breeding stock. In the spring of 2015 my first Black Australorp chicks were sent from Pat Whitaker of Forest Farm in North Carolina. Pat is well known for her productive and beautiful Australorps as well as her generous sharing of expertise. More recently I have had the pleasure of partnering with several other knowledgeable poultry breeders to produce locally hatched chicks for our region. For detailed information about our work and how to purchase our chicks please visit Peninsula Poultry Breeders.
Availability in 2021
The only on-farm sales for this coming spring season are a limited availability of fertile hatching eggs. To learn more about availability and pricing, email us at anandahillsfarm@gmail.com.
