WellsTavernFarm’s Weblog

If you haven’t been out to Shelburne to pick up your Wells Tavern Farm organically fed happy hens laying fresh eggs lately, perhaps it is because of the 12 to 18 inches of snow on the ground. Or maybe it is the ice. Maybe the temperatures.  Well, whatever the reason, if you have avoided the beautiful and quick drive up the Mohawk Trail to our farm, we are offering our eggs at another location for your shopping convenience.

Have you checked out the WINTER MARKET in Whately yet?
Enterprise Farm at 71 River Road opened their WINTER MARKET on Saturday December first, offering farmers an outlet to sell winter vegetables, apples, maple products, milk and organic meat and eggs, as well as other products. Some of the farms participating in the market include Real Pickles; Mapleline Farm milk; and Goat Rising, offering goat milk and cheese products. The market is held in a converted barn that is heated and has restrooms. The market is open Saturdays from 10 to 3 (I think.) For more information, call Blake Geryk at 413-575-5307.

How is that for closer and easier?  River Road in Whately on Saturdays (a quick trip off Route 91 or 116 — Amherst/Leverett/Deerfield/Hatfield areas) and at our farm just a stone’s trow off the Mohawk Trail in Shelburne anytime (a short drive from Shelburne, Greenfield, Conway, Colrain areas).

I have heard from Sarah, who bought our eggs at Enterprise Farm last weekend, and she wanted to know about other products that we have to offer right now. Well, we are out of turkeys at the moment. The good news is that our heritage lilac turkey hens are laying eggs that we have put into the incubator, but the bad news is that we have no poults, breeding pair or trios or turkey meat available right now.  We will! But not right now.  Same for grassfed beef and chickens — springtime, but not right now.

Any friends or family members looking for PORK or BACON?  We will be having our pigs processed in January, and if you send an e-mail, or leave a message on the phone, we can put you on the list for pork or bacon. In May or early June we will have Green Eggs to sell with Ham — and I can’t wait 

Enjoy the snow!

Unbelievable.

Totally out-of-season, and unexpectedly, we found a Lilac Turkey egg in with the turkeys this morning.  We were not expecting eggs until spring, when “most” turkeys will lay their limited numbers of  seasonal eggs.  Apparently, March or February through early summer is typical in the Northeast, unless you don’t take the eggs away from the hens, at which point they will feel compelled to “go broody” and take care of the eggs that they are seated on, and stop production of any more.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings. 

Okay, we are happy. Thanksgiving Turkeys were fabulous. A little small this year, but, by all accounts, and judging by the two that we tasted; they were flavorful, plenty moist and very tender.

Planning ahead for next year: In addition to the heritage breed -Lilac – turkey eggs that we will be hatching in our incubator through the spring, we will be raising twenty other heritage breed standard turkeys that we will be purchasing early in the spring. A percentage of all of the turkeys will be offered for fall dinners.

On the chicken front: We had an incredibly successful trial run hatch of Delaware Chicken eggs. We collected 23 eggs from our flock (there is a Delaware rooster in with the ladies) and popped them in the incubator. Lo and behold, we now have 17 healthy, happy, chirpy and yellow chicks. That is an amazing hatch-rate, if you are not in the chicken-field. Eventually these little chicks will feather out into their beautiful white body feathers and iridescent black plumes on their tail and around their neck. Not all of these 17 will be “ladies” — I am eager to see how many are roosters.

Our Amercauna chicks are some of the most hearty chicks I have ever seen! There are many color variations acceptable in the breed standard, and it looks as if we are raising Silver standard (large, not bantam). We will know for sure which variety they are as they feather out.

Ameraucanas lay blue-green eggs. I can’t wait until we can offer “Green Eggs and Ham!”