The past couple of months seem to have just slipped by like the snap of the fingers. Wasn’t it just the holiday season? Well we had better share with you what we have been up to.
This is a quick overview of some projects we are working on right now. We will post more in detail about these projects as they move forward.
Our sheep have been enjoying this dry, mild weather and have decided to have some lambs! A little unexpected but no complaints here.
We are also working on creating a locally adapted flock of chickens. This way we can help in a small way to protect of some of our national birds.
And most importantly we are moving our farm from Ashland to Talent! We are extremely excited about this move.
Tag: Clean Food
Guard Geese
A couple of seasons ago we lost a large portion of our turkeys and chickens to skunks (check out the post “It Ain’t Easy” for a better idea of what went down). It took some time and a lot of research to figure out what we needed to do to remedy this problem.
Chickens need and like to roost, and as it turns out it’s also their first defense. This was an easy fix–we just changed the way we house them.
Then we got a couple of geese because our research lead us to believe that their aggressive temperament would deter predators.
At first I wasn’t convinced that geese could perform this job and thought of them as just another mouth to feed. But we haven’t lost a turkey or a chicken since we added them.
I have often seen them cock their head to the side and stare up in to the sky. When I follow their line of sight, inevitably there is a hawk floating in the blue, and once in a while an airplane. Needless to say they will always have a place at Pradaria.
Grassland Turkey
Allowing turkeys to run and frolic in the grassland setting that encompasses our farm just really feels right. It’s often hard to imagine that turkeys could be raised in any other way; they are so well adapted to this lifestyle.
Spending up to four months on pasture their conditions range from ninety-degree summer days to the cold rain of a Rogue Valley fall. Even though we provide them with shelter they will often be found in the direct sun on a hot day looking for a tasty morsel or scouting out worms in the rain.
Blackberries and blackberry leaves, legumes, grasses and grass seeds, and the wayward cricket are just a few of the things I have seen turkeys eat. This does also include corn and grains because they need carbs like the rest of us. But when given a choice these birds love to forage. 
Small Farm Ingredients
Summer just wouldn’t be summer without barbeque sauce-smothered chicken smoking on the grill. The smell of grilling chicken is very pleasant and I often feel as if I’m missing out when I catch the smell occasionally filling my neighborhood.
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Food is often extremely enjoyable prepared in the proper manner with the right tools and knowledge. From the time the ingredients reach your kitchen until it’s plated and on the table, thought and care have gone into every detail because a meal is a shared experience.
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A quality meal’s story doesn’t always start at the grocery store or the farmer's market, but increasingly in a backyard garden or a small farm, and in our case in our grassland pasture.
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This is how we grow chicken, truly free-ranged. Grass, sun, wind, rain, and a little perspiration help ensure that our birds are healthy and happy.
Testimonial
I have numerous food allergies and intolerances and have had problems with chicken (even organic). But Pradaria Farm chicken not only tastes wonderful it tastes clean and I never have a reaction to eating it. I eat it almost every day, in soups or roasted. And Pradaria Farm turkey is the absolute best turkey I’ve ever eaten…tender, flavorful…amazing!
Evelyn Ward
Pradaria Farm 