The Mountain Farm
At Winding Stair Farm we look after a flock of over 100 laying chickens. We keep a mix of heritage and standard breeds, some for their high yields, others for colorful eggs, and others for meat. Typically we have Buff Orpington, Rhode Island White, Marans, Ameraucana, and Plymouth Rock chickens.
We sell our eggs at our retail location, Winding Stair Gardens. Drop by and pick up a dozen! Staying with us at Winding Stair Campground? We sell our eggs in the Campstore.
Meet our Chickens
Our chickens live at our Mountain Farm, alongside the Campground, and are looked after by Heath, our Livestock Manager, and the rest of the Mountain Farm team. They are pasture-raised, meaning they have the full run of all the fields. They follow behind our Icelandic Sheep flock, scratching in their manure, and consuming pests that would negatively affect the health of grazed pasture. Our flock puts themselves to bed at night in several poultry coops and mobile tractors.
We supplement their grazing diet with food scraps from our kitchen, as well as a mixed feed, made up of all organic ingredients. This contains corn, oats, alfalfa pellets, mealworms, soybean meal, roasted soybeans, minerals, salts and calcium carbonate, which helps the chickens lay strong-shelled eggs.
The health of the farm is benefited by diversity, so we keep guineas, ducks, geese, and turkeys on the pasture, as well as a donkey named Mama Peaches, who watches over our Icelandic Sheep, deterring coyotes and other predators.
Take a crack at our Eggs
Eggs are collected daily from their hay-lined nesting boxes, as well as from any of the other strange places they might like to lay them (looking at you, chicken under the feed trough!)
Winding Stair Farm chickens lay beautifully colored eggs, in blues, greens and browns, with a robust, dark yellow yolk, and a rich flavor. The happier the chicken, the healthier the egg.
On average, a chicken will lay an egg every other day, with production varying seasonally. That’s around 750 eggs in her lifetime. Most chickens start to produce fewer eggs after 2 years. At this point, we process them out for meat. Meat from older laying hens is generally used for stocks and soups.
We replace approximately a third of our flock each year. New laying chicks are raised in a heated brooder, before being introduced to the flock. At 6 months old, they will start to lay. Their first few weeks of eggs are called “pullet eggs”. These are small and rich, with a higher yolk-to-white ratio, making them perfect for baking.
We sell our eggs both unwashed and washed. Eggs are laid with a coating on their shell, which protects them from spoiling. Unwashed eggs can be kept on the counter. Most of our eggs are clean when they are collected, but any messy eggs are washed, which removes the coating, and they must then be refrigerated.
Whole Chickens
As well as any older laying hens that are processed out for meat, we rear a Cornish Cross breed chicken, specifically for meat. These arrive in the mail as few-day-old chicks. We raise them for three weeks in a brooder, and then another three weeks on pasture. They are also fed an all organic feed mix. All of our processing is done by hand, on the Farm, reducing stress on the birds during transport.
Want to buy some eggs or meat?
We sell our farm produce at our retail location, Winding Stair Gardens. Drop by and pick up a dozen! Staying with us at Winding Stair Campground? We sell our eggs in the Campstore.