midsummer Farm
Next session is scheduled for January 11th 2020. Registration due by 1/10/20.
This workshop focuses on how to humanely and properly process your own poultry for meat. There are two ways to participate: Hands-On: limited number of spaces available. You will slaughter and butcher 2 humanely and pasture-raised birds with the option to take home your freshly dressed birds at $5 per pound! Or you can take it as an Observer-Only. (You can still purchase humanely and pasture-raised meat.) Please dress appropriately, this is a messy process. Check Schedule for Availability | Cost: $46 | Please register in advance.
Current Workshop Schedule
Check out our Current Schedule for dates and times we will be running the below workshops....
If a workshop is not currently on schedule to run, please feel free to send us an email and let us you are interested! Scroll down for a convenient form.
Birds can be an excellent resource for the permaculturist, and are valuable and effective additions to permaculture projects and designs, homesteads, and small farms. They can act as a layer of extra diversity on a large scale project. Or they can act as the main animal-element for a small scaled project. Poultry are food sources and many do well on forage. Birds grow fast, demand a short time commitment, and have good feed to food efficiency. We'll be discussing raising birds from a beyond sustainable standpoint, go over options for fitting birds into various permaculture structures and projects, and discuss the physical structures needed. We'll cover good old fashioned chickens as sources for meat, eggs, soil aeration, fertilizer, insect control, and more. And we'll also talk about other 'alternative' poultry species, including quail which could very well be the penultimate small scale urban livestock, goose-troughs for orchards, ducks as vegetable garden companions, and more.
Workshop takes place takes place in the farm kitchen and outside (dress appropriately - wear boots). Check Schedule for Availability | Cost: $36 | Please register in advance.
Check out our otherPermaculture Workshops and Courses.
Birds & Permaculture
This workshop is meant for people who want to raise birds for both meat and eggs in their backyard, homestead, or small farm. We'll compare the effectiveness of raising heritage dual purpose breeds to keeping two flocks of production-specific breeds. Timing, feeding, space and housing will all be fully covered. We'll also discuss breeding. We won't do any processing during this class, but we'll discuss options. We will also cover selling poultry products. And we'll discuss raising other types of poultry including ducks, turkeys, and the elegant and compact quail! Get real information so you can create an educated balance between idealism and ethical and nutrient-dense production.
Workshop takes place takes place in the farm kitchen and outside (dress appropriately - wear boots). Check Schedule for Availability | Cost: $36 | Please register in advance.
Dual-Purpose Poultry: Meat, Eggs, Profit, and more from a small flock!
COOKING PASTURE-RAISED POULTRY WORKSHOP
Check out our Current Schedulefor dates and times we will be running the below workshops....
If a workshop is not currently on schedule to run, please feel free to send us an email and let us you are interested!
poultry Workshops
Backyard Organic Poultry Rearing Workshop
Everything from simple tips like how to tell the freshness of an egg, or how to hard-boil a freshly laid egg, to building our favorite egg recipes like Niçoise Salad, Luscious Acadian Style Scrambled Eggs, a variety of Frittatas and Omelets using seasonal ingredients, Shirred Eggs with Spring Greens, and more! Participants will also receive a copy of our new Midsummer Farm Egg Recipe Book. Check Schedule for Availability | Cost: $36 | Please register in advance.
Check out our other Cooking and Healthy Living Workshops.
Integrating small scale organic poultry into a productive farm system
An overview of using poultry, mostly chickens and ducks, in a whole farm system. After 12 years of raising certified organic poultry and experimenting with poultry as part of our farm business, we have developed guidelines and designs for making poultry work successfully from a business, a production, and a permaculture standpoint.
Workshop will be structured accordingly:
- A quick overview of the organic standards for raising poultry – What does it mean to raise certified organic poultry? This will be a short description of the general rules and what they mean in a small farm setting.
- Alternative feed sources – Mangels, millet, amaranth, comfrey, Tyfon Holland greens, forage kale and alfalfa, mulberries, wineberries, and more… and tips for integrating these crops into the growing season and farmscape.
- Using herbs as successful alternatives for addressing poultry issues – Elecampane, clove powder, eucalyptus, mustard, and cayenne pepper are some of our most depended upon herbs – I will go over how to make use of these effective preventatives and remedies.
- Making the farm organism healthier: Permaculture design using poultry – Deep bedding or deep litter method – composting starts within the coop, King Stropharia (Wine Cap Mushroom) and poultry, Building soil with poultry: composting and brewing fertilizers, How to use poultry in the garden and production row, Chicken tractors - pros and cons, Gravity chicken runs, chicken tunnels, and poultry moats – making these systems work efficiently, Forest Gardening with poultry
- Finding a place for poultry products in the business plan – With organic feed prices skyrocketing, making a profit selling poultry products is a big challenge for organic producers. We have developed some business patterns and structures that can help make poultry truly productive from a business standpoint.
Workshop takes place takes place in the farm kitchen and outside (dress appropriately - wear boots). Check Schedule for Availability | Cost: $46 | Please register in advance.
For the experienced poultry enthusiast ... Discussions will include herbal remedies, nutritional issues, whole grain and soy-free feeding programs, flower essences, natural preventative measures, holistic land stewardship, organic certification, things to consider when expanding your flock, and more. Part of the class will take place in the farm kitchen, where we will mix up some herbal remedies including an antibiotic ointment and elecampane tea. Come prepared with your questions and current flock issues for personalized attention and discussion. Workshop takes place takes place in the farm kitchen and outside (dress appropriately - wear boots). Check Schedule for Availability | Cost: $36 | Please register in advance.
We also do talks
on natural and organic poultry rearing and using poultry in permaculture settings for groups and organizations. We also do a popular talk on Conscious Eating, breaking down the current food system and clarifying best choices for clean and healthy eating. Please email us for more info.
- Roosters or not ?
- Incubating your own chicks
- Feeding - what is Organic Feed? GMO free? Soy free?
- 'Alternative' poultry forages
- Supplements for chicks
- Effects of what the birds eat on the eggs - "Omega 3 high eggs"
- Cholesterol myths and eggs
- Calcium - oyster shells, eggshells, dark leafy greens, other Calcium sources
- Granite Grit and ranging
- Problems to be Prevented - common parasites, diseases, issues, etc
- Chicken First Aid kit
- Dust baths
- Older Birds in the Flock
- Heat in Summer and Winter cold
This is one of our most popular workshops, here is an outline of topics we cover:
Processing Meat from Your Own Poultry Workshop
Cooking and prepping heritage breed, backyard or small farm raised poultry demands some different techniques from supermarket poultry. This class will cover some of our favorite techniques for artisanal/backyard meat bird cooking. We'll also cover cooking up some other types of fowl and cooking techniques for younger vs. older birds, including how to make a medicinal chicken based Bone-Broth. Workshop takes place in the farm kitchen. Check Schedule for Availability | Cost: $36 | Please register in advance.
Check out our other Cooking and Healthy Living Workshops.
Cooking Eggs - Midsummer Farm's Best Egg Recipes and Methods
We have developed a series of 8 Workshops on All Things to do with Raising Organic Chickens!
- Preparing ahead - coops, fencing, tractors, runs, etc.
- It is extremely hard to break habits in birds!
- Pasture-Raised vs. Free Range
- Predators
- Roosts for sleeping
- Nest Boxes for laying
- Deep-Bedding method for Composting within the Coop | Cleaning | Composting of fowl manure
- Resting of Runs - cover cropping (mustard, grains, clover)
- Chicks vs. Pullets
- How to care for chicks
- Choosing Breeds - Winter-hardy vs. Mediterranean | brown vs. white egg layers
For anyone who has dreamed of walking out to your own chicken coop and collecting fresh eggs for breakfast, this course will guide you through starting up your own flock of laying chickens and in organic and natural rearing methods.
We will discuss all of our secrets to Organic chicken care that we have discovered over the years. Chickens are wonderful stewards of the earth; and kept in proper conditions, chickens are valuable assets to the garden, lawn, and compost pile. They also provide backyard joy. They are easy to take care of, are not noisy or smelly, and are an important part of the Organic garden. (Please be sure to check with your town to make sure that chickens are allowed where you live.) Workshop takes place takes place in the farm kitchen and outside (dress appropriately - wear boots). Check Schedule for Availability | Cost: $36 | Please register in advance.