Summer Chicks

Cluck cluck here and a cluck cluck there, oh my we have baby chicks everywhere! Every year we order baby chicks from a hatchery and they come to us by mail – yes, by mail. There is nothing funnier than the postmaster calling the Farm and you hear lots of little peeps in the background. They like us to come and pick up as soon as possible.

We also have hens that hatch out our own baby chicks right on property. Here at Blackberry, we have several breeds of laying hens that include Araucanas, Barred Rocks, Red and Black Stars, White Sex Links and some Rhode Island Reds. The eggs they lay have many sizes and shapes along with colors. They range from white, brown and a blue/green color that is my favorite. You may also notice that we have some smaller chickens, and they are an assorted Bantam breed. That just means they are a smaller version of our regular chickens and they lay very small eggs.

The eggs we gather are used here on property. One of the chefs' favorites is the Bantam eggs, because they use them to create some great specialty dishes. Our guests love the fresh eggs in the mornings, and we collect them daily to send to the kitchen so that everyone may enjoy just another piece of Blackberry.

– Vicki Milligan, Livestock Manager