Chicken Adoptions!
The Prairie Crossing Learning Farm in Grayslake is seeking adoptive homes for our chickens! The current flock of pasture-raised chickens came to the Learning Farm as one-day-old chicks 2 years ago. They immediately engage farm visitors with their gentle clucking, and entertaining chicken behaviors! The chickens have provided certified organic eggs to Learning Farm customers, educational opportunities to Farm Campers and tour participants, and real farm work volunteer opportunities to our dedicated Hen House Helpers.
The reality of farm life and economics is that the Learning Farm is unable to continue to support this aging flock. During this past year, egg production has diminished significantly and we have been unable to provide enough eggs to our loyal customers. Most commercial operations maintain their flocks for only one year, but the Learning Farm committed to maintaining this flock for two years -- until November of 2012.
We will offer free hens (no roosters) to adoptive homes on Saturday, November 3 from 2-4 p.m. All chicken adoptions must take place during this timeframe, so we are providing as much advance notice as possible. Please come to the farm during this timeframe to select chickens, or send someone else on your behalf. Many towns have regulations about maintaining chickens in your backyard, so please make sure you know what those are before taking home a chicken. All chicken adoptions are final, and are first come/first served. Please bring a large box or dog crate lined with newspaper to transport your chicken(s). Our address is 32400 N. Harris Road, Grayslake, IL 60030. Please read the very bottom of our website for directions to our farm as some internet maps are incorrect – www.prairiecrossing.com/farm/learning.php.
The Learning Farm flock is composed the following varieties of
heritage breed chickens:
- Barred Rocks
- Black Australorps
- Buff Orpingtons
- Rhode Island Reds
Erin Cummisford
Liberty Prairie Foundation
Posts
Very sad that you must adopt out your hens every two years or else slaughter them. Seems rather contrary to your aims of getting people to bond with the chickens. Is the small income you derive from egg sales really worth putting these very young hens to death every two years? I urge you to recognize the cruelty inherent in all egg production, and to keep your hens for their natural lives without regard for their earning potential.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I agree, it is sad when it comes time for us to adopt out/slaughter our chicken flock. The reality is that without the income from their eggs, the cost of keeping a large farm flock of chickens would prohibit us from keeping them at all – thus eliminating the chicken-based educational opportunities the Learning Farm is able to offer. The eggs that our chickens produce provide a delicious, local, certified organic source of protein to the members of the Grayslake community (and beyond!) – welcomed, valued, and enjoyed by many families.
ReplyDeleteHoping for an update on how the event turned out... I heard through-the-grapevine that all the birds were claimed pretty quickly!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your interest in the chicken adoption day at Prairie Crossing Learning Farm!
ReplyDeleteThe chicken adoption was a success. Five families came during the first hour, each family choosing between 2-4 chickens. Then a couple arrived from central Illinois, saying that they were willing to take as many of our hens as they could. These folks are leaders of a community group that’s dedicated to promoting gardening, healthy eating, and backyard chickens. They have about fifty member families wanting to get started with backyard chickens, and their thought was that our 2-year-old hens would be a good way for these families to start out without being overwhelmed. And so, the rest of the chickens that we had available for adoption traveled south to central Illinois toward their new backyard homes!