Poultry

Hello Newlanders,

Please see the info below about small-scale poultry farmers (i.e. my sisters in law!) now able to have their beautiful birds delivered to you (minimum order 5 chickens, read on for further info)

Cheers,

Amy.

SHADY OAK FARM FREE RANGE AND PASTURED POULTRY  

A small family farm in the heart of the Yarra Valley..  

Our aim and passion at Shady Oak Farm is to raise the very best chicken that we can for our customers, nutrient dense food to nourish you and your families. Our chicken tastes the way that chicken used to taste! and is ethically and sustainably produced This is how we do it….

Our Land is lush green Yarra Valley pasture on the river flats at Wesburn in the Upper Yarra valley. The grass is nourished by soils created over thousands of years of flooding from the Yarra river, these rich, deep soils provide amazing nourishment in the form of grass and insects for our birds and really create the special flavour and texture of our chicken. We have managed our land organically for the 15 years that we have lived here.

Feed…Apart from from the grass in our pastures and the myriad of insects and bugs they find there, we feed our birds a locally sourced (Victoria and southern NSW) crushed grain mix free of chemical residues and balanced with all the vitamins and minerals that our birds need for optimum health. They also receive a warm, sour milk mash with corn and wheat each morning. In spring and summer the milk is sourced from our small flock of East Freisian ewes and at other times of the year from the milk of a local bio-dynamic dairy farmer’s herd of jersey cows. Into this mash we add our own blend of herbs and spices which our chickens love!

Our management techniques…The chickens we raise are a cornish meat cross bought as day olds and kept under heat in our brooder for the first 2 to 3 weeks of their lives. They have access to fresh green grass daily from day 4. When the birds no longer need heat they are moved into our moveable ‘Salatin' style pens in our paddocks. These pens are portable and bottomless but designed for our birds’ comfort throughout cold Yarra valley winters and hot summers. The pens are insulated and have an indoor platform so that birds do not have to sleep on the ground, thick hay biscuits are provided for roosting. Every morning we move the pens to fresh ground and open the doors so that they are free to graze on green pasture till nightfall. The chickens are protected from

till nightfall. The chickens are protected from predators by electric poultry net fencing. We raise our birds in small lots of no more than 60 at a time.

Cost and supply….the cost of our birds is $37.00each. They are sold as whole birds and usually weigh in at between 2 and 3 kg each dressed weight. These whole birds are sold cut up and packed into one bag, including legs and thighs ( 4pieces), 2 breasts, 2 wings and the carcass. Or you can buy the bird whole in one piece for roasting.

We sell the whole bird as we believe in using all of the bird, not just the breast or filleted thigh meat. This is really easy to do!

Each breast weighs approximately 500g. Our family of four uses one breast per meal, as a curry, as a casserole, or in a stir fry. Or alternately we may cut each breast in half to make schnitzel for 4 people.

We use the thighs and legs for casseroles or curries. The wings on our chicken are meaty and wings from a few chickens can be bagged together for barbecue or roasting. Finally we make the carcass into soup or fantastic home made chicken stock.

There are so many ways to cook chicken! And every family has it’s own chicken traditions…

Delivery..The birds are processed in Melbourne on Wednesday and delivered to you by registered prime safe van on Thursday afternoon. The minimum order to your door is for 5 birds. Get together and order with a friend if this is too much for you at once! The other possibility is to arrange for a central pick up point for a group of people. We have to set minimum orders due to the cost of primesafe approved delivery.

For those in the Yarra Valley we have an arrangement with Sam’s butchers in Yarra Junction. You can order from me and pre pay me (1 chicken minimum) and then pick it up at Sam’s butchers on the Thursday afternoon or Friday.

Delivery is on a fortnightly or monthly basis.

Our birds health and well being are at the heart of our management techniques. The unique flavour and texture of our birds comes from all of the above.

Fresh green grass, sunlight, quality feed, exercise and fresh air. A life where birds can express their ‘chicken-ness’ in a spacious, low stress environment, as nature intended.

Please contact Roberta Donovan on 0424 146 764 or email roalzate@hotmail.com.au for ordering and further information.