Hyden Farm Originals - Traditionally Reared Meat
Ducks & Guinea Fowl At Hyden Farm we produce ducks for the table all year round. The babies come in each month and after a few weeks, under a hot lamp, they head off to the pasture to enjoy the freedom of the field and all that the grass can offer! They also get large, low water tanks just outside their houses so they can swim as and when they feel like. This is obviously an important natural function for water fowl and really improves their quality of life, something that is important to our farming ethic, with regards to all the animals we keep. We let our ducks grow through their moult, at around 7-8 weeks of age. This is the bit when they stop being cute and turn into something closer to a teenager! They are a bit ungainly to look at but like to hang about at the pool with their mates. Due to the moult they can’t actually be killed for about 6 weeks because you cannot remove the feathers. Ours are killed at around 16-18 weeks when they are at maturity which provides a superior flavoured and textured meat. This method also gives us fairly sizeable birds, sometimes up to 4kg oven ready, almost a small goose and plenty for feeding up to 8 people – honestly!
Guinea fowl are more unusual than most of the poultry you find on farms and they can be very noisy. They are reared from ‘Keats’ (day olds) in the same way as the chicken but once they go outside they are kept in large runs, as opposed to the truly free range chicken and duck. This is because they are actually quite wild and very shy.
For a bit of fun, we also keep a few laying birds and their eggs really are special. The shell is incredibly tough but the content is bursting with flavour. They only lay for a short season so when the eggs are available it really is a special treat. They are very good for cake making too! Read about our;
|
|||||
