OUR WHY
1st Generation Farm to Table Homestead
When COVID hit in 2020, our oldest was just a few months old. The disruption in supply chain from grocery to home goods and everywhere in between was eye opening. With a newborn at home, it hit harder than it would have a couple months earlier; the two of us could fend for ourselves, make things work, but when adding in a child our outlook changed. Food security became more important than ever for us. The easiest first step was a small flock of chickens for eggs; we were then fortunate enough to have the resources to contact a local farmer to purchase bulk beef. Food security aside, we quickly realized the quality, nutrition, and value of home-grown direct-to-consumer meat. We could taste the difference between store and farm purchased. It wasn’t long after our first beef purchase that we also began purchasing farm pork.
From there, we began to grow our own garden. It started small, but it grew to match our enthusiasm. In 2022, we invested in creating our own personal berry patch: 250 strawberry plants, 15 raspberry bushes, and 3 blueberry plants. We began canning our own beef and chicken bone broth. Green beans, peppers, tomatoes, onions, peas. Baking our own bread. The joy and purpose in being even somewhat self-reliant was motivating for us. We began to wonder what it would look like to be self-sustaining for our poultry meat consumption. Over time, the conversation grew to “What would it look like to provide for not only ourselves, but our community as well?” So in February of 2023, Grateful Gather Homestead was born when we placed an order for 50 meat chicks to be delivered in spring. From there, we quickly grew: If investing in space and facilities for chickens, why not turkeys? We were selling more eggs than we could keep up with our small flock, so why not brood out more layers? How hard could it be to grow out three pigs? There really isn’t a source for pastured raised duck around us, could we provide some?
Passion and intentionality. Showing our kids what hard work looks like, and how many ways it can benefit us. Physical, through meat consumption, yes. But what about socially, emotionally, the pursuit of continued knowledge and curiosity? Exploring our never-ending capabilities? We hope to provide that for you as well. Our Instagram account grew from that foundation; access to our process, tidbits of knowledge shared, community rooted in curiosity.
Our Philosophy / Our Goal
To raise animals in such a way that their instinct and natural way of life is respected and encouraged. Sunshine, fresh air, open space to move freely; access to grass, bugs, natural elements, and the opportunity for each animal to forage in a natural way. We believe nourishment is a two way street.
How we accomplish this with our meat poultry: From one day old, the chicks/poults/ducklings have access to fresh air and sunshine daily. They rarely stray from under their heat plate for the first few days, as warmth is paramount to their survival in those early days, but it is always accessible should they choose to explore it. As they grow, we find them sleeping in the sun, enjoying the space to learn to fly, and enjoying the opportunities we provide them to scratch and “forage” for their feed (by hiding treat feed in their bedding in addition to having access to a feeder). When they are big enough to not need a heat plate, they are moved to an outdoor tractor so they can acclimate to 24/7 outdoor living. The tractor provides safety from weather and predators as they learn where home is. Graduation to pasture is an exciting day for all; we love watching their enthusiasm, listening to their happy noises as they explore and navigate their big new world. They remain in pasture until date of butcher. In the interest of their safety, we do not free range. All animals are pastured within electric poultry netting to deter predators. Butchering is done on the homestead to minimize stress to the animal.
How we accomplish this with our laying poultry: Our laying chicks are brooded in the same way as our meat chicks listed above. When old enough, they graduate to our coop brooder so they can meet our existing flock and watch social behaviors. When deemed that all parties are ready, chicks are integrated with the existing flock. On occasion, we will have a hen brood out a clutch of chicks, and then they truly get the full experience. Nothing quite like watching a hen raise up chicks. Our flock has a large, insulated coop with a large roosting space, and an overabundance of nesting boxes (and they’ll all still wait in line for the same one – the “best” one). They have year-round access to our spacious run, and seasonally we turn the flock out to pasture. Rainy days are their favorites – bugs and worms are a large part of their diet on those days, and we love it just as much as they do. In the interest of their safety, we do not free range. All animals are pastured within electric poultry netting to deter predators.
How we accomplish this with our pork: We purchase our piglets at three months old from a neighboring farm and grow them out. While not grass pastured, our pigs are outside with 24/7 access to shelter, feed, and water. They are kept on soil (not concrete), have ample space to run and play (which they do often – they are like big dogs), a wallow to lounge in, and access to our kitchen scraps. They know to follow Courtney and the girls down the berry patch fence line, as many a berry happens to make its way onto their side of the fence.
WE DO BEES TOO!
One could say that honey bees were our first homestead endeavor years ago. After a small hiatus, we started back up with two colonies in 2022 and now provide small batch minimally-filtered honey. For most of the honey flow season, our bees forage over our pumpkin patch and also sit over acres of alfalfa and clover. Late season our bees forage on native plants such as Golden Rod. Most of our honey is light in taste and color, but Golden Rod honey can be a bit darker.
We jar our honey for purchase, and also offer limited amounts of Ross Round honey. For more information, please visit our products page.