Happy Holidays from Browder's Birds


Holly and I wish you - our enthusiastic, supportive and loyal customers - a very happy holiday season! We cannot express enough gratitude to you for your kind words, moral support, and overall interest in our first full season of raising certified organic, pasture raised chickens on the North Fork of Long Island.

Our final processing took place in early October and we finished distributing the last chicken in early November. Browder’s Birds completely SOLD OUT of chickens this year and as many of you know, we actually had to ration the last few batches. So many of you wanted multiple birds for the winter and we simply couldn’t supply all of the demand. Thank you for understanding as we did the best we could to get as many chickens to each of you as possible.

Upon reflection, our first year was indeed a success, but it wasn’t without significant stress, especially early in the season. As many of you know, our pasture in Southold was not ready early in the season due to a late planting of a forage mix in the fall of 2009. So, we brooded and pastured our first few batches of chickens at Biophilia Organic Farm in Jamesport. Phil Barbato was kind enough to provide us the barn space and pasture to grow our chickens. His pastures received a healthy dose of nitrogen from our chicken manure which made the trade off a good one for both of us. It was nice having the support from another organic farmer on a daily basis and we thank Phil for allowing me to bend his ear regularly. I know that got old very fast!!

The early batches were simply too large for our fledgling processing set up, so it felt like we were processing constantly as we worked through the heavy load. I adjusted the chick orders downward once we understood better how many birds we could process at a time. That made all the difference in the world and we settled into a nice weekly routine that lasted the balance of the season. In late June, our pasture was finally ready and we moved the whole operation to Charnews Farm in Southold which helped significantly. Commute time was cut dramatically and our pasture is very close to our brooding and processing areas making the entire process easier.

We became Certified Organic in early June and I was especially happy about that. This designation gave us instant credibility to customers who had not heard of us. We did receive some excellent publicity during the season being featured prominently in Newsday and Edible East End. Thank you Erica Marcus and Eileen Duffy for your interest in our business. The Peconic Land Trust has been extremely supportive of our efforts and I’m very thankful they allowed us to set up shop at Charnews. It’s a great setting and is becoming a small hub of local farming. Finally, I cannot tell you how many countless positive comments we received verbally or in writing from our customers. There really is a significant difference in our chickens vs. traditional store bought and our customers let us know that regularly. Thanks for the constant reminders!!

We’re excited about our initial plans for 2011. First, we're planning to increase our production while still staying in compliance with regulatory levels. Last year we experimented with the slower growing, smaller, yet very tasty red broilers, also referred to as Freedom Rangers. We're planning to add these as a permanent part of our business to compliment our Cornish Cross broiler. Second, we’re planning to sell each Saturday at the Westhampton Beach Farmers Market again this year. I really enjoyed that experience in 2010 and am looking forward to selling there again in 2011. We’ll probably start selling chickens at Westhampton on May 28th, Memorial Day weekend, so we’ll see you then. Third, we will sell again on-farm at Charnews in Southold. We had such great local support, so those of you who live in and around Southold, spread the word to your friends. Fourth, we’re going to experiment with about 30 egg layers this year. We’ll receive our pullets in late April and hopefully get our first eggs around the first of June. So, stay tuned for more on that. Fifth, we plan to hire Tom Hart as a part time apprentice for the growing season. Tom volunteered his services in 2010 by helping us process and we’ve decided to hire him to work several days a week with us. He’ll work the other days with Phil Barbato at Biophilia Organic Farm in Jamesport.

That about sums it up. We look forward to seeing you in the spring and stay tuned for updates from us. Thanks again for your support of our efforts. We really do appreciate it.

Chris Browder



Mid-summer Update

I’ve gone way too long without writing a blog entry and I apologize for that. I feel like I haven’t kept my customers, friends, interested parties, etc. up to date on the trials, tribulations and successes we’ve enjoyed in our inaugural season of pasturing poultry. The pace has been hectic and we’ve been playing catch up all season long. At the beginning, I was enthusiastic and optimistic about how many chickens Holly and I could grow, process, and sell. I was anticipating going for 1,000 chickens which is the state limit for the number of chickens we can sell while processing on farm as an uninspected producer.

We planned on 5 batches of chickens, one per month. The April batch would be harvested in June, the May batch in July and so forth. Our first order was well in excess of 200 chickens because we wanted to experiment with some red broilers as well as the traditional Cornish Cross. The reality of processing that many chickens over a narrow window of time without an experienced team quickly began gnawing at me and I was very concerned…..not sleeping at night concerned. In addition, I didn’t want to run afoul of any of the myriad of regulations associated with growing, processing and selling poultry. Thankfully, I had assistance from several people including other producers and state inspectors as well which has been absolutely invaluable to me.

The best decision we made this year was to cut back production. Instead of batches of 200, I’m working with batches of 100-125. Much more manageable in the brooder, on pasture and during processing. In mid-June, we finally moved all of our brooding and pasturing from Biophilia Organic Farm in Jamesport to Charnews Farm in Southold, our permanent home. This cuts down on my commute time by at least an hour and a half each day which also makes a huge difference. So, we finally feel that at this late date in the season, we have caught up and are now enjoying the chicken business much more. While we do our chicken chores twice daily, our on farm sales regularly, the Westhampton Beach Farmers Market every Saturday and processing whenever its required, there is more time to enjoy our life on the North Fork.

I want to end on a very positive note. As you may be aware, we received our Organic Certification in late June and we are now selling pastured, certified organic chickens. Our inspector was very complimentary of our record keeping, production and processing setup. In my opinion, it doesn’t get any healthier or more appropriate than pastured, organic chickens. I’ve had virtually no disease in the chickens despite not using antibiotics. I put the chickens on pasture as soon as they are old enough to withstand the outdoor weather, about 3 weeks. While in the brooder, we are careful to insure the bedding remains clean with fresh bedding added twice daily. The chickens love living on pasture and they spend much of the day foraging for insects and grasses/weeds. Occasionally, a chicken will experience leg problems, a common occurrence with the Cornish Cross, but this remains a very low percentage. The feedback from you the customer has been universally humbling. So many of you have used the term “best chicken that I’ve ever had” or “chicken like my grandmother used to make” We set out to provide an alternative to the industrial chicken we have to buy since there are so few alternatives. We feel that our chicken has an incredible flavor, texture and is an entirely different experience. We really do appreciate your support, encouragement and reviews of our chickens.

I hope to blog a little more often as the season progresses. All the best to you and your families.

Chris Browder

Another Harvest Day


Well, we processed our fifth batch of chickens yesterday. These were our 'Red Broilers' - a breed that has genetic stock from prized French free-range chickens. They are slower growing than most meat chickens, and we have been raising these guys since the first brood in April. They were really beautiful with brown, red, and black plumage. Some were even speckled brown and white. Chris came home from the nighttime feeding and commented on how much he missed them. Although I will say I am looking forward to one less 'chicken tractor' that I have to pull this week!

Everyone asks me how it feels, on processing day, to kill our chickens which we have worked so hard to raise healthy and keep safe. And honestly, it just feels like work. The actual killing happens so quickly and then our team shifts into gear - assembly-line style - to get a finished product that is processed safe and sanitary and ready to eat. We process outside under a canopy of pine trees. Tom, a great guy and hard worker who found us and offered to work with us part-time, is in charge of getting chickens into the kill cones (they go in upside down), cutting their throats so they bleed out quickly, then putting them into the scalder and the plucker. Out of the plucker they almost look like a chicken you'd buy in the store except for the head and feet. From there they go into a cooler of ice and one by one they are cleaned & dressed with head and feet removed. We do the eviscerating inside a tent with the sides closed up but with screened windows for ventilation. This is our 'clean-zone' and we are very careful about who goes into the tent and keeping the bugs out. Jon, another great guy who works at Garden of Eve full-time but works with us on his day off, handles this part and he is very meticulous and focused. After he finishes, the chicken (which now looks exactly like one you'd buy in the store) goes into the chill tank where it stays until it reaches 40 degrees. Then it goes into a second bath of ice water for a final rinse. Then I take it out and drain it, bag it, weigh it and label it. I used to also do 'quality control' and pull out feathers still left behind but that rarely happens anymore as we all have gotten more experience under our belt.

We'll process 40-60 chickens in a day, working from 9:00 am until about 2:00 pm. But we really start at 7:00 am because the equipment needs to be sanitized and the scalder needs to heat up. Chris and Tom have to go and catch the chickens, and everyone else still needs to have their morning feed. After we finish, we compost all the offal and feathers. Most of the waste water is collected and drained out onto our pasture to fertilize it. Then we sanitize everything once more before we pack it up.

It sounds like a lot, right? The enjoyable part is the teamwork that goes into it. It takes all of us working together to get through a batch of chickens and there is a sense of accomplishment at the end of processing day. And I always sleep like a rock that night.

As for those 'Reds', we'll have a limited number for sale every Saturday at our stand at Westhampton Beach Farmer's market. They will be available for sale at the On-Farm and NYC CSAs in July. The pricing will be $7/pound. We will take advance reservations shortly by email. These chickens have a rich & delicious flavor, with smaller breasts. These chickens aren’t for everyone, but for those of you that want to enjoy the richness of flavor sought after by world-class chefs, this is for you!

Holly

Happy Easter from Browder's Birds!

Spring is in the air and it’s starting to get really exciting as our first full season of raising pastured chickens is now upon us. So, I thought I’d take a little time to update you on what’s happening at Browder’s Birds. Our first batch of 235 Cornish Cross chicks arrive on April 7th via US Mail. The chicks are hatched at the hatchery in Pennsylvania and are boxed up as day old chicks and mailed to us. I’ve let the post office in Southold know what to expect and they will call me just as soon as the chicks arrive. I’ll rush them to the brooder which will be waiting with warm lamps, fresh pine shavings, food, grit and water. I’ll dip each chick’s beak into the water so they know where it is and make sure they take their first drink. I’ll have newspapers spread around the brooder with grit and food sprinkled on it. The grit lodges in the gizzard and is vital to help chickens digest their food. I’ll pay close attention to how the chicks handled the trip and to help give them a little boost, I’ll add some organic sugar to their water. I hope they arrive energetic and warm.

On April 8th, I will receive 40 additional chicks. These chicks are Red Broilers, a heritage breed that grows slower, have smaller breasts, but evidently, have tremendous flavor. So, I’m going to experiment with about 40 of these chicks to see how they do, how they taste and gauge the demand for birds like that.

The chicks will remain in the brooder at Biophilia Organic Farm in Jamesport for three weeks. I’ve converted two old horse stalls in the barn there into the brooder which measures about 25" X 20’. When they get large enough to handle living outdoors, I will transfer them to our yet to be constructed chicken tractors. I have all of the supplies for the chicken tractors and one of my high priority tasks will be to construct and place them on the pastures at Biophilia over the next week or two.

There will be much more to discuss on raising the chickens on pasture, so I’ll leave it here for the moment. Just a few additional updates. As many of you know, we’ve applied for organic certification. Our package was submitted in early March and most of our paperwork is complete. We expect to have the inspectors come out in May, While our practices will be organic with or without certification, it will probably help marketing if we can make the claim of being certified organic.

Our permanent location will be Charnews Farm in Southold. Over the next few weeks, I’m having the electricity upgraded in the barn there and will prepare to move the whole operation over in early June. The 5 acre pasture is greening up nicely and it should be filled out and ready for the chickens in early summer.

Finally, our time is more and more devoted to the marketing process. We will be at the Westhampton Beach Farmers Market every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm starting June 12th. In addition, we will be partnering with three local CSAs to offer a chicken share to their members. The farms are Biophilia, Garden of Eve and Sang Lee. We will also have an On Farm CSA and a NYC CSA for direct chicken sales. Make sure you’re on our mailing list for the CSAs by sending a note to Holly at holly@browdersbirds.com Our website is http://www.browdersbirds.com/

Many more updates to come, but that’s it for now. We hope to see you this spring/summer out on the North Fork.

January 19, 2010

Hello Everyone -

The weather is cold, but my computer is staying hot, the fan whirring from the heat generated by the keyboard activity. I’m in full blown planning mode for our first full season of raising chickens on pasture and there are so many details to plan.

I attended the Northeast Organic Farmers Association for Massachusetts winter conference last weekend. Why would a LI chicken farmer attend a conference In MA? Because the Pastured Livestock guru, Joel Salatin, gave a full day seminar to a group of about 200 people. For those who haven’t read, The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, I highly recommend it. Salatin is featured prominently in the book as a farmer who grows a diverse selection of livestock on pasture on his 500 acre farm in Virginia.

Salatin is the quintessential Jeffersonian “intellectual agrarian” and insures that the cycle of life remains in full force by recycling everything on the farm to benefit the grass, the animals, and the land. He has helped pioneer the resurgence of local, grass oriented livestock systems that nearly died away due to confinement houses and feedlots. The quality of the beef, pork, poultry, lamb, and eggs is so superior to the offering from the industrial agricultural establishment that he has developed a following of immense proportions. Pasturing livestock is gaining popularity around the country and our business model at Browder’s Birds will follow suit.

Salatin is an engaging, passionate and humorous speaker. A few thoughts that he and I agree on:
• Food from our farms should do no harm
• Food we produce respects and nurtures the carbon cycle
• Farms we’re creating are not nuisances
• When we lose openness, we lose transparency, when we lose transparency, we lose integrity

The idea is to bring food, farm and family together in a way that has been lost with the advent of industrial agriculture, confinement houses, feedlots and other farm practices where the public is not only not welcome on farm, but prohibited from visiting. The decline of the small family farm is a sad by product of the consolidation that has occurred in agriculture. In fact, there are twice as many people incarcerated in America than there are farmers. Think about thatx.we’ve become so disconnected from where our food comes from, that we readily accept whatever is put in front of us because we’ve lost the joy of celebrating really good, diverse, nutritious food. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, compare your cardboard tomato at the grocery store vs. a fresh grown tomato on your back porch or garden. There is no comparison and that example is true of countless other types of food.

A few more updates for all of you. Browder’s Birds, LLC is now an official NY state company! I have a laundry list of items to complete over the next couple of months including finalizing the land lease with the Peconic Land Trust, ordering chicks for the season, finalizing my feed vendor, setting up the brooder, ordering the necessary processing equipment, ordering water tests, building the required chicken tractors, and continuing to market to CSAs and our buying clubs. In addition, Holly and I will be moving out to Greenport, NY in late February to a bungalow we’re renting for the next year. I’ll live there full time as the pastured poultry business gets off the ground.

Once we get going, you are welcome to visit any time. Come see the chickens in action and see how they are grown. If you have any interest in helping process the chickens starting in early June, let me know. We will need all the help we can get. More on that later.

In February, you will be hearing more about our marketing efforts including our CSAs and buying clubs. In addition, I hope to blog on life on the farm, the issues we face and the funny things that happen to us.

Signing off from the North Fork!

Chris Browder