Raising meat animals is another way we can ensure more control of our food security these days when supplies can run short with little notice. Even with a small yard in a busy neighborhood, families can raise some of their own protein with care and integrity. At the Giving Garden, we work to give our animals the healthiest and most natural lives possible, adjusting for our environment and streamlining the amount of labor involved. Our butchering practices are calm and humane. We respect the lives of the animals we use for food.

Chickens for Meat. Four times per year, we raise large batches of beautiful meat chickens, which live happy lives on fresh pasture once they are old enough to live outside. These birds spend 4-5 weeks in predator-proof “tractors,” so-called because we gradually move them across the pasture, leaving the birds’ rejuvenating manure and soil disturbance behind them. The combination of healthy feed and the fresh grass and insects they harvest in the pasture creates the plumpest, tastiest birds you could ever hope to enjoy.

Chickens for Eggs. We have a small laying flock of chickens working our pasture so that we can offer farm-fresh eggs to our array of protein products.

Quail. We love these small domesticated birds that provide a very simple source of both eggs and meat, with several benefits: they hatch quickly and mature quickly, beginning to lay the next generation of eggs in as little as six weeks. They are simple to house and simple to harvest. This is an excellent non-livestock species for neighborhood living, as they do not generally violate city ordinances, nor do they make much noise that might disturb neighbors. Click here for a wonderful FREE quail cookbook!

Turkeys. Our Fall 2022 turkey experiment went very well. We are considering adding them to the farmstead again in the future!