Winter 2018 – how quickly have the seasons changed and time progressed! There’s plenty happening at Heritage Farm. We’ve tried to condense our news and upcoming activities into a short video – so let us know what you think.
What’s been happening at Heritage Farm in Winter 2018
We have had a handful of chooks escape our six foot high fox proof fence. Only one has escaped numerous times – even after having her wing clipped. Our escapee was found with a brood of 15 baby chicks one morning by one of our Farm Stayers! Well our guest was chuffed and we were shocked! Since then, she’s been a magnificent mother to all.
Many of our other chooks have decided that they quite enjoy the free range conditions that they had grown accustomed to. As a result, we have found it difficult keeping them in their new area towards the front of the property. We’ve tried a few different methods to pen the chickens in – including using bird netting to provide height and cover. Unfortunately there are still ninja chickens escaping and we are currently formulating plans to deal with the problem. At this stage, it seems the best option to keep chickens in their area is to train them early to electric bird netting. Too late for this group thought!
Farm tours
Rach and I continue to run our farm tours. During the winter months, our tours are run every month or so. Private tours are now available – proving popular with kindergartens, schools and sustainability groups. Teaching others how we produce food ethically and sustainably. We’ve had some great questions and always find those who attend get something out of it. Sharing how food is produced and encouraging people to have a look and see the animals out there with their own eyes really makes a difference. At least that’s the feedback that we get!
Producing more organic duck eggs
More of our ducks are on the lay, and this means we are producing LOTS of duck eggs. We’ve been really lucky so far (actually it’s Rach’s management) and each week we carefully balance the number available and sold. Our eggs can be found at the top restaurants and wineries on the Mornington Peninsula – Pt Leo Estate, Polperro, Port Phillip Estate, Trofeo Estate, Barmah Estate, Play the Fool and others! Many of our farm gate customers have allergies to chicken eggs, so if you’re in the same boat come and try them!
[featured_products per_page=”12″ columns=”4″ orderby=”date” order=”desc”]Matilda and Chestnut
Matilda (Jersey X Friesian) and Chestnut (Jersey) calves arrived at Heritage Farm as 5 day olds in September 2017. We bottle fed them, until they were old enough to live completely on the grass. They’re no longer babies, and both cows are now huge! Our aim is to have them both as house cows to provide milk in the future. As of Winter 2018, Matilda and Chestnut are the most popular of our animals on our farm tours.
Farm Stay
After completing our renovations, we have our farm stay open. Since opening, we’ve welcomed families and students every weekend with amazing feedback. With completely separate and self contained facilities our farm stay accommodates up to 8 people.
Grafting Workshop
Neil Barraclough is a trusted grafting expert providing workshops around Australia and he will be coming to do a grafting workshop at Heritage Farm in August this year. You will learn everything you need to know to graft different varieties of fruit trees. We already have quite a few bookings, so if you’re interested, please register early!
There’s plenty of upcoming activities that you’re able to experience here, and lots that’s already happened. We love to share what we’re doing with others, so if you’re interested, get involved!
