Meticulous Milling Makes Mealtime Magic

      We would love to welcome every fan of The Country Hen to our farm. Unfortunately, that is not possible, but we still want to open our virtual doors to you. Welcome to a series of posts with videos that will take you through our special farm – from specially formulated feed to sunlit barns to the processing that prepares our organic omega eggs for your table.

      The first stop on our virtual tour of The Country hen is our mill where the real magic happens. We make our own proprietary blend of feed using certified organic ingredients we source as locally as possible from organic farmers we know and trust. Our proprietary formulas of feed, developed by the founder of our FARMily, George Bass with the help of a whole team of scientists, veterinarians, and specialists in human and hen nutrition. This feed is directly responsible for the superior levels of all three varieties of Omega 3 PUFAs, Lutein and Zeaxanthin, Vitamin D, and 13 essential nutrients contained in our delectable eggs. The old adage “you are what you eat” fits pretty nicely with the egg production process as the quality of the eggs our hens produce is the result of the quality of feed our hens are eating.

      Our meticulous Mill Manager, Brian, never wonders what our hens are eating, where the feed might have come from, or how fresh the feed might be. Brian just happens to be a graduate of Harvard University and so I do affectionately introduce him to folks as our “Resident Professor of Feedology.” This is not an actual title but the nickname suits him just the same. I have never met an actual professor of anything who is willing to climb up to the tippity top of an enormous silo during a blizzard to check on the ingredients the way Brian does. Brian and Miguel work together to make the very best feed for our feathered friends. These great people know precisely when a feed ingredient was harvested and even from which plot in the field the item came from!

      Brian and Miguel inspect every ingredient upon delivery and test it for moisture content and quality before accepting or rejecting the item. The ingredients are stored in silos that send ingredients through an intricate network of auger tubes into this mill to be blended together to become our fresh and flavorful feed. Brian is so confident in the quality that he actually samples the ingredients himself. I could not resist the opportunity to try some myself after I watched him do this. It tastes very much like the grainy popcorn crumbs you find in the bottom of the popcorn container in my opinion but overall, not bad! Do you know any other farmers daring enough to eat the same food they give to their animals?

      After the feed is made, it is transported through yet another network of tubes to smaller silos that fill the feed truck. These silos are set up on a steel structure high enough to allow the feed truck to pull in underneath and then gravity drops the feed into the truck. Brian and Miguel deliver the fresh feed to the henhouses and replenish the silos at each barn location.