Homestead Farm
Alberta Beach T0E OA1 Onoway, AB, Canada

Homestead Farm will be offering the following breeds of poultry in 2021. We start our breeding pens when the snow has melted and usually have hatching eggs, chicks and poults available by the end of May/early June. We ensure high fertility before offering hatching eggs by first doing test hatches, however we are unable to offer any guarantees on hatching eggs due to difficulty with transport and your incubating practices. We do not take orders or have waiting lists. All eggs..., chicks and poults are offered here on our page as they become available. We will be updating our photo albums of our birds used for breeding over the coming months. Heres hoping for an early spring and a better 2021! Jubilee Orpington Blue, Black, Splash Orpington Black Copper Marans Blue, Black, Splash Copper Marans Lavender Marans Blue Wheaton Ameraucana Crested Cream Legbars Opal Legbars Silverrudds Blu Isbars Olive Eggers White Crested Black Polish Silkies in the following varieties -Silkie -Sizzle -Satin -Showgirl Sweetgrass Turkeys

All natural, handmade, 100 percent beeswax candles from #homesteadfarm at Bountiful Farmers' Market #yegmarkets #yegfarmersmarkets #yegfarmersmarket #lacsteannecounty

Yesterday was sheep shearing day. Some sheep get punk hairdos when the clipper blades get dull.

I enjoy having little helpers with work around the farm. It’s even better when they are all friends.

Some farms keep their leghorns in tiny little cages. Here we keep them ON the cage.

Lately at the Bountiful Farmers Market I’ve had a lot of requests for eggs that have a certain shell colour. Green seems to be the most popular choice. There has been other requests for all white or all brown eggs. Because I have heritage breed chickens, I don’t get just all one colour of egg. I have many different breeds of chickens, therefore many different shell colours. The colour of the shell has no affect on the nutritional quality of the egg. It is the diet of the hen ...that affects the nutritional quality of the egg. Our heritage breed chickens live a healthy life. They get to run around the yard most days and they enjoy a diet of bugs and grass as well as produce and other foods that I get through the Loop program. They also have a free choice layer ration available to them at all times that ensures they get all the vitamins and minerals that laying hens require. Something interesting to note, chickens are not vegetarians. They will happily snatch up bugs, worms and sometimes even mice. I do not restrict my birds to a vegetarian only diet. You can tell if a hen is eating a healthy diet by the colour of the yolk. It will be a darker yellow/orange colour that will also have a richer flavour. Some people like the blue and green eggs just for the novelty of the cool colours. This is quite understandable. Because of this, I have kept back many baby pullets this year of certain breeds that will lay blue, green and chocolate brown eggs. Maybe soon we will get some more coloured eggs. If your interested in learning more about shell colours, breeds and egg nutrition, here is an informative article. https://www.google.ca//what-do-different-eggshell-col/amp/

Good news! We are back into making felted soap again! We have two different kinds of soap, goats milk and honey glycerine. The honey glycerine has its own lovely scent and the goats milk is unscented, so we get to use different essential oils to scent them. You may notice that we try to colour code the fleece colours to the scents. We use our alpaca fleece for felting, so the soap itself is like a soft, luxury washcloth. Felted soap, is great for exfoliating, the soap lasts more than twice as long and you no longer have the mess in the soap dish! Our felted soap will be available for purchase at the Bountiful Farmers' Market. We are in booth K6 along the back wall.

Did you see? We’ve added a few new flavours to our selection of infused honey. Not only do we carry favourites like cinnamon, ginger and turmeric, but now we carry chocolate, lemon, peppermint and matcha! Believe it or not, lemon and peppermint sold out right away. We promise to make more though. You can find us at booth K6 of the @bountifulfarmersmarketyeg #yegfarmersmarket #yegfarmersmarkets #yegfoodmakers #yegfoodies #yegfoodie #yegweekends

Some signs just say it all. Join us today at Bountiful Farmers' Market, where shopping is indoors and parking is free. #yegfarmersmarket #yegfarmersmarkets #yegchristmas #yegshoplocal #yegshopping #yegbuylocal

Once again, I’m watching over my sisters Old Town Bookshop at Bountiful Farmers' Market today. I’m always finding new books to read and learn. Today I found this book, Pablo in the Snow. After reading it I learned why my own new lambs are crying in the morning. The poor little things are lost in the snow. Naturally Pablo in the Snow is my pick for the day.