Al-Be Farm raises heritage breed chickens and quail
Al-Be Farm took home the purple ribbon for their quail eggs at the Nemaha county fair! If you only ever eat chicken eggs, these champion eggs are something to try!
Al-Be Farm Offers:
- Chicken Eggs & Meat
- Quail Eggs & Meat
- Young hens to start your own flock!
Beth Kernes Krause and Ralph Krause from Al-Be Farm began their foray into animal farming with Rhode Island Reds, a dual-purpose heritage breed that is more commonly known for its brown eggs. Beth and Ralph however, raised these birds for meat on non-GMO feed from other Nebraska family farmers. Al-Be Farm chickens and quail are kept on pasture and moved daily. Al-Be has expanded breeds and is now trying a wider variety of heritage breeds to determine which breeds perform best in our area and have the best flavor.
The chickens are kept in "chicken tractors" to keep them safe from predators. Learn more about chicken tractors here.
"We chose these heritage breed birds to raise due to their flavor and to support diversity in agriculture."
Heritage chickens take longer to reach "market weight" than modern broilers and, therefore, are not as tender as the chicken we are accustomed to cooking today. This means we have to relearn some of the techniques our parents and grandparents knew.
Here is a link to information for cooking with heritage meat birds: http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf
If you want to learn more about heritage breeds, go to www.livestockconservancy.org
Have you ever tried Quail eggs?
In addition to raising chickens, Al-Be Farm is known for their delicious, highly sought quail eggs. Quail are a type of small sized birds with over 300 species worldwide. While many people think of quail as a game bird to be hunted, they have a long history of being kept for their eggs and meat. The small, speckled eggs are about one third to half the size of a standard chicken egg, and packed with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Quail eggs taste similar to chicken eggs, but have been described as creamier, and richer tasting possibly due to the large yolk size of a quail egg.
There are lots of great quail egg dishes out there to try! Here are some of our favorites:
Where to find Al-Be Farm:
- Order year-round, online through the Nebraska Food Coop
- Contact via their facebook page or email address (al-befarm@windstream.net) or phone number 402-274-8836