The 2023 egg shortage hit Wyoming hard. Melissa was interviewed for a Wyoming Public Radio story on eggs, chickens, and the importance of buying local for a resilient food system. Click on this link to listen or read the transcript.
Melissa has found that some investment in poultry-specific equipment advances cleanliness for the chickens and their eggs, reduces the risk of disease transmission, decreases feed loss, and promotes operational efficiency. She blogged about her favorite poultry equipment for the American Poultry Association.
JACKSON, Wyo. — Sustainable food, including your breakfast eggs, provide ecosystem services to regenerate our Wyoming lands, according to Melissa Hemken, owner of Melissahof farm. Melissahof’s poultry flocks – Buckeye, Wyandotte and Faverolles – live in mobile coops and day pens to rotate frequently to fresh pasture, with its forage, insects, and nutrients, near Lander, Wyoming. A fourth flock, the Dominique, free range the farm. Read more on buckrail.com.
(Lander, WY) – Chick hatching season is right around the corner for Lander’s Melissahof Hatchery, and they are now taking pre-orders for their four heritage breeds: Salmon Faverolles, Blue-laced Red Wyandotte, Dominique, and Buckeye. All four are dual-purpose heavy breeds, which are good for both meat and eggs. Read more on County10.com.
As a guest blogger for the American Poultry Association, Melissa wrote about how Melissahof Hatchery was hatched. Read more here on this link.
When you pick up your chicks at Melissahof, you’ll notice lots of trailers retrofitted into mobile coops. Melissa blogged about the retrofit process for the American Poultry Association.