Iva Swaine Homestead

Welcome to our Farm which is situated on the Iva Swaine Homestead.

We raise heritage animal breeds, and enjoy them all, in their uniqueness.  We selected heritage breeds because they are the foundation of our food security.  They are able to breed naturally cutting out the need for buying in replacements each year, and they are able to forage for food in their surroundings,  reducing the number of inputs from far away places.

We feed certified organic grain and hay to our animals. We are not a certified organic farm, but are happy to answer any questions about our farm and our practices.  We started our farm because we wanted to feed our family the best quality food we could, so what we feed our animals is important to us because they are what we will be feeding our children.  We made the change to a Soy Free based diet for our animals this Winter.

Ancona Chickens hail from Italy.  They are excellent egg layers.  They are small, but lay a large white egg.  As a meat bird they are best when harvested at 10-12 weeks old.  At this age they are tender and delicious and cook up nicely on the grill.  We butcher them using the Spatchcock method, which is to butterfly them.  This aids in marinade and or grill cookery.  We will have Ancona Spatch Roosters available in July.  We will have chicks available this Spring.

Creme D’Argent Rabbits are a French breed that were imported to the US, which is one of only a few countries, that this breed can be found in currently.  It is a beautiful rabbit that starts out life as a lovely rich orange, but as they mature, they develop a cream top coat, with their original orange underneath.  Their meat quality is superb, and they are fine boned, so you paying for more meat, less bone.  We have rabbit meat available throughout the year, as well as breeding stock.

Muscovy Ducks are the only duck that is not derived from a Mallard.  It is a tree duck, not a water duck.  It is a strange looking breed, that has really found it’s way into our hearts.  We are raising he Chocolate colorway that is a lovely creamy brown.  The meat from this duck is rich and dense.  The breast meat is wonderful and very steak-like.  Duck fat is always a treat.  We will have ducklings available in the Spring, and meat in the Fall.  We may have a duck or two from last Fall, still available, so if you are interested feel free to contact us.

Indian Runner Ducks are also a strange looking duck, but in a very different way than the Muscovy.  This is a mallard derived duck, and it’s a brilliant egg layer.  They are prolific and will outlay many chicken breeds.  Our Runners come from Holderread Water Fowl and Preservation.  They are delightfully amusing creatures.  We have eggs available and will have Ducklings in the Spring.

Tamworth Pigs are new to the farm.  We are raising 5 of them, all of which are spoken for, at this time, but we may have a little extra meat available in the Fall.  We are getting to know these  characters.

Our Irish Dexter Cow, Nellie, came to our farm as a heiffer in June.  Her first calf is due in May, at which time we will begin milking her.  She is a small breed, perfect for a homestead.  We are excited to see her calf in the Spring.

Our vegetable garden is always a work in progress, and one that we have not nailed down, reliably, so we do not sell our veggies regularly, but may be selling extras throughout the season.  I will have tomato seedlings available in the spring.

Iva Swaine is my Great Grandmother.  The land we farm has been in her family for generations.  She was married to my Great Grandfather, Maurice Waterhouse, for many wonderful years, but I selected to use her maiden name because the land came through her side of the family.