When you think u-pick farming, vegetables usually come to mind. But that's not the case at Lake Meadow Naturals Farm where eggs are the u-pick item. The hens live in a cage-free environment with lots of access to sunshine, grass, and juicy bugs to eat along with their feed.
Dale Volkert, originally from Wisconsin, bought the Lake Meadow Property in 2000 and started raising cage-free hens for eggs. He had a small flock to begin with and gave lots of his eggs away to friends for free. Now he has 3000 Rhode Island Red Hens and supplies many Florida restaurants with eggs.
There is nothing quite like fresh eggs. Especially when you get to remove them from a nest box even as the hen glares at you and makes low clucking noises in protest.
At Lake Meadow Naturals Farm they have three U-pick hens. Two are filled with Rhode Island Red hens and the other with Americana hens that lay green eggs.
When you go, be prepared to be mobbed by the hens. They are very inquisitive birds and want to know everything about you. They also love to play tug-of-war with people's shoe laces. This can be a bit scary for young children.
There is a farm store on site with pre-picked eggs, if you don't want to pick your own eggs. It also has a large selection of Florida raised meats and other American products. You can buy broiler chickens, turkeys, grass-fed beef (distributed by Growing Synergy LLC), Dakin Dairy Farms milk (Myakka City, Fla.), tomatoes (grown by Volkert), cheese, honey, and other products. Volkert tries to have as many locally Florida sourced items in the store as possible.
You can visit the farm Monday, Thursday, Friday 1 - 5pm, and Saturday 9am to 1pm. Lake Meadow Naturals Farm has just has one restriction that you leave your pets at home because it causes a health risk to their animals and yours.
They are located at 10000 Mark Adam Road, Ocoee, FL
Phone: (321) 206-6262 (farm); (407) 399-7670 (retail)
To find out more about the farm you can go to http://lakemeadonaturals.com
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| U-pick eggs at Lake Meadow Naturals Farm, Ocoee, Fla |
There is nothing quite like fresh eggs. Especially when you get to remove them from a nest box even as the hen glares at you and makes low clucking noises in protest.
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| Rhode Island Red hens at Lake Meadow Naturals Farm, Ocoee, Fla. |
When you go, be prepared to be mobbed by the hens. They are very inquisitive birds and want to know everything about you. They also love to play tug-of-war with people's shoe laces. This can be a bit scary for young children.
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| Florida raised meats and chicken in freezer at Lake Meadow Naturals Farm store, Ocoee, Fla |
You can visit the farm Monday, Thursday, Friday 1 - 5pm, and Saturday 9am to 1pm. Lake Meadow Naturals Farm has just has one restriction that you leave your pets at home because it causes a health risk to their animals and yours.
They are located at 10000 Mark Adam Road, Ocoee, FL
Phone: (321) 206-6262 (farm); (407) 399-7670 (retail)
To find out more about the farm you can go to http://lakemeadonaturals.com
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