Drawbar chicken innovation: the coupling that's the most important part of our caravans, so that the chickens always move to fresh grass, can also be a favorite playground area.
Photography by Maria
Photography by Maria
 That time of the year when the grass is taller than the prettiest chicken.
Photography by Maria What is the sound of Spring?
A thousand bees humming in the olive tree? The songs of the blackbird? Or the chicken clucking happily at the patch of clover she found under the same olive tree where the bees hum and the blackbird sings?  The oats have come out nicely from our ploughing back in August.
Did you know: the yellow flowers you see in the front give the bright yellow color in the yolks of Hilltops eggs. We all love Spring.  The moon is out and the chickens are out on an evening walk. Peaceful farm evenings with a hint of the red Australian dust in the sky.
Photography by Maria  Every few days, Hilltops chickens move to a fresh new green area of the paddock.
Our nomadic tribe of chickens are healthy, and the eggs - delicious. Photography by Maria.  Mustering sheep today.
If you look long and hard, you will inevitably see a chicken and an egg somewhere at Hilltops farm. Perhaps in the clouds.  I really like it here, on top of our caravan. I have the sun on my feathers and the wind in my face. I might even lay my egg right here, where you can never reach it.
The Top of the World Chicken.  Chickens out on a walk, enjoying the sun setting over the hilltops. Photography by Maria.
 This chicken likes to lay her egg in the faraway layer every morning, in peace and quiet from all her friends.
Now we caught her running back to join them.  The Hilltops Egg Farm Spa Salon is open, located in a beautiful shaded area near the dry creek, with a view of the hills. Our ladies chose the spot themselves. They enjoy taking turns in the dust baths, while the Maremma dogs keep watch and make sure the ladies are not disturbed during their healthy hygiene ritual.
Dust bathing is crucial for the chickens' health: dust cleans the feathers and absorbs excess moisture and oil from the skin. Dust bathing kills parasites attached to the chickens' skin by covering them with a fine coat that blocks their breathing, causing them to suffocate. We have our sheep on one hill, the chickens on the next hill, and our crops ready to plough in on the third one. Sustainable, rotational farming at its best at Hilltops eggs farm.
 The sun's rays have a warm glow, the wind has lost its icy brush, the grass is not frosted in the morning.
You can tell that Spring is not far away now.  That moment when you are coming back home and the whole family rushes to greet you.
 Ploughing: it's that time of the year to make sure the chickens get home made-food!
 Chicken Disneyland = fallen trees in the paddock where we moved our chickens. They are having so much fun! Photography by Maria.    It is a fact rarely acknowledged that Robert Frost, the poet, was a poultry farmer.
During the day, he did what we all do: collect eggs, repair caravans, and take in the scenery. At night, he wrote poetry. It might be the view of hilltops (like this one) that inspired some the wonderful Nature imagery in Frost's poems.  Hilltops Free Range eggs received the Champion ribbon at the Royal Canberra Poultry Show this weekend.
We are delighted and honored. We thank everyone in our team for the countless hours of hard work and love for our chickens. The professional jury measured and scored all eggs according to 9 criteria, and Hilltops eggs received perfect scores in 5 of those criteria: yolk, albumen, chalazae, freshness, shell texture, freshness, bloom and appearance.  In the beautiful sunset light, our chickens like to wander far and wide. These two ladies came to chat with me a while.
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How our eggs come to you
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December 2018
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