Red Rooster Farm

Local Poultry at Red Rooster Farm

Last modified on 2009-07-01 21:17:53 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

If you’re interested in a fresh, “slow broiler” fryer chicken from their Red Rooster Farm, you’d better contact Dave or Shawna Lambert quickly.  More than two-thirds of the 74 chickens carrying a dressed weight of four – five pounds have been reserved for the July 12 slaughter. Depending on the weight, most will run between $15 and $20 a piece.

“The best eating chickens are usually 10 – 18 weeks old and these will be 16 weeks, an age that research has shown will give the most protein eating value but is still tender,” says Dave.

Farming blood runs deep in Dave Lambert’s family on both sides. Originally from Norway, his pioneering relatives established farms prior to 1900 in the Central Valley, Poulsbo, and Brownsville areas. The Hilsted name is particularly well-known throughout the county.

After returning from World War II, Dave’s grandfather, David Hilsted, decided to try something different so he became a commercial fisherman.  But when his boat sank, he returned to his farming roots and bought ten acres to farm near Poulsbo. At that time, the farm was primarily used for dairy cattle and eventually some beef cattle, though none are raised on the farm now. Today, Dave and Shawna own five of these acres, Dave’s mother 2.5 and his aunt recently sold the 2.5 acres she owned.

When Dave and Shawna married in 1998, they decided they wanted to preserve the property and keep farming it, reserving part for meat farming and part for vegetables, fruit, and flowers.  Dave says other farmers have told him what an ideal place the property is for farming. He says there is a variety of different types of soils on the place so different crops can be grown but he also practices crop rotation.

As with most farmers, the Lamberts have had their share of learning experiences and problems, including one they’d never dreamed would occur.

“You can usually identify which predators kill your animals – an eagle will eat the chest and heart and coyotes will drag the carcass off but we had something biting off the heads and sucking the blood out of the turkeys we were raising,” said Dave. “It was a complete mystery because we didn’t see anything coming and going into the pen.”

Finally, after more than 50 percent of the birds were destroyed, the Lamberts discovered a possible entry into the pen – via rat tunnels.  But they still didn’t know what was using the tunnels. In desperation, they hired a trapper and to the amazement of everyone, a mink was identified as the culprit.

“No one I know even thought there were any mink around here,” says Dave.

The Lamberts are raising turkeys once again in time to sell for Thanksgiving but this time they’ll be keeping a sharp eye out for any tunnels that might appear.  Their daughter, six-year-old MacKenzie, plucks a baby turkey out of the rearing shelf. Dad and daughter agree that it looks like a miniature dinosaur at this age.

And it’s a family affair on the Red Rooster Farm.  MacKenzie and her eight-year-old brother, Hiatt, both help out on the farm too.  Hiatt’s job is to gather the Araucana and Rhode Island Red eggs that will be sold at the Poulsbo Farmers Market where Dave is vice-president of the Market Board. Then MacKenzie carefully brushes, washes and dries the eggs.

Meanwhile Shawna is out gathering flowers and checking on their crops of lavender and strawberries which are almost ready to harvest.  She’s also putting together some of the popular Italian tomato and basil bowls she sells for $20 at the Market. Dave is getting ready to use his grandfather’s 50-year-old tractor and the couple surveys the other crops that will be harvested over the summer and into the fall.

“Once farming gets in your blood, you just have to do it or you feel like something’s missing in your life,” said Dave.

To reach the Lamberts and Red Rooster Farm, call (360) 394-1686 or stop by their booth at the Poulsbo Farmers’ Market on Saturdays between 9 a. m. and 1 p.m.