Frequent Questions
Organic production recognises the link between environment, health and the food we eat.
In organic farming:
See Soil Association website for more about organic standards.
Products claiming to be organic in UK must display a certification symbol or number. This tells you a product has been produced to organic standards which are checked by the certification body.
An organic product must be produced to at least the UK organic standard, though certification bodies can make higher standards part of their schemes.
Soil Association farmers farms are inspected, records checked, animals viewed and management policies approved. All this ensures the certification symbol or number is only used on products produced in compliance with the Soil Association standard.
We are licensed by the Soil Association.
Routine use of antibiotics is not permitted, but if an animal or group of animals becomes ill, antibiotics/drugs are permitted to prevent unnecessary suffering. Withdrawal periods following a course of antibiotics on an organic animal are up to three times longer than the minimum permitted. Some diseases can be vaccinated against but not effectively treated - vaccines may be used if there is a known problem on a farm.
Organic production does not allow intensive farming. Animals and birds grow more slowly in organic systems, crops do not yield as highly. Breeds which have shown natural immunity to diseases and are adapted to free-range conditions are often used. Animal feed is approved by the certification body also. There is no GM, or artificial fertilisers/chemicals used in production of organic feed.
Thus the premium you may pay is for:
This is a guide only: A lot depends on appetites and if you want leftovers!!! We try to give you a bird within 2lbs. (1 kilogram plus or minus) of your requested weight. We will only charge you for up to 1kg above your requested weight.
| Bird | weight | No. of people to feed |
|---|---|---|
| Organic Christmas Cockerel | 6 - 8lbs | up to 4 people |
| Organic Christmas Cockerel | 8 - 10lbs | up to 6 |
| Organic Christmas Cockerel | 10 - 12lbs + | up to 8 |
| Organic Christmas Turkey | < 8lbs | up to 3 people |
| Organic Christmas Turkey | 8 - 10lbs | up to 4 |
| Organic Christmas Turkey | 12 - 14lbs | up to 6 |
| Organic Christmas Turkey | 16 - 18lbs | up to 8 |
| Organic Christmas Turkey | 20lbs + | 10 + people |
We have a herd of Fallow deer. They are smaller than Red Deer.
| Organic Venison saddle whole including fillet - bone-in | 8 - 10 people |
| Organic Half saddle with or without fillet - bone-in | 4 - 5 |
Sadly, it is no longer economically viable for us to attend Farmers' Markets. However, we occasionally rear chickens at certain times in the year. If you are on our mailing list for the newsletter (see below), you will be emailed when we have birds available.
Our new online shop is now up and running - here's the link! Rutland Organics Shop
We are no longer producing Organic Turkeys and cockerels or other meat for Christmas.
We have a flock of sheep and the herd of Fallow deer and breed our own pigs. Lamb, hogget, pork are available at intervals and venison (fresh in season) boxes are available fresh or frozen (depending on the time of year and how much we sold fresh!). The best way to find out what we have when is to subscribe to our newsletter (see below). If you stay on our campsite (April - September) our meat, burgers and sausages are available in the campsite shop.
For orders you are unable to collect from the farm, we use mail order - overnight delivery in an insulated box with with icepacks.
Sign up to receive our newsletter for meat/poultry and/or campsite (on the cuckoo farm website).
WE ARE NO LONGER PRODUCNG TURKEY POULTS FOR SALE, however if you manage to source day old heritage turkey chicks we would suggest you get them in May, June or July. They grow more slowly than commercial birds, so they need to be fed well, for longer to ensure they are finished for Christmas. They do taste much better for it though!
If you bought 6 week old poults in August you could still expect them to finish for Christmas if you fed them well. (We are NOT producing any of those either!)
Turkey eggs normally hatch in 28 days.
Turkeys do not lay eggs all year round. They start laying in spring and finish around August normally.
If you want to hatch turkeys for the following Christmas market, with rare breeds you need to have them hatched by early July at the latest. Which means buying the eggs in May or early June. WE NO LONGER PRODUCE TURKEY HATCHING EGGS.
WE NO LONGER PRODUCE TURKEY EGGS OR POULTS.
