OUR STORY
Quail and Hound: Our Commitment to Sustainability and the Environment
At Quail and Hound Farms we strive to be good stewards of nature in order to leave a healthy planet for our children while providing the highest quality, natural products to our family, friends, and neighbors. We aim to preserve the beauty of our property, maintain the health of our family and animals, and make as little impact as possible on our beautiful horse and hunt country in Middleburg, Virginia.
Carbon Footprint: We strive to minimize our carbon footprint. Whenever possible, we procure our supplies such as glass products, feed, and egg cartons locally. Our chicken coop includes solar powered doors and lights around the barn. The coop was placed in a clearing uphill with exposure to full sunlight and excellent drainage. Our bees require nothing but plant life and sunshine. Over half of our 20 acres remain completely wooded to offset any carbon footprint we may produce.
Resources, Reusing, and Recycling: We try to use as many reusable and recyclable products, as possible. We use glass and metal for many of our honey and beeswax products, recycled paper pulp cartons for our eggs, and paper bags are used in lieu of plastic. We collect glass, cartons, and bags at Farmer’s Markets and at the farm to be recycled or reused.
Water Sources: We have two sources of water at Quail and Hound, the natural creek behind our house that provides a continuous water supply for our bees and well water for our chickens. We take every possible step to ensure that run-off does not lead to or contaminate the creek, in an effort to preserve its purity and for as little impact as possible.
Pesticides, Insecticides, and Fertilizers: Our hives prevent us from using any harmful chemicals on our property since bees travel several miles to collect nectar and pollen. We made the hard decision between growing produce or keeping bees; please excuse the weeds on our walkways and throughout the property. The only fertilizer used for our small garden and orchard comes from collecting and composting household scraps and chicken manure; all 100% natural.
About Quail and Hound Farm
Rick and Wendy had a vision when they moved to the farm. They wanted a fixer-upper with enough land to produce quality food products they could feed their family and friends. They started with a few backyard chickens and a small garden; their love for their hens and search for the "perfect egg" grew. They love the rich flavor and color of farm fresh eggs and had enough to provide to family, friends, and neighbors, and the demand continued to grow. Their old barn was converted into a hen house, and the chicken run they added has been expanded multiple times to accommodate the growing flock.
Their good friends and long-time Winchester beekeepers inspired them to raise bees. As a former life science teacher, this piqued Wendy's interest because of the value of bees as pollinators in the environment, bees' endangered animal status, and research that showed local honey could help with her allergies. Rick just loved the idea of producing his own honey to have in the mornings with his Greek yogurt and walnuts. They started three years ago with two hives and have expanded since. As their knowledge and skill in beekeeping increased, so did their harvest yielding tons of liquid gold that could now be sold to the public.
Wendy and Rick grew up in households where food was what brought friends and family together. Rick's mom was an amazing cook and passed that passion onto him. Rick takes great pride in his cooking and prepares food with meticulous attention to seasoning and flavor. Rick has created his own rubs, which were lovingly referred to as Rick's Rub and Wendy's Rub. Those rubs have since been renamed as West Texas heat and Sweet Texas heat, and will soon be sold to the public along with other rubs such as Bistro Chicken, Savory Steakhouse, and Fresh Catch, and will also sell his sauces, which are his son-in-law's favorites.
We hope you will enjoy our products as much as our friends and family do.
100% Free-range & non-GMO-free Eggs
Quail and Hound currently has a variety of chickens including Welsummers, Buff Orpingtons, a variety of ornamental chickens including Silkies and Houdans, Ameraucanas that provide blue, green, light pink, and olive colored eggs, and a variety of French Marans including Cuckoo and Black Copper that lay beautiful, large, dark- brown eggs that are very high in protein. Our hens are 100% cage-free and free-range throughout the day. They feed off a natural diet, which includes clover, dandelions, and all types of local flowers and seeds/fruit from our wooded lot. Their diet is supplemented with a high-quality, GMO-free, Omega-rich, natural feed to ensure proper nutrition and health. Our hens are also 100% antibiotic-free; we find that if they are well-taken care of and happy, they remain healthy.
Our Honeys
We have been keeping bees for 3 years. Our honey includes a 100% raw and unfiltered, amber-colored wildflower honey and a lighter, sweeter, golden clover honey. Our wooded lot and fruit trees provide nectar for our bees including delicious tulip poplar nectar, cherry, apple, and peach. Our creek provides a natural water source; however, our bees can also be found busily flying around our deck drinking from the fountain and visiting the flowers and hummingbird feeders.
This year we tried something new... we infused our dark wildflower honey with habanero peppers. This honey is sweet with a kick and is great for marinades or chicky nuggies.