Situated in Herefordshire in the Welsh Marches
Fowl Intentions
The Lingen Flock of Rare Breed Poultry
Rose & Ivy Cottages
Lingen
Herefordshire
Colophon (8pt - no larger)
David Thame and John Walker, Rose & Ivy Cottages, Lingen, nr Bucknell, SY7 0DY
Tel. 01544 262896
Email sales@roseandivycottage.co.uk
www.roseandivycottage.co.uk
SIDE 1, PANEL 2:
What this is all about: our fowl intentions
A chicken is not just a chicken. From the Dorking, reputedly the first chicken to be introduced into Britain by the Romans, down to the endangered Old English Pheasant Fowl and on to the alarmingly horned French La Fleche, chickens come in hundreds of shapes and sizes. Each has its own characteristics (whether as egg-layers or table birds). Each also has its own distinct personality.
Our aim is to prove that rare breed chickens are neither mere agricultural curiosities nor decorative additions to charming back gardens. Rather, we want to show that they are viable and worthwhile as producers of delicious eggs and tender meat. Just as shoppers are now used to buying rare breed pork (witness the rise of the once all-but-extinct Gloucester Old Spot) and beef (Hereford cattle, in particular) we want to show that a chicken is never just a chicken. It is an Ixworth for the oven, a Marans egg for your omlette. It is also a vital example of genetic diversity and an unrivalled source of unique and subtle slowly-produced flavours. In short, chickens are worth it.
We have another aim, too. We believe everyone should be as closely involved with food production as possible - to do otherwise is to loose track of the costs and benefits of the way we live and eat, and a recipe for unfairly produced, tastleless and unhealthy food. Growing fruit and vegetables is an important start - but, if you eat meat, this means raising livestock as well. Chickens make an ideal place to enjoy raising your own food - whether for eggs or for the table. Rare breed birds, with their individuality and diversity, will amuse, charm, educate and nourish and do it all at once.
SIDE 1, PANEL 2:
Eggs for eating
Enjoy discovering how different rare breed eggs can taste. Each variety has its own qualities, colours, sizes, yolk and white densities and hence uses.
We offer half-dozen mixed boxes of fresh eggs from our rare breed hens to customers within seven miles of Lingen. Typically this includes La Fleche, Dorking and Old English Pheasant Fowl along with Wyandotte, Appenzeller, Light Sussex and Marans - but each box is a lucky dip.
We also hope to offer boxes of single-variety eggs for those who know what they prefer - whether its beefy Marans or delicate Appenzeller. Please see our website for current availability. If you have a special preference please let us know and we will do our best.
Apologies to customers outside this area - and to those inside who cannot buy all they would like. Our supplies are strictly limited. This is especially true during the winter when only our pullets will lay reliably because we do not induce laying by the use of lamps nor do we deploy any of the other techniques of battery farming or broiler production.
Birds for the table
Not only are the eggs different, but rare breed chickens taste different too. Long months spent running around doing what they like means our birds have developed more fully, and more naturally, than most table birds. Rare breeds mature slowly - and we do not rush them.
First you will notice the gamey dark meat - something even the best free-range butchers birds rarely have. The white meat too is aromatic and unforgettable. Each variety has its own style - from the delicate white flesh of the La Fleche to the white but more substantial Ixworth to the almost beefy (but undeniably flavoursome) Dorking. This is what chicken ought to be.
Birds will be available from mid-2009 onwards. Please see our website for availability and prices.