Faraona hens are coming!

The first order of faraona hens went in to the hatchery today. Faraonas are guinea hens. In the US they are rarely used for meat but in Italy they are considered a delicacy. Indeed, their Italian name means pharoah since these birds are originally from Africa and were used for only the most luxurious dinners. They are a very lean alternative to duck meat. Their meat is sweet and tender but not fatty like duck. We have great expectations for these birds both for our foody followers and for the BBQ nights we will have at Isham's Farm (Williston), where we will go all out preparing traditional grilled stuffed faraona. YUM. 
But before we get there, we will need to learn to raise these little guys. They have a very sensitive and independent personality and are simply adorable. The independent trait is definitely something that we are getting used to working with given our Icelandic sheep. We have never worked with baby faraona before, but we are sure they are impossibly cute! We will post pictures once they arrive. Another added benefit of this bird: they are amazing tick hunters, so no more tick problems for our sheep and no more need for chemical remedies to their ticks! 
Yeah for the faraona hens!