By Jennifer Stultz
Tri-County Tribune Editor
jstultz@cherryroad.com
It’s a crazy time in the chicken business, according to poultry farmer Luke Laha, who with his wife, Caitlyn, operates the 5 Acre Farm near Iuka, Kansas. The poultry business is hot right now, but not because the price of eggs is high in the grocery store.
“We’ve sold eggs for about eight years now, we are not gaining in that way,” Laha said. “What’s crazy is all the people who want to buy chickens. Just last week I sold 1,000 hens in four days. I could sell as much as I am able to produce right now, but I have to keep some back for our own farm.”
The Lahas sell their chickens for $25 to $50 each, depending on the breed, size, and age. They have pod houses where individual breeds can be kept separate from a large, free-ranging flock of chickens that is keep mainly for egg production.
“We have just as many chick customers and are hatching out as much as we can to meet the demand,” Laha said. “Our three GQF incubators are going non-stop. I put 500 new eggs in every Monday. Colored eggs are hot right now so people want to buy chicks that will grow up to lay colored eggs.”
There are currently about 400 chickens, ducks, geese, quail, and turkeys running around at 5 Acre Farm, proof that small farmers can make a living on 20 acres or less, for those willing to work hard. Laha often builds his own cages, breed pods, free-range barns, and even his own brooder house.
“It’s a non-stop job, every day, sunup to sundown, and then some,” Laha said. “There are no days off, just different things to do each day.”
He said that is why he loves his life as a farmer. There is variety, he can be his own boss, and November through January he adds in working as a guide for his Old School Outfitters hunting business, based in nearby Iuka.
In addition to poultry, the couple also raises American Guinea Hogs, Longhorn cattle, and garden produce. Caitlyn Laha recently moved her gardening interests into a new greenhouse, built by her father. Luke Laha is working on starting several varieties of trees for future sale as well.
It’s the birds that keep 5 Acre Farm sustainable right now, though. Luke Laha working on the development of a new breed of chicken that has become very popular in its early stages. He calls them Ayam Naked, as they are a cross between Naked Neck, or Turken, and a breed called Ayam Cemani.
“It is just a barnyard mix, but we are calling them the world’s sexiest chickens,” Laha said. “So far, people are loving them and buying up all the chicks we can produce. Everyone wants one.”
For Laha, more important than the huge rise in popularity of chickens is that fact that more and more Americans are learning how to produce their own food, meat, in their own backyards.
“Homesteaders, small farmers, those are our biggest customers,” he said. “There is something very satisfying about being able to produce your own healthy food and know where it comes from, what is in it. This really is the time for the small farm movement to take hold. It’s why we do this.”
The Lahas offer education videos about small farm practices and poultry management on their own YouTube channel 5 Acre Farm. They also promote and post their homegrown products on a Facebook page by the same name. Each year, hands-on workshops are offered at their farm for those interested in learning backyard butchering techniques. They welcome interaction by messenger on Facebook.
