Eggs & Honey
Farm Fresh and Locally Sourced
At Groves Farm we have a variety of chicken breeds. We choose our chicken breeds based on their cold hardiness, their heat tolerance, their personality, and how many eggs they usually lay. All of our chickens are fed organically and free-range all day, every day on our 7 acres of farmland. We do not use herbicides or pesticides on our property as we work very hard to create a healthy and safe environment for our chickens (and all living things!). We currently have 24 hens and one rooster named Bernard. The breeds that we currently have include Amberlinks, Barred Rocks, Black Australorps, Buff Orpingtons, Easter Eggers, Lavender Orpingtons, and New Hampshire Reds. We usually get new peeps in the spring so they can be raised naturally by their momma over the course of the summer and have reached maturity by the time colder temperatures in autumn arrive. We treat our girls as a part of our farm family, with love and respect. In return, our chickens are lovely companions who are comfortable being around us and share their eggs with us and then we share their eggs with you. I absolutely adore our chickens - they bring a smile to my face each and every day!
In the past we have gotten our Honey Bees from Queen Right Colonies and from John’s Country Nursery, both of which are located right here in northeast Ohio. Our honey bees are Italian honey bees, which is a subspecies of the western honey bee. Italian bees are excellent honey producers and have a gentle temperament. They are the most popular race of honey bee in North America, have a moderately low tendency to swarm, and have a bright yellow color that makes their queens easier to find. We currently have two hives on our property and hope to expand with more hives every few years. We researched the best conditions for our bees and strive to provide them with exactly that. We have our honey bee hives facing the morning sun and they get some afternoon shade during the hot days of summer. In the winter, they have no shaded trees above them, which allows them to gather all the warmth of the winter sun. We have a variety of trees, bushes and flowers on our property, which gives them the best range for gathering nectar for the good of the hive. We also make sure that they have a variety of water sources available to them all year long, the Aurora Branch of the Chagrin River being one of those sources. We check on our honey bees every day and we can often be seen standing to the side of their hives...sharing the farm days comings and goings with them...we also consider our honey bees a part of our farm family and value all of their hard work.