Le Basse-Cour – The Barnyard
A small, but well-managed basse-cour, or barnyard, supplied eggs, milk, butter, cream, cheese, the occasional chicken or rooster, eggs,rabbits, guinea hens, and sometimes ducks as well. And, everyone fatted a cochon, or pig, to make the essential charcuterie, from jambon cru to sausages to provision the pantry. In Provence, my neighbors kept rabbits, guinea hens, geese (which attacked me if I got near them), a few chickens and a pig.
The animals were kept in the barnyard area, behind the stone houses, or adjacent to them. The animals’ shelters were built of stone and had red-tiled roofs, just like the homes. I was told that in the days before my time, some people also kept a few goats for milk and cheese. People who didn’t keep goats could go to their neighbors who did, and for a few centimes, buy fresh milk. Cheese, if not used by the family, cost a little more.
Here at La Vie Rustic, we begin our barnyard collection with a pasture mix, a ‘scratch patch’ for chickens. Watch for more products soon.
La Vie Rustic Chicken Scratch Patch -Pasture Seed Mix
Photo by Thomas Kuoh
Even if you don’t have a large space for your chickens to roam, a bit of fresh pasture planted for them, will give you a sense of accomplishment and a treat for your chickens.
The pasture grasses and legumes in this pasture seed mix are chosen to make a forage that is quick to establish and tolerant of poorer soils. The pasture seed mix will provide a forage that is palatable, highly digestible, very nutritious, and high in protein, vitamins, trace minerals, and yolk and skin coloring carotenoids.
Contents: Tetraploid Perennial Ryegrass, Timothy, Red Clover, Sainfoin, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Alfalfa, White Clover, complete planting and growing instructions. Wt. 8 ounces
There is sufficient seed to plant 2,000 square feet when evenly applied.
When to plant: after danger of frost is past.
Germination: 7-10 days