RICHMOND, Vt. (WCAX) – “Oh, good girl,” says Bruce Hennessey, feeding one of his six, fluffy white guard dogs a piece of chicken jerky. The dog is in charge of protecting egg-laying chickens in Maple Wind Farm’s scenic Richmond pasture.
“We produce a diversified group of pasture-raised livestock,” says Hennessey. He explains how their chicken pastures are on wheels, allowing the livestock to hang out on new plots of land regularly. It allows for happier animals, and more resilient, nutrient-rich fields. The giant dogs stay with the flocks, and lately, their reward has been extra tasty.
“Every single dog that we’ve ever met just jumps all over them, absolutely loves them,” he says, talking about their treats.
For almost 30 years, Bruce and his wife, Beth Whiting, have sold 100% grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, chicken and turkey at Maple Wind Farm. Their eggs are a hit, too. All of that product means a lot of byproducts that come with it.
“What you’re left with when you part out a chicken is the frame or the back,” says Hennessey. “Extremely highly nutritious food.”
While chicken backs make a great base for soup, among other things, Maple Wind Farm found they had more than they knew what to do with. While they do make for high-value fertilizer in the compost pile, the duo found a new way to cut down on their waste stream, instead. That served as the jumping-off point for their newest product, Pasture Pet.
“There’s no additives, no funny business,” says Beth Whiting.
The chicken backs are ground up, extruded and dehydrated to be turned into jerky treats. Beth and Bruce used their dogs as the testers.
“And then realizing that if it works for our dogs, why wouldn’t it work for everyone else’s dogs?” says Hennessey.
Pasture Pet varieties include chicken feet, jerkies made of chicken, pork or beef, liver treats and training nibs. The ingredients are simple, the treats are loaded with nutrients, and both dogs and cats love them. They’re in 14 stores across Vermont and at the Maple Wind Farm store right off of Vt. Route 2. They’re also looking to expand.
“We feel that this part of our product mix could be nationwide,” says Whiting.
Back out on the pasture, the guard dogs inhale the treats as soon as they’re offered up. They need fuel to do their important job making sure the egg-laying chickens at Maple Wind Farm are safe and secure. Though, your pet doesn’t need to be hard at work to enjoy Pasture Pet.
“Customers of ours… we’ve been farming for 26 years and they know and they trust us,” says Whiting. “This is just a nice follow-up allowing your pets to also receive some of the best, highest quality food.”