Plainfield Woman Hatches a Fresh Business Idea

Some people dream about traveling, winning the lottery or retiring in comfort.

Marybeth Otte has long dreamt about chickens.

“It was the fantasy farm in my head,” Otte said about her passion for creating a more humane way to raise chickens and sharing the farm-fresh eggs with the community. “About seven years ago I started to think I like chickens. They’re cute.”

The Plainfield resident started small, with five chickens last year, and enrolled in a farming class.

“I wanted to make sure this is what I wanted to do and that there’s a demand,” said Otte, a laidback single mom with a warm smile. “There isn’t anybody around here who does this.”

This year, she bought 150 day-old chicks from a hatchery and landed temporary space on her friend’s five-acre farm in Oswego.

It’s All Good Farm, her fledgling operation with the motto “a farm for the mind, body and soul,” is expected to have 70 dozen eggs for sale every week as soon as the chickens start laying them in July.

Even with 70 dozen eggs expected every week, Otte said given the price of food, supplies and gas she will probably just break even this inaugural season.

"Since I also believe that it's important to look beyond yourself," Otte said, "we will start donating to local food pantries as soon as we start turning a profit."

The brown eggs will be for sale through , the Plainfield delivery service, and at Wagner’s Farmstand in Naperville. When there’s surplus, Otte will sell eggs the old-fashioned way — from her front porch with the honor system. Eggs will cost $5.50 to $6 per dozen.

Better conditions, better eggs

“I feel like this is what I’m supposed to be doing,” Otte said as the chickens flocked around her and cried — yes, the noises they make kind of sounds like crying — for attention and food on a recent weeknight. They do quiet down after a few minutes. “Who would think hanging out with 150 chickens would be a good time? Not like they say a lot.”

Otte lives in downtown Plainfield where chicken farms are prohibited. She hopes to find a permanent home for It’s All Good Farm and to expand to 1,000 chickens plus roaster chickens and hogs by 2013.

For now, Otte is excited about raising the chickens and bringing farm-fresh eggs to Plainfield-area residents.

“I’ve always been very connected to nature and felt there had to be a way to do this without a sacrifice for the animal and the food and not be about the bottom line,” Otte said. “There doesn’t have to be a sacrifice to get good quality. Commercial facilities are so dirty and stressful for the chickens. They’re pumped with antibiotics so they don’t get sick in those conditions.”

Antibiotics, hormones and pesticides are a huge no-no at It’s All Good Farm. The Red Star chickens are fed organic grain along with scratch, an organic treat made from grains and corn, and organic scraps such as produce and bread.

Every few days, Otte’s friends help her reposition the electric fence so the chickens have fresh pasture. It’s a concept called rotational grazing that is good for the chickens and environment.

“It lets them do what they do naturally … scratch and dig,” she said. “All that scratching and grazing is what yields the bright yellow yolks.”

Otte follows the regulations for Certified Humanely Raised and Certified Organic. But because she hasn’t earned official certification, an expensive process for small farmers, her eggs cannot be technically called organic.

Still, Otte promises there is nothing like eggs from naturally raised chickens.

“The eggs have more Omega 3s and taste so good and the chickens are so happy.”

She works hard to ensure quality and operates on the philosophy that great conditions equal great eggs.

Every morning at 6 a.m., Otte leads the chickens out of the red chicken coop, a converted camper, and into the fenced-off pasture to feed them and refill water dispensers. They consume 35 pounds of food and 20 gallons of water daily.

At dusk, she returns to put them back in the coop for the night. Sometimes she finds a chicken that’s flown the coop and found its way onto patio furniture or the front porch, tries to catch it or just lead it back.

The coop, which has a layer of pine shavings to keep it more sanitary, is cleaned out every week. The waste is composted to put back onto the pasture.

When the chickens start laying eggs, Otte will go to the farm twice during the day to collect eggs, unless she can rally her three teenage kids to pitch in.

“It’s very labor intensive,” she said, “and if you don’t like chickens pecking at your legs, it’s not for you.”

She doesn’t mind and hopes to eventually leave her job as office manager at Hively Landscaping in Plainfield.

“I don’t care for sitting in an office all day,” Otte said while watching her chickens as dogs barked and ducks swam in the background. “I can’t wait to come here. It’s peaceful. It doesn’t seem like a job.”

It’s All Good Farm

Information: http://www.itsallgoodfarm.com/

Eggs for sale: Amy’s Organics, amy@amysorganics.org; Wagner’s Farmstand, 9937 S. Route 59, Naperville, WagnerFarmstand@aol.com; Otte’s front porch, 15134 S. Fox River St., Plainfield (call ahead for surplus availability).

Contact: info@itsallgoodfarm.com or 815-529-1964