Farm Buys 'Millennium Feathernet' With Community Support

OSSINING, NY — A 21st century innovation — a humane and mobile chicken coop named the Millennium Feathernet — now adorns Fable, the farm and food hub on the Yorktown-Ossining border devoted to sustainability.

The Millennium Feathernet is truly a community affair — in November of 2020, Fable set a goal to fundraise for it through a “ChickStarter” campaign.

"After the pandemic, we saw a real increase in demand for our eggs, but we lacked the capital to expand our operation in a humane and sustainable way," said Austin Schatz, Site Manager at Fable. "The ChickStarter paid for the substantial upfront costs of raising a chicken flock, as well as the infrastructure that truly makes this operation special: the Millennium Feathernet. We couldn’t be more grateful to our community."

On June 5, Fable farm staff and supporters were joined by County Executive George Latimer, Yorktown Town Supervisor Matt Slater, and Ossining Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg to cut the ribbon on the coop extraordinaire.

“What a great way to celebrate Westchester County’s role in sustainable agriculture. The Millenium Feathernet was a true community effort, and having free-roaming chickens producing eggs will allow our neighbors to have healthier options,” Said Westchester County Executive George Latimer. “Having Fable in Westchester will open the doors to visitors across the tri-state looking for fresh produce closer to home."

The Millennium Feathernet is a design by Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia, and yes — it is named after the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.

"The modern commercial egg farm can be a ghastly place. Chickens in these settings are typically crammed into small individual cages and denied any semblance of a natural life. These egg factories are inhumane, pollute the environment, and produce eggs with sub-par nutrition,” said Schatz. “This was never an option for us at Fable. Each week, the mobile chicken coop is moved to a new patch of pasture, where the chickens can forage for new insects and plants. This system provides so many benefits: the chickens eat a truly natural pasture diet and pass on that superior nutrition to the eggs, and the Feathernet is never on a patch of land long enough to pollute it.”

The design is an open-air A-frame structure that is built to be moved easily with a tractor, and to protect the chicken flock from predators and the weather.

"Historically Yorktown was a farming community and Fable continues to bring us back to our roots through their community engagement," Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater said. "The new chicken coop is a great addition that promotes sustainability and reinforces locally grown produce."

About Fable: From Farm to Table

Located in the beautiful and historic Hudson Valley, Fable is a farm and food hub dedicated to sustainable agriculture. We believe that through dedication, hard work, and modern technological advancements in agriculture, we can provide the freshest produce all year round without the use of harmful pesticides.

Fable’s farm and market is open 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, and offers products from both the on-site farm as well as many other farms and artisans in the Hudson Valley, plus tours, educational programs and a CSA plan. For information please visit www.fablefoods.com.

ALSO SEE: Ossining Farm Begins 'Chickstarter' Campaign