Farm living is the life for the Skeen family who raise chickens on their residential property in Gilpin County. “The roosters begin crowing at 4:30 in the morning,” says Aaron Skeen, who has learned to sleep through their morning squawks.
Aaron and Amanda Skeen talked to their neighbors in the Blue Spruce area of Gilpin County before experimenting with birds in 2021. The pandemic proved to be good for homeschooling their two children, Heather and Emma, and for beginning a hobby-turned-business, raising chickens.
Aaron says the season for raising chickens at this altitude begins in March and runs until late September. At the peak of the season, there may be 150 chickens running the property, including chicks, adults, and those about to be butchered.
The Skeens are in their second full year of raising chickens and say they don’t do it to make a profit. The Skeens would like to get a ranch or a farm with a USDA loan, but they would either need an agricultural degree or five to seven years of experience in some aspect of farming.
“That’s what spurred us to start selling chickens,” said Aaron, who is happy to learn the trade for little or no pay. The family breaks even on the cost of feed through the sale of their frozen chickens, chicken feet dog treats, duck eggs, and chicken eggs.
The couple slaughters the chickens outside in a processing tent. Then the defeathered birds are brought inside to the kitchen for final cleaning, quality control, and sanitization.
The Skeens maintain what the government calls a “small flock,” meaning under 999 birds, and are keen to adhere to the USDA health standards.
The birds are then flash-frozen a few days before the market.
The poultry and eggs are considered cage-free and pasture-raised since the Skeens rotate out small tracts of land upon which the fowl graze.
“Our goal is to keep everybody on grass and bugs as much as possible,” said Amanda, when referring to the chicken yard which was enclosed with a serious-looking electric fence. Aaron says that the electric netting fence keeps out predators. The worst of which are raccoons and bobcats. At least six or seven chickens per season are scooped up by one of the sneaky opportunivores.
It took some time and harsh lessons for the couple to figure out what works at about 9,000 feet above sea level. They almost exclusively raise a specific breed of chicken known as Big Red Broilers.
“Other breeds of chickens actually grow too fast and their hearts can’t keep up with the lack of oxygen up here, resulting in heart attack,” said Aaron.
To which Amanda shared, “That was a harsh learning curve!” The Skeens started raising Broilers which take 12 weeks to mature so as to avoid that unfortunate fate.
The family has been very conscientious of their neighbors, keeping the smell and the noise down, having heard little complaint. They are also very ecofriendly, utilizing food scraps for feed and repurposing used feed bags into grocery bags.
The Skeens exclusively sell their products at the local farmers’ markets in Nederland and Gilpin County, which, unfortunately, have nearly come to an end for the year. The family has big plans for next season. With the potential to lease some additional land, they hope to start raising turkeys in addition to chickens.
For more information or to make inquiries into their products, email Aaron or Amanda Skeen at info@skeenacres.com. Skeen Acres will have a booth at the final Levit Street Market of the year on October 8, 2023, at 300 Gregory Street in Central City.
