Oak Valley Dairy
May 1, 2008 by katnanna
This by far has been the most amazing farm visit we have had,
who knew…
our organic dairy and chicken farm visit would end with a safari!
Lloyd and Babette Pareira along with their children Jared, Regan, Isabella and Gianna maintain an organic dairy, organic pasture chickens and exotic animals from around the world in Snelling, California.
As we begin our tour we are surprised with a greeting from the family pet camel. Charlie begins to stroll our way and as the kids feed him a handful of grain, one by one miniatures start to show up, a donkey, a pig, a goat, a sheep and the list goes on!
After all the miniature introductions, we move past the 300 organic milked Jersey and Holstein cattle and the clucking of chickens start to fill the air. Babette tells us how she started this organic chicken operation with Red Sexlinks, then eventually adding Leghorn chickens to the flock. They roost and lay their many eggs in a mobile chicken house that is moved every 4 days from pasture to pasture allowing them a natural grass and bug diet. They are supplemented with an organic mash from Black Rock Milling and have unlimited access to fresh pond water.
These chickens are not bothered as Babette and the girls carefully move them out of the way to collect eggs, putting them in a wire basket. The high quality large fresh eggs and butter are sold to Dean & Deluca in Sacramento, the Culinary Institute in Napa, locally at The Vineyard Farmer’s Market in Fresno, also providing to a new restaurant in Oakdale, The Local Harvest.
Our last stop you have to see to believe. Beautiful exotic animals roaming freely in a pasture thick with trees and a year around running creek. Lloyd’s father began this collection with the American and Water Buffalo, over the years the family has added Ostrich, a Llama named Fancy Pants, a very gigantic Gir, a heard of Watusi & Long Horns, Highlanders, a Belted Gallaway, Yaks and a few off springs here and there.
What an extraordinary experience, we would like to thank the Pareira family for their time, hospitality and personal tour of their beautiful Ranch!
The Pareira’s can be reached at (209) 722-1149 or ovdairy@elite.net.
