Open-Sourcing Chicken: Breaking Free from Corporate Genetics

“These are corporate genetics from huge companies,” says Nigel Walker, proprietor of Eatwell Farm outside Dixon, Calif. “I’m embarrassed to say I am not even sure where my genetics come from right now.”

From the outside, Walker already appears to be doing everything right: He raises organic produce that is fertilized only by the efforts of his 2,600 laying hens, which every year break up and tend 20 acres of pasture out of the farm’s 105 acres. But the red-feathered layers he uses are proprietary hybrids, which he orders from a hatchery every time he needs to replace his stock.