Stratton Hall 1794 LLC

07/04/2026

Happy Independence Day! Happy 250th Birthday America! This document, the Dunlap Broadside, is the first printed version of the Declaration of Independence, produced on July 4, 1776, by John Dunlap of Philadelphia, printer to the Continental Congress. John Trumbull’s painting The Declaration of Independence, depicts the five-man drafting committee - John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin - presenting the draft of the Declaration to the Second Continental Congress on June 28, 1776. Seated in the scene is John Hancock, the president of the Congress. On July 2, the Congress secretly voted in favor of the draft document. On July 4, after approving the final wording, the Congress officially adopted the document declaring the 13 American colonies independent of Great Britain. The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence took place on July 8, 1776 with simultaneous readings at noon in Philadelphia, Trenton, NJ, and Easton, PA.

07/02/2026

Chick update! Two months old.

06/24/2026

Runner ducks from Metzer Farms are here! They hatched on June 15 and shipped from Tennessee via USPS the same day. They arrived at the Swedesboro, NJ post office on June 17. The first part of the reel shows them within an hour after release from the shipping box and the second part shows them a week later. (The box in the reel is not the shipping box.) I planned to have them raised by a broody duck hen. What do they say about the best laid plans? She refused! She continues to sit on her clutch of eggs. I candled them and they appear to be developing. The eight ducklings, all females, were moved into the house. When they are older they’ll be relocated to the duck pen. They’re so much fun to watch! If all goes well, when they mature they’ll produce delicious duck eggs. 1794

06/19/2026

06/17/2026

Views from the garden and wildflower meadow: black-eyed Susans, yarrow and larkspur. 

06/14/2026

Ducklings due this week! Another hen on the farm became broody - a duck hen. She’s extremely protective of her eggs and on high alert to predator danger. It was hard to take a photo of her sitting on her clutch of eggs in the nest box. As soon as she saw my cell phone peek around the corner she fluffed up her feathers to increase her size, jumped out of the box, flapped her wings at me in a threatening manner, opened her mouth and hissed. I’m glad ducks don’t have teeth!

06/05/2026

Our sheep were sheared! One of our old-fashion Horned Dorset ewes is shown before and during shearing, and after being shorn. Thank you, Lauren, for shearing our flock! We have many spinning quality fleeces from our Horned Dorset, Jacob and Leicester Longwool sheep for sale in our farm shop. We also sell yarn, batting and roving made from our flock’s wool. Summer farm shop hours are by appointment. The shop is also open during farm tours. Book a farm tour and meet our sheep, chickens and ducks, and browse the shop. Visit our website at www.strattonhall1794.com and learn about our products and tours.

06/02/2026

Our broody Buff Orpington hen with her Tractor Supply chicks and a Runner duck hen quacking in the background.

06/02/2026

One of our Buff Orpington hens went broody. She insisted on hatching chicks. She sat in a nest box on other hens’ eggs and refused to leave. But I collected the eggs daily. If she was permitted to hatch a clutch of eggs, no doubt there would be cockerels (male chicks) among them and one rooster is enough for my flock. But a broody hen is invaluable. It means she’ll raise chicks so I don’t have to do it. So I went to Tractor Supply and bought five pullets (female chicks): three Easter Eggers and two Midnight Majesty Marans. As soon as I got back I set them under her in the nest box, and she immediately accepted them as her own. She’s an excellent mother. She and the chicks are housed in a cage in the chicken run. When the rest of the flock is in the pasture, the hen and chicks are free in the run. Eventually they’ll join the flock.

05/24/2026

On Memorial Day, we remember and honor all who died to secure our freedom.