Mangaroa Stories
News & updates from our local Mangaroa Biosphere.
Our 100 Highline Laying Hens
Since late last year we have been housing a hundred hens in a mobile chicken coop or ‘caravan’ - big thanks to
Chicken Caravan for their ingenious design.
The portable chicken coop has meant our hens can be moved around on a regular and rotational basis to ‘scratch around’ on pasture (and poop!) in different areas of the farm leaving behind generous amounts of free fertiliser to feed the soil micro biome / biology.
Because we don’t use any synthetic fertiliser inputs, nasty weed killers or insecticides to treat our pasture, the chooks are able to eat plenty of organic plant matter, market garden scraps, supplementary quality grain feed, and live protein in the form of slugs and insects at their leisure.
Our hens also have the ability to roam freely to soak up the sunshine without the immediate threat of predators such as stoats and rats, with the security of a mobile coop and electric fence system.
A New Chapter: Welcoming Our First CEO to Mangaroa Farms
Excited to share that Mangaroa Farms has hired its first Chief Executive: Chris Upton. When we were brainstorming our “dream team,” Chris was at the top of our list. We’re thrilled to welcome him to Mangaroa.
Chris comes to us from Beca, NZ’s top engineering firm. Prior to that he served as CEO of Upper Hutt City Council, leading the revitalisation Upper Hutt has enjoyed in recent years.
Here’s some of what Chris will be working on:
Growing our education & hospitality operations, welcoming more people onto the farm for joy, learning, and wellbeing.
Developing our renewable energy systems.
Overseeing the harvest of ~500 acres of pine tree plantation and its replacement with a permanent, mostly native, forest.
Expanding on-farm housing capacity, especially rental opportunities, for staff and strategic partners.
Lending a hand with lettuce harvesting, dish washing, and firewood chopping.
