Tree Range Farms

For those who own Chooks: A Winter Care Reminder 🍂

As your hens come into moult, slow down laying and the temperatures drop it’s the perfect time to:
• Worm your flock (without wasting eggs in egg withhold periods)
• Treat for red mites & lice
• Do a full coop clean-out/treatment
• Set some pest and predator traps

Losing feathers and looking scraggly is completely normal this time of year. Your hens are moulting and putting their energy into growing fresh winter feathers, so laying may slow or stop for a while.

With the cooler weather settling in it’s a great time to get on top of worming, mite and lice treatments. Its also an important time of year to set some mice, rat and ferret traps, all these pests are out looking for food as there is less available this time of year!

Our Emu have kicked off laying season! There’s nothing quite like hunting for these beautiful dinosaur like eggs. Each one weighing a whopping 600–700 grams.

The photos of the chicks below are from last season, laying has only just begun for this year. If all goes to plan and the eggs are fertile, incubation takes around 52 days before we will hopefully welcome another batch of fluffy little Emus to the farm.

Time to dust off the incubator… here we go again!

Brown Shaver Hens, Chicks and Spring Pullets now available!

•HENS, Our last handful of laying hens are available now. These girls are $20 each and can be picked up from Alexandra or delivered to Cromwell and Wānaka this Saturday morning.

They’ve been laying for around a year, a few are just finishing a moult, so they’re looking a little scruffy at the moment, but they’ll feather back up beautifully and continue to be reliable layers.

•CHICKS, We have day-old brown shaver chicks available now! If you’ve been thinking about raising your own hens, this is a fantastic time of year to do it. They’ll come into lay in spring as the days get longer, and we always find this timing grows our best pullets.

Please note that chicks will need a heat source to raise them, either a heat lamp or heat plate, along with chick starter food.

•PULLETS, Our spring pullets are now bookable through our website. These spring batches book out months in advance every year, so if you know you want some, we definitely recommend jumping online and reserving yours early. 🥚

Just a reminder that we are now CLOSED for the season. Our roadside shop is still open and accessible without entering closed gates.

Please do not open gates and enter the property. While we love sharing the farm with the community during our open season, this is a working farm and there can be significant hazards present outside of operating periods that are not there during public opening times.

Recently, we have had people opening gates and entering the carpark and paddocks to see the animals. This is private property and it is currently the breeding season for our Emu, Ducks, Geese, and Black swans. At this time of year we need to minimise disturbance to give them the best chance of successful breeding, they can also become territorial and unpredictable during these times, making it unsafe for people to be in these areas.

The black swans here are protected wetland birds, and we work hard to provide a safe environment for them on the property. Disturbing nests or breeding pairs can undo months of work and may result in failed nesting attempts. We look forward to welcoming you back after winter.

What a fantastic way to wrap up our first strawberry and farm open season, with outdoor movie night!

Thank you to everyone who has visited us between December and now or purchased our produce. We’re truly thrilled and so grateful for your support. We’ll be sharing plenty from behind the scenes over winter, including all the lambs, chicks, spring pullets, and baby emus. As well as events in ECHO our coffee and ice cream trailer.

It’s been a great time to look back on how far we’ve come. From starting Tree Range in 2022 with a 3-month-old baby and a whole lot of big dreams, to now, three years on, a second baby, a new property, countless hours of hard work and watching all of those dreams come to life… we’re so proud of what we’ve built so far.

Feeling incredibly grateful for everyone who follows and supports us, and for the absolute legendary friends (and Cam!) who show up when things are tough, plant strawberries in gale force winds (what a time!), and are always offering to lend a hand. You know who you are, and we appreciate you more than words can say ❤️

Thank you again everyone, we can’t wait to do it all again after winter!

Wow, so many more strawberries than we expected this week!! Our fridge is packed top to bottom, every shelf is full with freshly picked strawberries, and with these cooler nights, they are hands down some of the most flavoursome of the season!

$9 for 500g
$18 for 1kg

Definitely worth the detour, come and stock up while they last! Thank you so much for all your support this season, we really appreciate it ❤️

Surely they’ll stop fruiting soon… right? 😅

Outdoor Movie Night Update: We’re down to the last few tickets, so if you’ve been thinking about coming along, now’s your chance, grab yours on our website before they’re gone!

https://www.treerange.co.nz/products/movie-night-ticket

The change in fire season now permits fire pits, which is perfect for us to toast a few marshmallows together under the stars.

If you’ve already booked (or are planning to), here’s a few suggestions of things to bring to help you get comfy:
🧺 Picnic blanket
🛏️ Cosy setup (sleeping bag, pillows, etc.)
🔦 Torch (for the walk from the car park to the movie area)
🔥 Hot water bottle
☕ Keep cup or flask

Gates open 5pm, plenty of time to setup your area, get your hot chocolate, and toast your marshmallows before Chicken Run starts on the Moonlit Movies outdoor screen at 6pm.

Parking will be up the driveway in the paddock at 52 Waikerikeri Valley Road (follow the parking signs). There’s a short walk from the paddock, over a bridge, and into the strawberry patch, so the torch will definitely come in handy! You don’t need your booking confirmation, we’ll have a list of names at the gate.

We’re really looking forward to a relaxed, cosy night with you all.

If it’s too windy or rainy, we’ll postpone to Sunday (with Monday being the ANZAC public holiday).

See you there! 🌙

Closed today…. It’s definitely not feeling like strawberry picking weather.

With the rain and cold setting in, it’s a good day for red bands and puddles… or to stay warm and cosy indoors! The cooler temperatures also mean our strawberries are ripening much slower at the moment, so fruit is quite limited.

We’ll keep you updated if as we get a nice warm spell and see more ripe berries coming through again.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Egg Supply & Stock Update

Eggs are a bit few and far between in the roadside shop at the moment. We’ve had a run of circumstances outside our control lately, which has meant we weren’t able to replace some of our laying girls as planned.

As a result, supply is a lighter than usual and unfortunately we will have no eggs available over the upcoming winter months. The good news is we’re working our way back, and will have extra egg supply and capacity come springtime.

We really appreciate everyone who’s made the effort to drive out and support us. In the meantime, the fridge is still being topped up with strawberries along with our honey and stock feed.

Thanks again for your continued support 💛

We’re back for school holiday strawberry patch, farm visit & ice cream action!

Come and enjoy a relaxed afternoon on the farm, pick some fresh strawberries, and treat yourself to a well-earned ice cream.

Opening days & times (next two weeks):
• Friday 10th 2–4pm
• Sunday 12th 2–4pm
• Wednesday 15th 2-4pm
• Friday 17th 2–4pm
• Sunday 19th 2–4pm

Bring the kids, bring your friends, and make the most of the holidays with some fresh air and sweet treats.

We can’t wait to see you all back out here!