with a hand crank.
One of the main challenges faced in the early years was disease due to contamination from outside sources. Very little programs were in affect to prevent diseases from spreading. Eventually, Bill decided to expand by purchasing some warehouses and expanding his poultry business. They held 12,000 and 17,000 birds, which required the need for additional help on the farm to ensure things ran smoothly. In 1968,one of the warehouses caught fire and the total flock was lost. In 1970, he put up his first 3 storey barn with 30,000 chickens. This was Bill's first time with a more automated barn. Feed was now delivered to a large silo and automatically filled the feeder pans. Air vents and heat were regulated using a computerized system.
A few years later, two more barns were built but due to the lack of chicken quota
being available, Bill decided to grow turkeys instead. When he began, there was no
turkey quota board. He
was one of the three founders of the Nova Scotia Turkey Marketing
Board in 1972, and assumed the role of chairman from 1975-1983.
In the beginning, Turkeys proved to be much different then growing chickens, as it took 14-16 weeks to grow a turkey to market size. Chickens only required 10-12 weeks to reach market size. With chickens, when you enter a barn they scurry away
from you. Turkeys tend to be curious and flock towards you to investigate your shoes
laces.
industry they decided to sell off there turkey quota and concentrate on just chickens.
chicken and vegetables. In the early 90's, three single story barns were built to house
approximately 750,000 chickens annually.
All chicken is regulated by governing boards to ensure that all birds meet the strict guidelines we have set up. This ensures that from our barn to your table, all measures and steps have been taken to provide a high quality product
The farm continued in turkey production for many years, and due to changes in the
By now, two of Williams sons John and Peter were active on the farm in both the
more chicken quota. Today, the farm operates 6 broiler barns marketing
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WilmarAcres 2019
Chicken Facts!
free to roam in a safe, clean barn.
Our chicken are not fed growth hormones.. Growth hormones have been banned in Canada since the 1970's.
We do not feed animal by-products . They are fed a cereal grain diet consisting of barley, corn and wheat.
Birds are happy and chirping when you walk through the barns. They have access to fresh water and food, and are
We follow a lighting program where the barns lights are turned off at night to allow the chickens to rest.
Baby chicks are delivered within 24 hours of hatching. The barns are kept extra warm until they develop feathers.
Wilmar Acres began producing broiler chickens in 1958. We were contracted to grow 5000 birds, and were supplied with the chicks and feed at no cost to us. All that was required was a few supplies and some hard labour to bring the birds to market. No
feed lines existed; metal pans had to be filled by hand. Air vents were manuevered
Grower's of chicken for over 50 years
