My name is Elaine Kellner, and I am the owner/operator of Hearth & Haven Farm, a 5.5-acre small family farm in Monroe, WA.
Since 2017, my husband Matt and I have supplied duck eggs to grocery stores Ken’s Market (Greenwood) and Double DD Meats (Mountlake Terrace), Seattle delivery service Local Yokels, high-end restaurants Wild Ginger (Seattle/Bellevue), Eques at Hyatt Regency (Bellevue), Moshi Moshi Sushi (Ballard), and many local families.
Many of our customers sought out duck eggs due to an allergy in the family. The stories are darling - children with chicken egg allergies were once again able to enjoy pancake brunch with the family on Sunday and have their very own birthday cakes thanks to our duck eggs.
The farm was growing and our eggs were in high demand. We had a two-month waitlist for duck eggs at the end of December.
On 12/29/2022, after a weeklong delay for test results, our flocks tested positive for HPAI (aka ‘bird flu’) and all birds were euthanized by WSDA and USDA officials.
This has abruptly left the farm with no animals, no income, 5 years of work gone, empty barns, 5 tons of feed left to spoil, and our sweet livestock guardian dog without a job. Indemnity provided by the USDA won’t even scratch the surface of a small farm’s financial needs.
We are eager to share our story, and let our community know how threatened small local farms are. We hope that sharing this tragedy will help change USDA policy and save other small farms.
Ducklings moving from daytime pasture to the safe, warm barn for the night
The flock enjoying a snack of pumpkins, gathered from friends and neighbors after Thanksgiving
Two of our “Founding Feathers”, Dos (left) and Ichi (right), bathing in our bathtub following recovery from HPAI infection.
Ichi (right, more white) was more seriously affected, and was left with neurological damage that caused a head-tilt and tendency to move in circles.
Dos showed fewer symptoms, mainly eye/nose discharge, lethargy, and inappetance during her infection, and had made a full recovery by the time of the cull.
HPAI survivors on the day of the cull.
This video shows our flock in “Pelican” field, the last group of birds to be affected in our property. This flock was just past peak mortality, and we would have expected all or very nearly all of these individuals to survive and recover.
They are mildly agitated, since they normally would have been out on pasture several hours earlier.
Included in this video: Helen, Daisy, Pidget, Freckles, Burly, Macho, Nacho, Clyde, Antoinette, Shasta, Tim, Scooter, Thyme, Rosie, Emerald, Lucky, Macaroni, Wicket, Luke, Leia, Chewy, and more.
The flock in “Harmonica” field on the day of the cull. This flock was the first production flock affected on our farm, and the survivors had all recovered by the time of this video. No mortality for several days, appetite and activity were at least 90% of normal levels.
Included in this video: Gulliver, Maggie, Fettuccine, Linguine, Doris, Q-tip, Chester, Darius, and more.
We are highly available for visits and photo opportunities on our photogenic farm, and have numerous photos and videos of animals on the farm - including cell phone videos from the day the birds were euthanized.