The Wollmanns
Featuring Claudia Wollmann of Golden Belle Chicks
Claudia and her husband Michael are proud chicken farmers and are passionate about providing Manitobans with a nutritious, safe supply of the highest quality chicken year-round. They both love farming and are committed to the lifestyle involved in running a successful chicken farm.
Claudia was born on a farm in Germany and moved to Canada with her parents when she was four years old. Her parents bought a laying hen farm when they arrived in Canada, and her earliest memories are of helping with chores on the farm. She loves working with animals and has her entire life. She told her mother when she was 18 that she was going to marry a farmer. She has always known that farm-life is the lifestyle that suits her best.
How the Wollmanns Became Chicken Farmers
Claudia obtained her diploma in agriculture from the University of Manitoba and five years ago, when she and her husband Michael had the opportunity to buy a broiler chicken farm, (a meat chicken farm) they knew it was the perfect opportunity for their young growing family of three boys. Their farm is the perfect place for her boys to grow-up and play safely. They love working on the farm and have started involving their boys with going into the barn to learn how to care for the birds.
Striving to Deliver the Highest Quality Chicken to Manitobans
They, like other Manitoba and Canadian chicken farmers they ensure that their chickens always have access to nutritious grain-based feed, clean water, and clean comfortable bedding. They embrace innovation and technology to ensure their chicken barn is always comfortable for the chickens, providing the ideal temperature, humidity, and light and dark cycle. The chickens are always free run, meaning they are never ever raised in cages. In addition, chickens raised in Manitoba and Canada are never ever given hormones or steroids. Their primary goal is to deliver the highest quality chicken possible to Manitobans and they take great care in ensuring the health of their birds with every flock.
To learn more about the Wollmanns, we had a chance to chat with Claudia to find out about what she and her family are passionate about. Here’s what she had to share.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.
My husband Michael and I own and operate a broiler farm located near Niverville, MB. We raise chicken for meat. We have 3 boys: Lance (10), Ethan (7), and Jaime (5).
2. How did you get started in farming?
From a very young age I knew I wanted to be a farmer or be involved in the farming industry. When the opportunity came, my husband and I bought a broiler barn. We love the lifestyle, the flexibility, and the opportunities it gives our children to learn about where their food comes from.
3. What does a typical day look like for you?
We walk through the barn two times a day. We make sure the chickens have feed and water readily available to them. We check the barns, temperature, humidity, and air flow to ensure the chickens are comfortable.
4. What do you love about being a farmer?
I love taking care of our animals and being able to produce food for my family and for our fellow neighbours to enjoy. We love that we can be entrepreneurs and create our own schedule.
5. What is one of your fondest moments on the farm?
I love seeing my kids getting involved with the work on the farm. Either with the daily chores or when we are getting the barn ready for the new chicks to arrive.
6. What is your favourite way to spend a day off?
Taking my kids to Sandilands and watching them ride their dirt bikes and going to our beautiful Manitoba beaches. In the winter we enjoy going skating and tobogganing.
7. What is your favourite chicken recipe?
There are so many great chicken recipes on manitobachicken.ca that my family enjoys and loves. It’s hard to pick just one. But one that my kids devour every time is the Oven Baked Chicken Parmigiana.
View the Wollmanns Day in a Life Video for a full appreciation of their life on a Manitoba chicken farm.
