about us

Mike Yund and Michele Maxwell, along with their livestock guardian dogs Nellie, Esther, and Roscoe, work together to manage and operate YundWell Pastured Poultry. Mike and Michele have been working together on various farms in California and New York for the past decade. While working at Roxbury Farm in Kinderhook, NY, they raised a batch of 50 birds in the yard for themselves and friends. The next season it was a couple hundred that were sold through the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) at Roxbury Farm. That was the beginning of YundWell Pastured Poultry. The farm currently raises around 2,000 broilers (meat birds), 250 hens for eggs, and 100 turkeys a season. They are looking to expand the operation at their new home in Canaan, NY.

Nellie, Esther, and Roscoe are livestock guardian dogs and truly the cornerstone of the operation. All three are Maremmas, an Italian dog bred to live outdoors in the elements and protect sheep. They live outdoors with their flock of birds full time protecting them from aerial and land predators. Without the dogs on alert in the pasture, the birds could not roam about freely as they do. 

In the early years of YundWell, losses from predators, especially birds of prey, were financially and emotionally staggering. Since the dogs joined the team, losses from predators are nil. All three of them are fierce guardians of their flock but they adore people, belly rubs, and long walks in the winter snow.