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Beverly's Goose Hatchery was founded in 1966 with two geese, one
gander and a small incubator in the basement. One year later, Beverly
Voeltz added 100 goslings to her flock, with which she taught herself
all the finer points of raising geese for gosling production.
Her husband, Earl Voeltz, an accomplished farmer, eventually turned
his efforts toward raising crops to feed the growing flock. At
the height of her business, Beverly's laying flock consisted of over
3,000 hens with an output of over 1,000 eggs per day and boasted a
whopping 80% hatching success rate. The success of her hatchery
made it the largest in the Midwest and drew customers from around the
globe. Like many other hatcheries, Beverly sold off her infertile
eggs to whomever had a need for them and disposed of them if they
couldn't be sold. At the time, the focus was on the goslings and
making sure they were delivered within 72 hours to anywhere on the
globe. In the mid 70's Beverly formed a relationship with an egg
decorator from Sioux Falls, South Dakota by the name of Marcella
Bowersox. For several years Mrs. Bowersox bought crates of the
unused eggs straight out of the sorting process. Mrs. Bowersox
eventually explained to Beverly that she was blowing and decorating
the eggs for sale. Being the entrepreneur that she was, that
started the wheels turning for Beverly. When Mrs. Bowersox
returned the following spring to purchase more eggs, Beverly and a
friend presented her with several crates of cleaned, blown eggs ready
for decorating. This small order turned into a big business for
the hatchery that now yields over 30,000 blown eggs drop shipped all
over the world annually.
In 1995 Beverly and Earl retired from the hatching business, after
30 years of success. Most of the equipment was sold off, but
Beverly still keeps tabs on the hatcheries in the area. At
present, she is sorting and shipping all the infertile eggs she can
get her hands. She keeps busy with it, but still has enough time
to spend with her five children, ten grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren. She has also been known to do some
consulting work. Anything from helping out with hatching pair
selection, sexing goslings, or just a bit advice here and there.
Beverly would love to hear from you. Please sign the
guest book and leave her a note, letting
her know you stopped by...
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