A little bit about Blue Roo...

Blue Roo came to light one morning during a "what the heck am I going to do for Christmas presents that will actually get used and isn't the same ol' thing"... Let me take it back a few months to where it REALLY all began...

June 2017: We had 2 rabbits: My Bunny and Punky and they needed a new hutch which I ended up finding on a resale site...little did we know that it was going to come with a caveat of having to adopt 6 chicks as well. We hemmed and hawed over the situation...we had been wanting to get chickens but in no way were we set up for them at that particular time...BUT, this hutch was awesome for the rabbits and we couldn't let the deal pass by...so, we welcomed Blueberry, Hei Hei, Bock Bock, Little, Rose, and Penny to our home.

Stepping up our game... With 6 new HENS in our house, we had to do some major revamping with our side yard...like immediately! The evening that we brought them home, we tore down a shed and started making plans for a coop, a rabbit hutch, and all of the nuances that come with chickens and rabbits. It was fun and extremely satisfying to watch it all come together but we were constantly dealing with curveballs...some more complicated than others haha...

One of these things is not like the other...Operation "Save Blue"

The week of August 28th, 2017, we started to hear some very odd noises coming from the run in the morning...it just so happened that it started the morning after we brought a new hen home, Rainbow. Each time we went outside to see what was happening, there was no telling who was actually making the noise until finally someone started to look a bit different than the others...we soon realized that sweet Blueberry was definitely a ROOSTER!

Once we realized we had a rooster on our hands, Operation Save Blue went into full swing...I cannot count the number of cookies that I made for ALL of our surrounding neighbors...literallty, our entire kitchen and living room were full of cookie trays. After painstakingly going to each and every neighbor, explaining the situation, and *knock on wood* all of them seemed to be ok with it...I think the cookies helped a bit ;)

So, our lifestyle ended up being geared around making sure that Blue was happy, occupied, and not crowing at all hours...he has become the neighborhood joke of "who has that annnnnnooooying Rooster?!"...People laugh when they hear that we have a Rooster who sleeps in the garage and is actually friendly! The kids love Blue and are incredibly attached to him! "You're my boy, Blue!"

Now, back to the story of how Blue Roo Reserve was created...It was getting close to Christmas time and I was racking my brain on what to get for people that would actually be useful, not just thrown away, and that was unique. I kept stumbling upon cute mason jar gifts...which got me thinking about jam...and, man!, how much sugar it takes to make it!! Which then sent me on a tangent to find a #noaddedsugar jam that was #organic, #nongmo, and wouldn't break the bank...I finally decided that I, YES I, was going to make it...eek! It took quite a bit of trial and error (and I am still embarrassed to this day about the batch that went out for Christmas) but I have finally figured out how to thicken the consistency without the use of pectin or added refined sugar! It is constantly a work in progress but it has tuned into something bigger...it is about providing families with a healthy and affordable alternative to traditional store bought jam...it is about the relationships that are made...it is not only a business, it is about supporting and creating the tribe that we have made for ourselves. The saying goes "it takes a village..." and that it does and I thank all of you for your support and feedback!

The rooster on the label of Blue Roo Reserve is an actual image of Blue! One of my fabulous girlfriends, Tiffany, helped isolate Blue and pull him from the background which allowed us to create the logo <3