Hens On The Hill Farm

by Nicole Zappone @TheChronicleCT

What started with only 25 taps and daily bag collection of sap in the maple syrup business has grown over time for the Unick family in South Windham. Joshua Unick, head sugarmaker at Hens on the Hill Farm in South Windham, is from a first-generation family farm founded in 2023. The farm originally cared for some chickens and sold the eggs to friends and neighbors. After a while, Unick noticed they had several maple trees on the property and wondered how hard it would be to make some maple syrup. “The name of the farm is from our flock of pet chickens and ducks, which live a great life up on Obwebtuck Hill in South Windham, hence hens on the hill,” Unick said.

Hens on the Hill Farm owner Joshua Unick poses with his wife, Carra Unick, at the Know Your Farmer Fair.

Unick first got into the maple business when he started with a little over a dozen taps and would spend all night boiling the sap down over an open fire until it was syrup. Over the year at the farm, they would quickly upscale all the taps to almost 400, and after that, during the offseason, would build a sugar shack. The shack would then be outfitted with equipment to turn what started as a hobby into a full-fledged small business.

The farmland has about five acres, and Unick can tap his neighbors’ property in exchange for finished syrup. The sugarbush is about 12 acres in total. “We specialize in maple syrup and pure maple syrup products such as candies, cream, sugar and everyone’s favorite, maple cotton candy,” Unick said.

Last year, the farm received a 2025 Farm Transition Grant from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture to bolster the agricultural production of both new and existing farm operations. Hens on the Hill received a little over $4,000 to purchase a maple candy-making machine, a maple cream and maple sugar machine, and a maple cotton candy machine.

The inspiration for a maple operation, Unick said, came from the love of the little soft maple candies.

“Being a can-do type person and having plentiful maple trees in our woods, I decided to give my hand at making maple syrup and candies,” Unick said. “Our first year, we started with 10 taps, which grew to 75 taps by the end of that very season. The following year, we grew to 300 taps, and this year, in the 2026 season, we had 1,000 taps with plans to add more next year.”

All the maple syrup they sell is locally collected and made at the farm here in the state. The syrup, collected over time from 300 trees, can produce around 800 bottles. Products that are made are available at the farmers’ markets they will be attending this year, including Willimantic, Scotland, Lisbon and Colchester.

For more information about Hens on the Hill Farm, visit hensonthehillfarm.com/