• Pasture raised (beyond free range)

• Slow growing breed

• Certified high welfare

• Regenerative farming practices

• Non medicated feed

• Zero chemicals used on the pasture 

• Natural light only

• Low stocking densities 

• Seasonally produced

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My chickens come to me as day old chicks from a reputable hatchery, when we get back to the farm they are placed in the safety and comfort of the brooder, a secure bedded, heated home. The chicks are in the brooder for roughy 3 weeks until a large majority of their feathers have filled out. Once old enough, they get moved out onto the pasture with mobile coops for shelter. 

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One of the most important jobs the chickens do is poo! Once they have soiled and area, they don't eat grass from it, to keep them foraging and on clean ground, the mobile coops get moved daily. This daily moving to fresh ground promotes the natural foraging behaviour of chickens. They forage by scratching and pecking at the ground, eating insects, worms and different types of vegetation. 

 

The pasture is kept at a level of growth that is most palatable for the chickens. That is young sweet grasses, not too tall and not so short that they won't recover from being over grazed. The chickens act as part of the regeneration process. As they move through the fields they trample grass, and their droppings provide much needed nutrients for the plants. Pasture raising means that the chickens have 24/7 natural light and because they aren't reared indoors the air they breathe is fresh and free from dust and ammonia. 

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This way of rearing chicken is seasonal, in the colder months the pasture rests and the temperatures are too cold for the chickens to live comfortably in their outdoor setting. The breed of bird I use for the meat chickens are a specially selected slower maturing chicken. I rear them to a minimum of 10 weeks before slaughter. The breed displays more natural genetics and they do not suffer from the breed inherent problems of faster growing birds. They are excellent at foraging and ranging in an outdoor based system. You'll find my chicken legs are bigger than that you might find at a supermarket because they have been used!

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All of these elements equate to more sustainably produced meat. The chickens are fed twice a day, a non medicated wheat based pellet. Chickens are omnivores and require a complex mixed diet so they can't get all the nutrients they need just from grass. This is the difference between grass fed and why you'll never see chicken advertised as grass fed like beef or lamb. Looking forward I have plans to introduce organic feeding, free from soya and non GMO into my rearing practice. It is something I am working on with other experienced local producers in the background and fingers crossed I will be able to offer my customers organically fed chicken very soon.