Pasture Raised Chicken
What it means to us.
Out on pasture, enjoying fresh grass & the occasional bug
To us, pasture raised chicken, also referred to as "pastured poultry", is chicken raised for a majority of its life out on pasture. It has access to new, organically managed grass every day, and as many insects, bugs and worms as it can get. It means the chickens are in the sun and can take advantage of all it has to offer. It means not relying on antibiotics to get the chickens to live long enough to process. It’s letting chickens live the way chickens were meant to live.
It is not the same as “cage free,” “naturally raised,” or “fed an all vegetarian diet” (chickens are omnivores!). It's not even the same as the highly lauded "certified organic" (read more here for what these labels really mean).
No, in our opinion, pasture raised chicken is simply a much better chicken. It is better tasting and more nutritious. The meat is firmer, without the watery consistency (or injections!) of supermarket chicken. It shrinks less when cooked and contains far less harmful fat. And it is responsibly raised and carefully processed.
It is not the same as “cage free,” “naturally raised,” or “fed an all vegetarian diet” (chickens are omnivores!). It's not even the same as the highly lauded "certified organic" (read more here for what these labels really mean).
No, in our opinion, pasture raised chicken is simply a much better chicken. It is better tasting and more nutritious. The meat is firmer, without the watery consistency (or injections!) of supermarket chicken. It shrinks less when cooked and contains far less harmful fat. And it is responsibly raised and carefully processed.
How we do it.
Chicks start off with GMO-free starter feed in the brooder
The adventure starts when we receive day old chicks from a local hatchery. For the next three to four weeks (depending on the weather) the chicks are raised in a brooder until they are old enough to be placed out on pasture. During this time, the chicks are fed a GMO-free chick feed, supplemented by grass and clover clippings and whatever insects and worms the younger farmers can dig up.
For the first five days, their access to feed is unrestricted. After day five, they only have feed available for 12 hours each day. This helps control the rapid growth rate of the Cornish Cross chickens, preventing heart attacks and other developmental problems.
For the first five days, their access to feed is unrestricted. After day five, they only have feed available for 12 hours each day. This helps control the rapid growth rate of the Cornish Cross chickens, preventing heart attacks and other developmental problems.
Pens are moved daily. They offer sunshine, fresh air and safety from predators. Farm dogs check in on the flock.
From the brooder, the now feathered out chickens are placed in mobile pens, a design originally developed and made popular by Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm. These chicken pens are open bottomed 10’ x 10’ enclosures that provide access to fresh grass, insects and plenty of sunshine and fresh air. The pens also offer shade and protection from predators. Each day, the chickens are moved to a fresh patch of pasture. In addition to grass and insects, our chickens are supplemented with a GMO-free broiler feed. The chickens enjoy this lifestyle until about eight weeks of age.
After living a good life (exponentially better than any commercially raised chicken), the chickens are processed with the highest level of respect right here on the farm. All chickens are processed by hand under the sun, inspected for quality, chilled and bagged for your pickup.
After living a good life (exponentially better than any commercially raised chicken), the chickens are processed with the highest level of respect right here on the farm. All chickens are processed by hand under the sun, inspected for quality, chilled and bagged for your pickup.
Why we do it.
The are many reasons we do it, but it all comes back to better care of the animals, better care of the land, and better care of the community.
The Animals
We believe in the humane treatment of animals. We honor the animals we raise for food by providing them the best quality of life we can and by treating them with respect and dignity at processing time. There has been much documentation regarding the poor quality of life that commercially raised chickens must endure. Cramped growout houses, air contaminated with fecal dust, poor food, constant doses of antibiotics, and long trips in packed cages to the processing plant are the norm for supermarket chicken. (Stay tuned for a more in depth blog post on this subject.) At Ironweed Farm, our chickens spend a majority of their life outdoors, eating grass from organically managed pasture, bugs and worms, and GMO-free grain. They get all the fresh air they can breathe, and because of the extra space and cleansing nature of the sun, no antibiotics are needed. When it is time for processing, the chickens are moved a couple hundred yards to a shady area on the farm where they are processed and packed by hand.
The Land
This is where it all begins. Everything we eat comes from the land, from the fruits and vegetable we grow to the grasses animals eat. If we harm the land, we harm ourselves. That’s why at Ironweed Farm we don’t spray pesticides, herbicides, or petroleum based chemical fertilizers on our fields. It’s why we use compost and manure as natural fertilizers in our pastures and gardens. It’s also why we use GMO-free feed that doesn’t rely on the heavy spraying of herbicides. Honest care of the land means better food at every level of the food chain.
The Community
We want our chickens to be better, healthier, more delicious food, so we start by offering them a better, healthier, more diverse diet.
Chickens raised on pasture ingest large amounts of chlorophyll in the grass they eat, which is a natural detoxifier. The green grasses of the pasture are also high in vitamins and minerals which are naturally absorbed into the chicken. The chickens need this highly potent source of vitamins and minerals to supplement the low vitamin and mineral content of corn and grain based chicken feed. Additionally, our chickens, due to the greatly reduced stress they enjoy during their lives (read here for the stress-cholesterol link) and combined with the diet they eat and the exercise they get, possess significantly reduced levels of saturated fat. They do contain fat, but not the cholesterol raising, hardening into a block of wax in the refrigerator saturated fat. Finally, our chickens are processed by hand with the utmost of care. As previously stated, it's not the easiest or least expensive way to raise chicken for food, but we believe it's the best. We want to offer our community a better alternative to supermarket chicken, chicken responsibly raised on land honestly tended, chicken superior in taste, nutrition, and everything in between.
The Animals
We believe in the humane treatment of animals. We honor the animals we raise for food by providing them the best quality of life we can and by treating them with respect and dignity at processing time. There has been much documentation regarding the poor quality of life that commercially raised chickens must endure. Cramped growout houses, air contaminated with fecal dust, poor food, constant doses of antibiotics, and long trips in packed cages to the processing plant are the norm for supermarket chicken. (Stay tuned for a more in depth blog post on this subject.) At Ironweed Farm, our chickens spend a majority of their life outdoors, eating grass from organically managed pasture, bugs and worms, and GMO-free grain. They get all the fresh air they can breathe, and because of the extra space and cleansing nature of the sun, no antibiotics are needed. When it is time for processing, the chickens are moved a couple hundred yards to a shady area on the farm where they are processed and packed by hand.
The Land
This is where it all begins. Everything we eat comes from the land, from the fruits and vegetable we grow to the grasses animals eat. If we harm the land, we harm ourselves. That’s why at Ironweed Farm we don’t spray pesticides, herbicides, or petroleum based chemical fertilizers on our fields. It’s why we use compost and manure as natural fertilizers in our pastures and gardens. It’s also why we use GMO-free feed that doesn’t rely on the heavy spraying of herbicides. Honest care of the land means better food at every level of the food chain.
The Community
We want our chickens to be better, healthier, more delicious food, so we start by offering them a better, healthier, more diverse diet.
Chickens raised on pasture ingest large amounts of chlorophyll in the grass they eat, which is a natural detoxifier. The green grasses of the pasture are also high in vitamins and minerals which are naturally absorbed into the chicken. The chickens need this highly potent source of vitamins and minerals to supplement the low vitamin and mineral content of corn and grain based chicken feed. Additionally, our chickens, due to the greatly reduced stress they enjoy during their lives (read here for the stress-cholesterol link) and combined with the diet they eat and the exercise they get, possess significantly reduced levels of saturated fat. They do contain fat, but not the cholesterol raising, hardening into a block of wax in the refrigerator saturated fat. Finally, our chickens are processed by hand with the utmost of care. As previously stated, it's not the easiest or least expensive way to raise chicken for food, but we believe it's the best. We want to offer our community a better alternative to supermarket chicken, chicken responsibly raised on land honestly tended, chicken superior in taste, nutrition, and everything in between.
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