The Benefits of Pasture Raised Chicken

When it comes to making informed choices about your food, the source of your meat matters. In this blog post, we'll explore the numerous benefits of choosing pasture-raised poultry for your health, the environment, and animal welfare.

What does pasture-raised mean?

Pasture-raised refers to chickens, turkeys, ducks, or other poultry that are raised in a manner that emphasizes access to outdoor pasture or range areas. This method of poultry farming is often considered a more humane and sustainable alternative to conventional confinement systems.

Key characteristics of the pasture-raised system on our farm:

1. Outdoor Access
   Our pasture-raised poultry are given access to open outdoor spaces, such as fields or pastures, where they can roam freely, forage for insects, seeds, and plants, and engage in natural behaviors like scratching and dust bathing. This outdoor access allows our birds to have a more natural and active lifestyle.
2. Natural Diet
   In our pasture-raised system, our birds have the opportunity to supplement their diet with the plants and insects they find while foraging. This natural diet can lead to healthier and more nutritionally balanced meat, as it often contains higher levels of essential nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals.
3. Reduced Crowding
   Our pasture-raised poultry system involves lower stocking densities, meaning fewer birds are housed in a given area. This reduced crowding minimizes stress and the risk of disease transmission among the birds.
4. Ethical Animal Welfare
   Our farm aims to provide a more humane and ethical environment for our birds. Our birds have space to express natural behaviors and experience a better quality of life compared to poultry raised in confined, industrial settings.
5. Limited Use of Antibiotics and Hormones
   While we believe this statement is used as a marketing ploy in the industrial food system, we still want to ensure you that many pasture-raised poultry operations including ours avoid the routine use of antibiotics and synthetic growth hormones. This promotes healthier and more natural growth of the birds and results in meat with fewer traces of these substances.
6. Environmental Sustainability
   Our pasture-raised poultry operation uses sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. For example, we employ rotational grazing, which benefits soil health and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers. Additionally, this means we have a smaller environmental footprint compared to large-scale, industrial poultry operations.

Where can you find pasture-raised chicken and other poultry?

If you are local, we have pasture-raised poultry available. Check it out here! At this time, we do not ship any of our meat.

If you are not local, you can find a farm local to your area here.

Let us know the reason you choose pastured poultry in the comments below!