Many of you were begging for clean, non-environmentally destroying, raised on pasture delicious tasting chicken last year and we are pleased to announce that it is here! Starting May 10th we will have a full selection of our pasture raised chicken available here on the farm, at the farmers markets and through our buying clubs.
1. We order our chicks through the mail from Ridgeway Hatchery and they are delivered in the mail!
2. Birds spend the first 3 weeks in our brooder house, safe and protected for the first fragile weeks of life.
3. At 3 weeks they are moved out to pasture in our floor less portable pens.
Each pen holds about 80 birds and are moved daily to fresh grass for the birds to "graze". Its actually more like a "plucking"! This spreads the manure at a rate the soil can assimilate and digest the nutrients.
4. Birds are fed in addition to the grass and whatever bugs wander into the pen "bug death field" a ration of GMO-FREE grain locally produced and mixed by Sunrise Feeds out of Stuarts Draft, VA.
5. The birds will be processed here on the farm under Virginia's on farm poultry processing exemption laws in our under construction, state of the art, Mobile Processing Unit. This will enable us to process in the field for minimal stress on the birds and recycling the processing water directly back onto the pasture for irrigation! This also will eliminate the problems associated with a centrally located facility such as pathogen build up, lack of solar sanitation and a centralized waste problem. Will post pics when they come!
6. To see how this incredible method of raising poultry works join us on one of our farm tours and see for yourself!
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