pastured chicken

We will not be raising chickens for the public in 2011. Please check back for updates.

Better for the Earth

As soon as our chickens are old enough (3 weeks) they are moved outside. They spend the rest of their lives in small groups of 200 on fresh pasture. They roam about on green grass and chase bugs. Their houses are moved daily. Their manure is properly integrated into the ground where it composts and provides beneficial nutrients to the soil. They are fed certified organic feed which we buy from a Michigan source. Conventional chickens are raised in small cages inside CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations) in groups of 22,000 (meat) and 10,000 (layers). Conventional chicken's manure and other wastes are spread on surrounding fields in too large a concentration to be integrated into the soil. These raw wastes are toxic and leach into surrounding groundwater causing serious air and water pollution.

Better for the chicken

Chickens are meant to live outside-roaming and pecking. These chickens do. We raise Freedom Ranger broiler chickens, who are active foragers. Our chickens live for 12 weeks (as opposed to the industry standard Cornish Cross who are processed at 6-8 weeks). Our chickens are healthy (unlike the Cornish Cross, who often have high rates of heart attack and crippling due to unnaturally rapid growth andexcessive breast weight). Our chickens thrive on fresh air, sunshine, green grass and pro-biotics (as opposed to conventional chickens who are kept alive on vaccines and anti-biotics ). Our chickens are carefully processed by hand without any bleach or chemicals. Conventional chickens are processed by machine, and dunked repeatedly in bleach which is absorbed into the meat. Half Moon Farm chickens had a good life- doing what chickens are meant to do.

Better for you

Grass-fed pastured meat and eggs are superior in nutritional content than the meat and eggs from animals raised in confinement and fed only grain. Grain is high in energy but low in vitamins. Our chickens eat a diverse array of pasture plants that provide vitamins, fatty acids, and other essential nutrients to our chickens- and to you. Our chickens are fed organic grain and given access to fresh pasture daily (after they are old enough to be outside). Our chickens eat nutrient dense foods (plants, bugs, seeds) that are appropriate to their digestive system and have highbioavailabilty . As a result they produce food that is more nutrient dense. Omega 3 fatty acids (including the critical CLA), Vitamin A, D, E, Beta Carotene,Lutien , and Selenium (protects cells from damage of free radicals) are all present at higher levels in grass-fed meat and eggs than in meat and eggs from animals raised in confinement and fed grain.

And our Chicken tastes BETTER! This is what our customers say:

"[Your chicken] tasted delicious. We made three meals from the bird, one after it was roasted, one with chicken on a salad, one with just picking the meat off the bones." -NVO

"The chicken was perfect! I couldn't be more happy with my chickens!!" -LK

"Really enjoyed the bird - had a great flavor. We got a second meal out of the remaining chicken pieces and threw the entire carcass and leftover juices in a pot with water, veggies and seasonings to make broth. It was the best broth we've ever had. Really creamy and flavorful." -CM

"What a joy to know we were eating chicken that had been treated humanely and raised organically. As my niece said, 'It tastes like it was a very happy chicken.' So thank you for all the work you put into raising this meat for us and many others. I really enjoyed cooking it and serving it to my family--knowing they were eating this very special and healthy meat." -CW

"The Freedom Ranger was the best chicken I have eaten in about 20 years." -NP

check out this blog entry from a real food advocate about why pastured chickens (like ours) are worth their price!