Pasture-raised Chicken
Pasture-raised chicken is not only healthier to consume, it's healthier for the planet, and healthier for the chickens.
As the old saying goes, “you are what you eat.” Simply put, when you consume meat that is raised in a healthy environment, allowed to naturally move and forage in the fresh air and sunlight, and fed a nutrient-dense non-GMO feed from a local farmer, you’re consuming a final product that is much healthier than its industrially-raised counterpart. And MUCH more delicious!
It’s easy to see why. Chickens raised in a dark, confined space with no room to move, and fed a steady diet of pharmaceuticals and pesticide-laden grain are simply not healthy animals.
- Dinner Bell Farm chickens live in shelters in the fresh grass on the pasture and we move them daily.
- Chickens are raised seasonally (March – October) so that they can spend their lives outdoors.
- We brood, raise, and process our chickens ourselves, on the farm, to ensure the highest quality of life and the best food for your table.
- Never Frozen - These chickens are butchered on the farm and safely shrink-wrapped and chilled for you. Whole chickens are scheduled for immediate pick-up and chicken cuts will be ready the next day.
And every DELICIOUS bite you take contributes to healthier land, watershed, local community, and planet.
Why Pasture-Raised Chicken is Better
Regenerative practices are good for the land, the watershed, and the planet.
When chickens are allowed ample time outside, they are able to forage by scratching, pecking at the ground, eating insects, worms, grains, and grass from the soil, and harvesting seeds. Basically, they are allowed to live exactly as nature intended them to.
In return, their droppings give back to the soil’s natural biome and create a cycle of regenerative agriculture that just isn’t found in factory farming. Regenerative practices not only gives back to the natural ecosystem, but actually conserves and improves it.
Humanely Treated Animals
If you believe at all in the interconnectedness of the planet and its inhabitants, it’s easy to see why pasture raised chicken is a better choice. Not only is the practice of allowing chickens to forage naturally and live freely a more sustainable agricultural practice, but it’s simply a more humane way to raise animals.
While the goal of factory or industrial farming is to produce as much product as possible for as little cost (outsourcing the real costs to our shared ecosystem, and communities), sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices believe that the welfare of the animals and the land should be just as much a priority as the profit margin.
We raise our chickens directly on the pasture, moving them every day to fresh grass, in sunshine and fresh air, moving freely and foraging naturally - and as a result our chickens do not need antibiotics, drugs, or synthetic materials. Chickens are processed right here on the farm to ensure that they are handled with respect and dignity to the end.
Healthier Meat
Not only is raising chickens on pasture healthier for the animal, but it’s healthier for consumers, too.
Pasture raised chickens are given access to plenty of nutrients in the form of insects, worms, seeds, grains, and grass. The rich nutrient-density of their diet translates to a more nutritious and better tasting final product.
Our pasture-raised poultry is free from the pesticides, antibiotics, and other drugs that are routinely given to factory-farmed chickens. When hundreds or thousands of birds are crammed right next to each other in a confined space, diseases and parasites spread rapidly. As a result, the chickens are consistently given drugs to kill the parasites and fight disease - drugs that wind up in their meat and eggs.
Compared to barn-raised and conventionally-raised chickens, pasture-raised poultry has been shown to have:
- three times the omega-3s,
- 50 percent more vitamin A, D, and E, and
- 21 percent less saturated fat.
Simply put, healthier chickens make for healthier meals on your table.