Happy chickens
Chickens belong on a pasture. There's really not much more to say. We love to hear their excited chirping each morning as the birds discover fresh ground and new shoots and bugs to eat.
Our farm story actually began with a tiny backyard broiler chicken project, after Sarah (then a vegetarian) read Joel Salatin's book on raising pastured chickens. We started by emulating Salatin's broiler production model, then tried out a variety of different pen and ranging configurations, and a variety of different breeds. We ended up just about right back where we started, with Salatin's management system but bigger pens.
Our farm story actually began with a tiny backyard broiler chicken project, after Sarah (then a vegetarian) read Joel Salatin's book on raising pastured chickens. We started by emulating Salatin's broiler production model, then tried out a variety of different pen and ranging configurations, and a variety of different breeds. We ended up just about right back where we started, with Salatin's management system but bigger pens.
Rotation & ForageOur broiler chickens live on grass pasture at our home ranch near the Elkhorn Slough. Here we have well-drained sandy soils, open grassy pasture, and a variety of bugs that the chickens excitedly snatch up.
Twenty-foot-long canopies on sleds provide shade and shelter to small groups of chickens, and also hold their water buckets and feeders. Every morning we use an ATV to move each canopy to fresh ground... a veritable "chicken tractor"! Some areas of our pasture will see chickens only once per season. Areas with more vigorous grass growth may have chickens pass over a few times a year. Wondering why our broiler chickens are pictured above in pens, and not roaming the entire pasture at once? In brief, it's because they are too young to reliably "put themselves in at night," so we limit their immediate range but move them daily over a large pasture. We've tried a variety of alternatives but always seem to come back to this system in consideration of the chickens' health. |
BreedsThis year we are raising only Cornish Cross chickens, which is a white chicken bred by "crossing" parents of the Plymouth Rock and Cornish breeds. These chickens do really well on pasture in our mild, Mediterranean climate. After about 2 months they yield a tender, meaty broiler or roaster.
Because our chickens move around more and eat lots of goodies from the pasture, their meat is more flavorful than the non-pastured chickens of the same breed (which you'll find in the grocery store). Our chickens' bones can even be used to create flavorful stocks that "gel." We have in the past, and hope to again raise Freedom Ranger chickens that take an extra month to grow out and yield even more flavorful meat with bigger legs and thighs. We have also in the past, and also hope to again raise heritage breed chickens such as the Buckeye. Heritage chickens are the pinnacle of flavor, take at least 4 months to grow to harvest weight, and require alternative cooking methods due to their firmer meat. Just gotta have a heritage bird right now? We recommend Root Down Farm in Pescadero. |
Organic SupplementsIn addition to 24/7 access to forage, our chickens receive a certified organic, milled grain supplement to help meet their high energy and protein requirements.
Have concerns about soy, corn, or GMO contamination? Click here for more info. And just why do we supplement anyway? Because chickens are monogastric omnivores with high energy and protein requirements, so they can't be "100% grassfed" the way ruminant animals like cows can. (Think about all those wild birds that like to eat birdseed.) Unsupplemented chickens would theoretically need a full acre EACH over which to forage their entire nutritional requirements! |
