Free Range Chickens and Turkeys

What is Free Range?

We let all our animals outdoors as much as possible. We believe we owe it to the little birds to have a good life before they nourish us. It's an ethics question. Baby Chickens and Turkeys need to be indoors in the first few weeks, but they can go out when the weather is warm. As soon as they are big enough, they are in a LARGE fenced-in area where they can eat whatever nature gives them. The fence protects them from coyotes. Because the birds can go outside and get lots of exercise, their meat becomes firmer and leaner. None of the watery and rubbery meat we get in the grocery store. Meat chickens tend to be quite lazy. That's why we feed them by spreading food all over that they are forced to search for their food.

The term free RUN should not be confused with free RANGE. Free run birds are usually in a barn on the floor instead of in cages. The stocking rate is very high and the birds have little space to move. Please do not confuse the two terms.

Fresh Christmas Turkeys: We raise only one small batch of turkeys (up to 50 birds) per year for Christmas. They will be sold fresh a few days before Christmas. Please make your reservation early with a deposit of $20.

Meat chickens are available only in the summer and due to the need for cool storage in hot summer weather they will be frozen. Some clients ask about eating the egg-laying hens. We don't think they are good meat for roasting. They are older, bony, and tough. They would make a good chicken soup, but the butchering cost is higher than their meat value.