How We Raise Your Chicken On Pasture

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June 7, 2023

white-broiler-male-chicken-on-grass-in-range-coop_2.JPG

Hey friends!

Kaitlyn and I believe that our food system should be transparent and contribute to the health of ourselves and our environment.

Through David's Pasture, we work to provide meats for you that are of the highest quality that is affordable. So, today I want to show you how we raise our pasture-raised broiler chickens in a way that accomplishes that.

WHAT IS PASTURE-RAISED CHICKEN?

"Pasture-Raised" is a largely unregulated term that usually refers to livestock or poultry raised outdoors on pasture for a portion of its life. However, not all pasture-raised meats are equal.

While many farms claiming Pasture-Raised are rotating their chickens regularly on green pastures, that is not always the case.

Many companies are now putting Pasture-Raised on their labels as a marketing strategy while raising their chickens on poor-quality pastures without rotation, leading to bare ground that no longer provides a benefit to the chicken.

Pasture-Raised also does not define what other food sources they were supplemented with, meaning a pasture-raised chicken could have been fed GMO grains.

Meanwhile, we cannot put Pasture-Raised on our labels because the USDA will not allow us to do so without expensive and costly measures. 🤦‍♂️

This is why transparency and consumer accountability are so important! You cannot trust labels to tell you the truth. Farmer-to-eater relationships are the only way to guarantee that you are getting the quality you deserve.

HOW WE RAISE PASTURE-RAISED CHICKEN

At David's Pasture, when we say our chicken is pasture-raised it means three things:

1) They are raised outdoors for the majority of their life.

2) They are raised on green pasture that provides ample bugs and forage.

3) They are regularly moved to maintain their health and that of the soil.

In fact, we move our broiler chickens DAILY in our "Mobile Range Coops", or MRCs for short.

PXL_20220829_124548964.MP_800_600.jpg — Kaitlyn feeding the chickens while they chase bugs in their new pasture.

Our Mobile Range Coops are easy-to-move, floorless coops that allow the chickens full access to pasture and insects while keeping them safe from predators and weather.

Every morning while the chickens are on pasture, we pull these forward so the chickens can enjoy a fresh "salad bar." Our coops provide shade to keep them cool and dry and have open sides to provide fresh air and sunlight.

They have access to fresh GMO-free grains with a vitamin and mineral mix to ensure full and healthy development, as well as fresh water from a nearby pond that is free of chemical run-off. We add raw apple cider vinegar and poultry "grit" to their feed or water once a week to support their digestion and gut health. (You can learn about poultry grit here!)

After a full, happy chicken life, we take them to a small, family-run USDA-inspected poultry processor (required by law to sell off-farm.) We have built a relationship with the owners for over a decade now and are glad to have a poultry processor we can trust.

But how do our chickens get their start?

Reagan was thrilled to help us unload the newly-arrived chicks.

We order chicks from a hatchery in central Iowa, which ships them to us (yes, in the mail) as soon as they hatch. They arrive at our local post office 1-2 days later, and we help them settle into our warm "brooder houses."

Our brooder houses are bedded with peat moss to keep them clean and have propane heaters that keep them at the right temperature for the young chicks. At this age, the chicks only have down feathers and cannot withstand the outdoor elements. But after 2-3 weeks their adult feathers have fully developed and they are ready to go outside!

We carefully move them out to the Mobile Range Coops where they get to spend the rest of their lives in the sunshine doing natural chicken things.

200 turkeys roaming their pasture paddock before Thanksgiving.

Our turkeys, ducks, and laying hens enjoy a similar lifestyle. Instead of MRCs, we move them in portable "poultry netting." This allows us to give them a larger paddock which we move at least once per week.

THE BENEFITS OF PASTURE-RAISED CHICKEN

Now let's talk about the benefits of raising chickens this way!

comparison-of-grass-before-after-pasture-raised-chickens.jpg — Comparison of grass before and after raising chickens on it.

1) Pasture-raised chicken improves soil and pasture health.

Chickens are beneficial to the soil in a number of ways. They help to aerate the soil and spread other livestock's manure by scratching and pecking at it, which helps to improve drainage and water infiltration. They scratch and peck because they are hunting for insect eggs and larvae, keeping the bug population in balance. They also add organic matter to the soil in the form of their manure, which improves pasture fertility and water retention. And healthy pasture stops soil erosion. You can see the results plain as day in the photo above. Just look at the improvement of the pasture on the left side where we rotated chickens!

2) Pasture-raised chicken doesn't require antibiotics.

When raising chickens in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, also known as "CAFOs", their health declines, and disease runs rampant, requiring the use of antibiotics. But when chickens are raised outside on pasture, they get fresh air and sunlight, eat a healthier diet, and can then develop a strong immune system. We can proudly say that we NEVER give antibiotics to our chickens; it's simply unnecessary.

3) Pasture-raised chicken tastes so much better.

A chicken's diet, care, and environment largely impact the quality of the meat, which is why most store-bought chicken is dry, tough, and lacks flavor. And sadly, people who only eat store-bought chicken don't realize just what they are missing out on.

You've probably realized by now that we farm with a focus on the health of the land and livestock. But what we found along the way is that the flavor and tenderness of our chicken far exceed that of most. Try our pasture-raised chicken and see the difference for yourself. Now that we have been eating our own chicken for over a decade, it's difficult to eat chicken from anywhere else. 😅

Thank you for taking the time to learn how we raise your pasture-raised chicken and the benefits that it provides for the land and you!

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out to us through our contact page.

Until next time!

Your farmer,

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chicken

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Remi

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Why I Choose Grass-Fed & Finished Beef (by Tracey Long, MPH, RDN)

Hey guys, Remi here! This is a post from Tracey Long's blog that she gave me permission to share here. She works in integrative and functional nutrition at Big Picture Health. Tracey has seen many people's lives changed through their bettered understanding of food, including her own. Enjoy this article, and feel free to reach out to her if you are looking for guidance in your healing journey. Pictured on left: Cows raised on pasture by the Bauman Family near Garnett, KS.Pictured on right: Cows started on grass, but finished on grain/soy at a feedlot. 1. I believe in supporting local food, small family farmers and the economy. The average miles our food travels to reach our dinner plates is about 1,500 miles1. When we eat local we conserve fuel, keep our food dollars local and can have a personal connection to the farmer and how our food is raised. I subscribe to the mantra, know your farmer, know your food. Know your farmer, know your food 2. Cows are biologically meant to eat grass and pasture, not grains like corn or legumes like soy. When you feed an animal the food that it is biologically set up for it will be healthier. Cows are four-legged ungulates best adapted to graze on forage. The digestive system of cows, the four stomachs they have that we learned about in basic biology, are meant to ferment forage. Grains like corn and legumes like soy are used as high energy-dense food alternative for cows to put weight on them quickly for faster processing. This diet that is not congruent with the cow’s biology does work to speed up the process from start to finish, but can actually compromise the animal’s health. A review article by Calloway et al2 found that cows fed a diet high in grain had higher levels of the food-borne pathogen E. coli. When the diet was changed back to forage the E. coli levels were lowered within five days. A research study by Khafipour et al3 found that cows fed a diet based on grain became acidotic, and had high levels of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) that triggered inflammation and health problems in the cattle such as liver disease. These are two scientific examples of how grain can be unhealthy for cows. 3. Grazing cattle from start to finish is better for the environment and planet. You may be interested in reading the book by Judith Schwartz, “Cows Save the Planet.”4 Judith discusses how raising cows on pasture returns moisture and nutrients to the soil and, therefore; our food. Cattle feedlots are also a significant source of environmental pollutants such as antibiotics that affect downstream aquatic life and hormones that end up in the drinking water supply as additional examples.5,6 Feedlots use antibiotics and hormones to encourage rapid and increased growth and require antibiotics to suppress illness due to the confined living space and large buildup of fecal matter. Pastured cows arguably have less negative impact and even reported positive impacts on the environment. 4. I believe in respecting and honoring the animals I eat. As humans we have the capacity to treat animals poorly for our benefit (food) or treat them in a thankful manner for the nourishment they provide us. Joel Salatin, a well-known sustainable farmer in Swope, Virginia, said in a magazine interview, “Our first responsibility is to try to figure out what kind of a habitat allows them (cows) to fully express their physiological distinctiveness. The cow doesn’t eat corn; she doesn’t eat dead cows; she doesn’t eat cow manure, which is what is currently being fed to cows in the industrial food system. We feed cows grass, and that honors and respects the cow-ness of the cow.7” Joel Salatin 5. Pasture raised and finished beef has a healthier fatty acid profile than conventional beef. The standard American diet is high in omega 6 fatty acids relative to omega 3 fatty acids. The problem is that omega 6 fatty acids, when out of balance with omega 3’s are highly inflammatory to the human body. Inflammation is now known to be the root of many chronic diseases. The good news is that the fatty acid composition of grass fed and finished beef is higher in the beneficial and anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids than grain-fed beef. A study by MacAfee et al found that people who ate grass-fed meat had higher levels of the anti-inflammatory omega 3’s when their blood was tested for this healthy fat.8 David (founder) and Reeves Kesten at the Brookside Farmers Market, 2017 Meet David and his [second] son Reeves, of David’s Pasture, from Concordia, MO. I am grateful for the opportunity to purchase quality meat, pork, poultry and eggs from a farming family like Dave’s. Dave’s cattle are raised on pasture and get to express their, “cow-ness,” as Joel Salatin would say. Dave shared with me that he even feeds his cattle organic apple cider vinegar to improve their gut health and does not use hormones or antibiotics. His cattle fertilize the land they forage on and he rotates their grazing to promote healthy soil. Yes, I pay more for the products I buy from Dave than I would pay at the local grocery store, but for the reasons I listed above I know the price is worth it!Original post by Tracey Long, MPH, RDN at Big Picture Health. Specializing in integrative and functional nutrition. Re-posted here by Remington Kesten, David's Pasture. Grass-fed & finished Beef delivered to your door.

How We Raise Your Chicken On Pasture

WHAT IS PASTURE-RAISED CHICKEN?

HOW WE RAISE PASTURE-RAISED CHICKEN

But how do our chickens get their start?

THE BENEFITS OF PASTURE-RAISED CHICKEN

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Why I Choose Grass-Fed & Finished Beef (by Tracey Long, MPH, RDN)

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