Why I started a Poultry Farm?

There is a handful of reasons that I started a poultry farm, but it comes down to two reasons that stand out the most.  First, I want to provide healthy and affordable food for people.  The second is about land management.  These are both especially important to me.

Providing Healthy & Affordable Food

I started this endeavor with the intention of raising exceptionally healthy, great quality chicken.  I spend hours, days, & months of research before starting this operation.  That meant high quality feed, great living conditions, not adding any antibiotics, hormones, or steroids. Just a very natural chicken. 

I raise the chicken out on pasture.  I move them daily.  This allows the chickens to be out on grass, move around, peck, scratch, eat bugs, and more.  I supplement non-GMO feed for the chickens.  They are a meat breed of chicken and need ample food for their growth.

I wanted their stress level down.  So, I keep them protected.  My chicken tractors protect the chickens from predators and provide shade from the sun throughout the day.   This low stress lifestyle paired with nice living conditions, and healthy food, allows me to raise an extremely healthy chicken.

Land Management

This is two-fold.  The land management for the chicken’s health, and for the land itself. 

Let’s start with the chicken.  They are not confined indoors throughout their entire life.  They are not exposed low nutrient dense forage, or lack of any foraging.  They are not increasing water pollution.  Or subject to CO2 and methane emissions.  They do not need antibiotics and have a better resistance.  The ground is not a mud/dirt pit. 

Now for the land.  Rotational grazing/moving is a component of regenerative farming.  Regenerative farming allows the rebuilding of organic matter in the soil and helps restore degraded soil biodiversity.  Regenerative agriculture improves soil health, primarily through the practices that increase soil organic matter. 

In this case, it is the chickens who help the land by fertilizing the ground are adding organic matter.  Now the chickens disturb the ground.  It is their nature.  That is why moving them helps control the disturbance.  It then gives the ground time to recover.  The chickens do not come back on that same piece of ground for weeks.  Managing these grazing practices improve plant growth and show increased soil carbon deposits.  The overall land productivity while greatly increase, as will soil fertility, insect and plant biodiversity, and soil carbon sequestration. 

What that means to the Consumer

This means improved ecological health of the animal and the consumer that are passed along by enriched nutrient dense food.  It means the consumer gets a healthier product.  And the impact to the land and environment to raise that food is not as detrimental as previous practices, but actually beneficial.  The consumer can feel good about where their food came from, that is it healthy, and the land is not being destroyed for their consumption.