Pastured Chicken

If you want to see how your chickens were raised, watch this short video (less than a minute).

  

What makes Healthy Traditions Pastured Poultry different from other chickens?

1. Healthy Traditions Pastured Poultry are raised outdoors on pasture.

Commercially produced chickens are raised entirely indoors with tens of thousands of other chickens in close quarters.They typically never see the sun or pasture.

Organic or “Free Range” chickens also have no standard definition or industry guidelines for how long chickens must be outdoors on pasture, leaving the consumer very confused.

The USDA definition of “free-range” is rather vague. In order to label their meat and poultry “free-range or free-roaming,” “Producers must demonstrate to the Agency that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside.”(1) 

No mention of vegetation (pasture) is made.

Poultry producers themselves seem to have no common standards on what the term means. Some producers interpret “access to the outside” as a small pop-door (chicken door) on an end-wall of a 100 ft. long shed filled with un-caged birds moving about freely on a litter-covered floor.

Others feel they are compliant with the spirit of free-range if their birds are outside in the open air and under the sun; even if their “range” is simply bare dirt.

When it comes to the consumer’s perception of “free-range,” arguably the vision that “free-range” most often conjures is of a bird happily hunting and pecking in the grass in an open field. Because of the wholesomeness associated with the term “organic,” many consumers take for granted that all certified organic poultry raised for meat and eggs are raised outside on green pasture.

Sadly, this is not so. The term “free-range” is not even listed in the NOP (National Organic Program) “terms defined.”(2) 

They do give guidelines that say: “All organically raised animals must have access to the outdoors...”(3) 

So when someone purchases poultry products labeled “free range” or “organic,” the birds may never have actually seen the light of day or green grass its entire life. Technically, they simply have to have a door out of their confinement, but they don’t have to necessarily walk through that door to meet the requirements.

2. Healthy Traditions pastured poultry are fed a chicken feed which contains no soy and no corn.

Cocofeed was a chicken-feed ration developed by Tropical Traditions in 2007 that contained coconut pulp as well as other high-quality natural ingredients. We were, to the best of our knowledge, the first company to develop a chicken feed that contained no so. (We no longer use coconut pulp.)

With the development of fast-growing ”broiler” factory chickens during modern times, soy has become a key ingredient in chicken feeds for the purpose of supplying a high concentration of protein to promote fast growth.

It is very difficult to find a chicken in the US market today that has not been fed high soy-based feeds. Even chickens advertised as “organic” or “free range” are almost always fed an organic mixture high in soybeans. 

Research shows that chickens raised on a soy-based feed will have soy protein in their tissues.

Today, chickens sold by Healthy Traditions are fed a chicken feed that contains no soy and no corn, and that is tested for the presence of the herbicide glyphosate.

3. Healthy Traditions pastured poultry are raised by family farmers.

Healthy Traditions Pastured Poultry chickens are all raised by family farmers. These farmers run diversified farms practicing traditional agriculture.

They will rotate tracts of land with crops and other animals, or let it go fallow from time to time.

When a batch of chickens is raised on a piece of pasture, typically that pasture will not see chickens again for two or more years.

In the interval, crops may be grown in that pasture, or it may go fallow allowing grass to grow, die, and decompose so that the soil is kept in balance and not contaminated from too much chicken manure.

So when you buy Healthy Traditions pastured poultry, you are supporting small-scale family farmers and by-passing the system that produces the conventional “factory chicken.”

I just received your pastured poultry. I wanted you to know that the first pastured chicken I cooked last night was beyond a doubt the BEST CHICKEN I have ever eaten. The flavor was outstanding. I put a little coconut oil on the top as it was roasting. The test was in the eating of this product. I didn’t even have to use salt to give it flavor. Beyond a doubt this is one of the best purchases I have made from you. After these chickens are gone, I’ll be ordering more! Vicki - Houston, Texas

I roasted one of these chickens myself to see if they meet expectations. Wow! This was the most flavorful, juiciest chicken I have ever had - and in 35 years as a professional chef I have cooked a lot of chickens. I kept it simple - I just seasoned the bird with salt and pepper and rubbed a little olive oil on it. Roasted at 350 for about 2 hours. I rarely rave this much about a product, but these birds deserve my highest praise. Chef James Ehler - Winona, Minnesota

Just wanted to let you know that the pastured chickens are delicious! They have great flavor and are more “chickeny” than the grocery store organic ones. I will definitely order again after I’ve eaten all of mine. Jean - Chandler, AZ

About our Pastured Poultry

We have various farmers throughout Wisconsin raise these chickens during the short Wisconsin summers, when they can roam around outside on fresh green pasture.

We have limited supplies, and they are offered on a first-come first-serve basis.

While the chickens are all raised on family farms, they are processed at a USDA certified processing plant.

Orders are shipped Mondays through Wednesday each week.*

Coconut Chicken Recipes

Fryers

 

Whole Cut-up Fryers 

 

Soy-free Ground Chicken

Our soy-free ground chicken includes the whole bird, both white and dark meat! There are NO bones included.

Chicken Soup Bones

Don't throw your chicken bones away!! They are VERY valuable for making broth!

Because these chickens never ate soy, and instead were raised on our special GMO-tested and Glyphosate-tested feed, they make a unique broth that is incredibly nutritious.

You will not find any broth like this anywhere! Watch the video below to see how easy it is to make your own broth.

If you want to make broth without buying a whole chicken, we now offer chicken bones (when available.)

Our raw chicken bones include all bones from the chicken, including the necks.

Because these bones are from our pastured chickens (same as above) raised on feed with no soy, they produce a very high quality chicken broth that is nearly impossible to find elsewhere.

Watch this video to see how easy it is to make your own chicken broth. 

 

References

(1) From the USDA site on meat and poultry labeling:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/food-labeling/meat-and-poultry-labeling-terms/meat-and-poultry-labeling-terms

(2) NOP terms defined:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3004445&acct=nopgeninfo

(3) From the USDA website on the National Organic Program:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/FactSheets/ProdHandE.html

*Note: Cold storage and frozen items like Pastured Poultry are shipped from a separate location (Wisconsin) and have separate shipping charges from non-cold storage items.

They are shipped in coolers with dry ice (the ice is used up the time it reaches you most of the time.) Shipping charges depend on weight and zip code, and will be chosen at check out. If you are in a hot location such as the southwestern desert area of the US, you should choose 2nd day air or overnight to be sure your order arrives frozen.

Orders are shipped Mondays through Wednesday each week. Due to the nature of the products, perishable food items such as meat, poultry and dairy are not eligible for refund or return. If the shipment is damaged we will replace it.