Pasture Raised Poultry

From mid-April though December our chickens are raised on fresh pasture rich in grasses, broadleaf foliage, and clover.  It has been estimated that a bird raised on pasture will eat up to 30% of their diet on the grasses, forage, and insects, which increases both the Omega-3 and CLA content in the meat.

Our custom blend of feed is a proprietary mix that we designed to include multiple strains of probiotics, vitamins, minerals, brewers yeast, and kelp meal.  

While the chickens are on pasture, they are raised in "chicken tractors" which were designed and made the standard in pasture raised poultry by West Virginia native Joel Salatin.  These innovative boxes allow for plenty of fresh air, sunlight, and with a little effort, the flock gets fresh pasture daily.  We strive to only use a section of pasture once per day during the growing season.  Three acres of the Eden View farm is dedicated to raising the best tasting, and healthiest pasture raised chickens available!

Our chickens dress out at 4 - 6 pounds, so you can safely figure on at least two meals per bird for the average family of 4.

Our favorite way to enjoy the first meal is to do a rub of granulated garlic, sea salt, black pepper, and seasoned salt.  Then put the chicken on the grill mounted rotisserie at 300 degrees for 90 minutes for a 5 pound chicken.  The "planned-overs" work well for a pasta dish or stir-fry the next day.  The rest of the carcass gets boiled down for some awesone home made chicken stock. 

January through April, our poultry is raised on a peat moss bedding, which is the next best thing to the pasture--the peat moss bedding is the closest thing to the chickens natural habitat--the forest floor.  

Why Pasture-raised Poultry?

When chickens are raised on pasture they can get as much as 30 percent of their nutritional needs from insects, grass, clover and other greens; As a result, the meat is high in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin A, folic acid, and carotenoids. Chickens were designed to need high quality protein from grains in their diet, so we have worked with our local feed mill to design a custom blend.  We have incorporated numerous strains of probiotics, alfalfa meal, and kelp meal, which allows us to decrease the level of GMO crops, and raise the healthiest, happiest chickens around!

A) Health benefits:

• More Omega-3 essential fatty acids also called good fats
  There are two families of essential fatty acids (EFA) omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Studies suggest that if your diet contains roughly equal amounts of these two fats, you will have a lower risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, allergies, obesity, diabetes, dementia, and various other mental disorders.
  People with ample amounts of omega-3 fatty acids in their diet are less likely to have high blood pressure or an irregular heartbeat. They are also less likely to have a heart attack. Research also suggests that a diet rich in omega-3s may help reduce the risk of cancer. However, only 40% of Americans consume adequate levels of omega-3s. Since omega-3s are formed in the green leaves of plants, animals that graze on grass have much higher levels of this fatty acid.
• More natural CLA
  Conjugated Linoleic Acid or CLA is a type of fat that may prove to be one of our most potent cancer fighters as well as a “fat-burning” property, which helps the body convert fat to lean muscle.
• More beta-carotene -Found in fresh grass, this vitamin helps reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease
• Higher Vitamin E
  Vitamin E is an important antioxidant, which boosts the immune system and may help decrease the risk of heart disease. Grass and clover contain high amounts of vitamin E. As a result, pasture-raised meat, milk and eggs contain more vitamin E. Switching to the meat, milk, eggs and dairy products of grass-fed animals is one way to restore the vital nutrients to your diet.

We Don’t:

…Use steroids, growth hormones, or antibiotics.  Nor will we sell or chickens boneless, skinless, or in styrofoam lying on a diaper!! (You need to go to a grocery store for that!!)

Cost per pound:  $3.95