Pastured Chicken

Pastured Chicken

Let's get this straight from the get go. No one, here or anywhere else, has real 100% grass-fed chicken meat birds. If anyone claims their meat bird chickens are "grass-fed" they are not being upfront. At best, they can claim their chickens are "pastured." Pastured means raised on grass but supplemented with grain-based feeds. The best pastured feeds contain flax seed though, so that improves the nutritional fatty acid profile. "Grass-fed" would mean chickens on pasture being fed nothing.

"Free Range" chickens are raised in huge chicken houses with doors that allow access to small outside pens that are usually picked clean of grass. All of the food and water is inside the building just like regular chicken houses. Therefore "Free Range" birds are fed grain with some supplements. Therefore in terms of nutrition, there is little difference with other poultry products sold in your local super market.

The same can be said for organic chickens. Chickens that are not pastured but fed organic feeds are nutritionally exactly the same as mass produced Tyson chickens. Grain's nutritional drawbacks are identical whether the grain is organic, GMO, natural, whole grain, or milled. For more on that see The Atomic Bomb of the American Food System.

On the other hand, when we say "Pastured Poultry" or "Pastured Chickens" the birds are literally put on grass where they eat some grass and bugs that ate grass. Either the birds are kept in very large, grass-covered paddocks where they roam at will, or they are in small pens and the pens are moved on a daily basis to fresh grass. Pastured birds will have grazed grass and eaten bugs (bugs that eat grass) while still being supplemented with a grain-based feed that includes flax seed. They are not 100% grass-fed, but they are nutritionally far better than any other poultry classification. They taste better too.

Currently we offer both poultry classifications in the two separate blocks below. Free Range is less expensive.

Pastured Chicken	Price/Lbs	Apx. Wgt. Lbs./Pack	Status
Pastured Whole Chicken Fryers	$6.18	3.75 - 4.0	In
Pastured Whole Chicken Roasters	$6.38	4.0 - 5.5	In
Pastured Cutup Fryers	$7.08	3.8 - 4.1	In
Boneless/Skinless Breasts	$13.18	0.8 - 1.1	In
Bone-In Thighs	$7.28	1.3 - 1.4	In
Leg Quarters (Drums with Thighs)	$7.08	2.1 - 2.3	In
Drumsticks	$6.88	2.5 - 3.0	In
Wings, Apx 24 wings per pack	$5.28	2.9 - 3.1	Out
Ground Chicken	$8.68	1.0	In
Country Style Breakfast Sausage*	$8.78	1.0	In
Italian Sausage**	$8.78	1.0	In
Chicken Soup Bones	$1.28	3.0	In
Chicken Feet	$1.48	2.5	In
Chicken Livers	$4.88	0.9 - 1.1	In
Chicken Gizzards	$8.78	0.9 - 1.1	In
Chicken Hearts	$8.88	0.9 - 1.1	Out

Fryers are younger birds weighing 3.75 to 4 pounds or so. They can be cooked in any fashion. Roasters are about 4.5 to 7 pounds and they should be roasted in a covered pan so they get more tender or they can be cooked in a pot.

* Sausage Ingredients: Pastured Chicken, chicken hearts, sea salt, spices. No artificial Ingredients. Minimally Processed. No artificial preservatives, sugar, or MSG added.

** Sausage Ingredients: Pastured Chicken, chicken hearts, spices, sea salt, garlic powder. No artificial Ingredients. Minimally Processed. No artificial preservatives, sugar, or MSG added.