Pasturebird Pasture Raised Chicken
We admit it - we’re pretty proud of what we’ve accomplished here at Pasturebird in the last 10 years. What began in 2012 as a conversation around the dinner table about how difficult it was to find truly ethically produced and humanely raised meat has turned into a large-scale regenerative agriculture operation that makes Pasturebird pasture raised chicken available to consumers nationwide. As proud as we are of becoming a truly pasture raised poultry farm, we’re even more proud of the fact that we did it without sacrificing our integrity and the principles that inspired us to start this company in the first place.
Pasturebird is an ethics-centered company - we run our farm the right way because it’s the right thing to do, and we don’t compromise that for anything, not even to drive a higher profit. We adhere to five key principles, and together, they are the focus of everything we do here at Pasturebird:
Animal Welfare
While we understand the dichotomy of raising animals for consumption and focusing on animal welfare, we believe that these two goals can coexist. Ninety-eight percent of poultry produced in the U.S. live on factory farms, where their living conditions are deplorable, to say the least. We believe that our chickens deserve to live their best lives possible while they’re on this earth, and that means obtaining fresh air and sunshine every single day, being able to peck, scratch, and forage on pasture, and supplementing a diet of high-quality non-GMO feed with “goodies” such as worms, insects, grasses, nuts, and seeds.
Our chickens roam freely on pasture in an open-air moveable coop that is large enough for an adult human to stand in, and they are moved to fresh pasture every day, ensuring that they constantly have access to new land and new food sources. The coop protects them from inclement weather and predators while still allowing them constant access to fresh air, sunshine, and new land for foraging. At Pasturebird, “pasture raised” isn’t just a catchy marketing tool - our chickens are literally raised, 100%, on pasture. As a result of their healthy lifestyle, our chickens have naturally robust immune systems, and are never given antibiotics or drugs.
Regenerative Agriculture
We recognize that we are borrowing our land from future generations, and we treat it accordingly. Our aim at Pasturebird is to leave our land better than we found it - and if you follow us on social media, you’ve seen the “before” and “after” pictures of our pasture and know that we’ve done just that. We do this by practicing regenerative agriculture, which goes beyond conservation and sustainability to actually regenerate fallow land and rejuvenate the soil. Agriculture, while an absolutely necessary industry, is harsh on the environment. Our goal is to lessen this impact by using practices that replenish the carbon content of soil and increase soil biodiversity while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving crop yield. Part of the regenerative agriculture process is ensuring that our animals are not constantly grazing in the same spot, which can deplete and damage the soil. That’s why our mobile coop is constantly on the move - so our chickens always have access to fresh forage, and so our land can regenerate after each graze.
Nutrient Density and Taste
When it comes to animal welfare and regenerative agriculture, we make those things a priority because being a good steward for our land and animals is part of being an ethical farmer. The nutrient density and robust taste of our chicken are wonderful byproducts of the focus we place on the health of our animals and the health of our land. Because our chickens are exposed to such a wholesome natural diet during their lifetime, pasture raised chicken is much higher in nutrients than conventionally raised chicken. In fact, pasture raised chicken has been shown to have:
- 50% more vitamins A and E
- 3x the omega 3s
- 3x more NADH
- 21% less saturated fat; and
- 4x more ATP (to name a few)
than chicken raised using conventional methods. We’re proud that we can offer such a healthy and delicious product to our consumers, and to do so while maintaining our high standards of ethical farming. Farmer Paul’s own experience with the importance of nutrient dense whole foods is part of what inspired us to start Pasturebird, and it’s important to us that we can provide a convenient and affordable source of wholesome pasture raised chicken to our customers.
Transparency
To us, transparency is everything. It’s such an important part of why we do what we do, and part of why we started this company in the first place. While the market is slowly starting to change as more consumers demand transparency from the companies they support, when we first started Pasturebird it was tough to find a source of pasture raised chicken that practiced what it preached and was transparent about its farming methods - because so many companies used clever “green” buzzwords that were little more than clever marketing tools.
We offer regular farm tours and a candid social media presence to give our customers a real glimpse into how we do business at Pasturebird. We love nothing more than to show off our ethical farming practices, both as a method of transparency and to prove that you can run a successful large-scale agriculture operation while still remaining true to your values and environmental and animal welfare ethics.
Come and See the Pasturebird Difference for Yourself
Don’t take our word for it - come and see for yourself the difference here at Pasturebird; from the humane we our animals live to the health of our land and pasture. Our next farm tour is September 15 at 8:45am, and we’ve listed a few helpful hints below that we encourage you to read if you’re able to join us. If you can’t come visit us in person, take a virtual tour and catch a glimpse of our beautiful farmland and the way our Pasturebird pasture raised chickens live.
If you do plan to visit the farm, we like to offer a few pointers to make the most of your visit:
- Remember that Pasturebird is a working farm - respect the land, animals, and equipment to avoid harm or injury to our animals and yourself!
- Wear comfortable shoes that you’re prepared to get a bit dusty or dirty.
- Please, no animals on the farm that don’t already live there.
- We love spontaneity as much as the next person, but make sure you buy your farm tour tickets ahead of time so that we can plan accordingly for a certain number of people. Plus, the spots sell out - so reserve yours before they run out!
We are so proud of what we've accomplished over these past 10 years and certainly couldn't do it without you - our community - who continues to support us and our regenerative and pasture raised efforts. We are honored and humbled to continue to do what we love.
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