Morningstar Farm in Newman Lake sent along these pics as part of our View From Your Garden series. If you're looking for fresh healthy poultry that is grown and processed on the farm this is a great option. They describe their approach;

Our emphasis is pasture-based, cruelty-free farming and we raise our chickens in spacious pens where they can spend their days grazing on lush clover, alfalfa, grass, bugs, and all-natural grains. The pens are moved daily, insuring that the chickens always have a clean living space and a “salad bar” that is fresh every morning.

The key to our great tasting poultry is the grass. Chickens can derive as much as 30% of their nourishment from grass and it is this component, absent from the diet of most poultry today, which produces meat that is juicy, rich in flavor, and firm in texture.

A study at Virginia Tech comparing the fat content of pasture-raised chickens to that of grain-fed supermarket birds revealed that the pastured broilers are 70% lower in fat and are significantly higher in polyunsaturated (good) fat.

One twist on their approach to raising poultry is that they process the birds on the farm and you as the customer show up on the day they are processed to take home and either freeze them or use them fresh. They are taking orders for chickens to be picked up on the farm for later this summer. Call them up and find out more at 509-226-0489.

If you're familiar with Joel Salatin of Omnivore's Dilemma fame, they are following his approach. See below video to get an idea of what they do and how they do it.

 

 

---

---