The Pasture Raised Chicken Michigan in our retail shop is supplied by a local mid-Michigan family farm. Our chicken-farming partner, in addition to pasture-feeding, uses our Graham’s Organic Starter and Grower Poultry feed.
This partner farm goes above and beyond organic standards when it comes to animal welfare. For instance, they are involved with the Humane Society of the United States Michigan Ag Council.
They try to raise their chickens as nature intended – lots of animal movement, fresh air, and open space. About 20% of the chickens’ diet is from pasture, and the rest is our own Graham’s Organic Feed: corn, whole-roasted soybeans, oats, and more.
Pasture Raised Chicken Michigan
Contents
This farm wants to preserve heritage chicken breeds and appreciates the flavor that comes from a slower-growing chicken. They grow/tend Cornish Cross-Broilers, which is a chicken breed developed specifically for meat production.
The taste of this chicken is superior due to the breed, the feed, and also the absence of added fluids/hormones/chemicals. The chicken is available year-round, frozen, at our retail store in Rosebush.
The frozen chicken is available in various weight packages of:
- Boneless, skinless chicken breast
- Chicken legs
- Chicken thighs, bone-in
- Whole chickens
- Whole cut-up chicken
- Chicken wings
- Chicken feet
What Makes Organic Chicken Organic?
What is Organic Chicken?
Our partner farm’s chicken farming practices follow the USDA National Organic Program rules. These rules apply from the second day after hatching.
Pasture Access
Organic rules do not specify a minimum amount of time that chickens must be outdoors. Rather, they say that chickens must be given access to the outdoors. Unfortunately, some farmers think that is a small door in a large warehouse of thousands of chickens. Our chicken-farming partner maximizes their chickens’ outdoor time with mobile chicken tractors/mobile pens. Their chickens are pasture-raised.
No antibiotics
Organic birds are not allowed to receive drugs, antibiotics, and hormones to organic birds. If a chicken being raised organically gets sick and needs antibiotics, an organic farmer will prioritize the life of the animal, BUT that animal is no longer considered organic and cannot be sold or labeled as such.
Many of the antibiotics fed to factory-farmed chickens are the same antibiotics as those prescribed to humans. Overuse of these drugs can lead to strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This can be a slippery slope, increasing the potential for human diseases. Our chicken farm partner abides by the “no antibiotics” rule.
Pasture Must Be Organic
The pastures where our chicken-farming partner’s organic chickens are kept are certified organic.
Fed Organic Feed Only
We have confidence that our chicken farming partner abides by this rule because they feed their chickens our Graham’s Organics poultry feed. Our organic grains are not genetically modified, as is standard for the USDA National Organic Program.
Again, according to the USDA NOP rules, our feed cannot contain animal by-products (and it certainly doesn’t.) In addition, it aligns with the following rules: no grains treated with synthetic chemical herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers; or synthetic amino acids. And lastly, our Graham’s Organic poultry feed is antibiotic-free.
Third-party inspection
Organic chicken farms must be annually inspected by a third-party certification body to ensure organic standards are upheld.
