Today was the first one. Our first batch of pasture-raised Grey Broilers went to processing, and the whole farm felt it. This is what that day looks like when you are small enough to know every bird.
The night before
Feed comes up the evening before so the birds go in with empty crops. It is quieter than you expect. The pasture at dusk with a few dozen grey birds settling into their shelter is one of the better sights on this farm.
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Early morning is the right time. It is cool, the birds are calm, and calm birds handle better. We work slow, two hands per bird, into crates with room to stand. Nobody rushes and nobody yells. How an animal is handled in its last hour matters, and there is no way around that.
The drive
Our birds go to a licensed processor. That is not a small detail. It means the plant is inspected, the handling is regulated, and the finished product is legal to sell to you.
Frozen immediately
Every bird is frozen immediately upon processing. This is one of the questions we get most, and the answer never changes. Freezing right away locks in quality instead of letting a bird sit chilled for days in a distribution chain. When you thaw one of our chickens, you are thawing a bird that was alive on grass a very short time before it was frozen.
What these birds ate and did not get
Our Grey Broilers were raised on pasture with fresh grass, bugs, and a supplemental ration. They are unvaccinated and raised without routine pharmaceuticals. They were moved regularly so they always had clean ground.
What we learned in batch one
The honest part
There is no version of raising meat animals that skips this day. We think being direct about it is part of selling food to neighbors. The birds had a good life on grass, they were handled carefully, and nothing was wasted.
Reserving from the next batch
We raise a limited number of birds per batch and they are spoken for quickly. The chicken pre-sale page lists current availability, weight tiers, and pricing. Reserve there and we will text you when your birds are ready for pickup at the farm in Conway.
