Our goal is for everything on the farm to work together, the bees, the sheep the chickens the produce the fruit trees and berries all have something to offer to the other and are interdependent on each other.  What a joy to share the seasonal fruits of our developing farm ecosystem with you! 

     You like chicken?  I do.  Ever enjoyed a succulent roasted chicken that was clucking only 10 or 12 hours ago?  That's fresh.  Chicken that has a beautiful layer of nutritious golden fat on it that melts into the meat while it cooks.  Chicken that has flavor and texture, that doesn't need a mountain of sauce or 2 cans of mushroom soup to be fit to eat.  I bet you'll like our chicken, I bet we can make a chicken connoisseur out of you. 

     How we do it.  Pasture-raised.  This is KEY!  If you're in to health at all you are familiar of all the different 'tags' industry applies to our food.  'Free range', 'Cage Free', 'Vegetarian fed', 'Organic', 'Grain free', ect.  each camp will tout it's virtues of humane practices and health benefits.  However when you look into the growing practices of each there are misconceptions and often disappointment.  One of the best parts of buying from a local producer is the advantage of knowing, really knowing how your food is grown.  Chickens are not vegetarians they're omnivores, they need the protein and nutrition from bugs and slugs and worms.  Everything eats chicken.  In our opinion, cage free, free range is just an open invitation to a buffet for the local critters, hawks, owls and dogs.  What's humane about that?  Cages are for their protection.  Organic.  Yes, we wish we could offer an organic, pasture-raised bird but the reality is that if we did you probably wouldn't buy it.  Organic feed is 3 times the price of conventional feed, your chicken dinner would be a $30-$40 affair.  Our goal is to raise the healthiest bird possible made available to as many people as possible.  Being on pasture permits the bird to be a bird, to scratch and forage, to eat bugs, to enjoy the sunshine and get exercise.  Moving them everyday means that they don't live on their own excrement that they don't have to spend energy fighting sickness.  Raising pastured birds is a lot of work, moving the 10'x12' pens daily,  lugging water and feed to new locations in the pasture morning and evening, processing the birds ourselves.  We  don't outsource any of the work, stewarding every step of the process so we can stand behind our product and deliver to you our very best.

 So you can know how your food is raised, the following is the nuts and bolts of how we raise our chickens. 
We welcome questions and suggestions on how we can do better, we are here to serve you!
             We start with day old Cornish Rock broiler chicks from Welp Hatchery in Iowa.  The fluffy yellow cheepers arrive via the post office and live their first 3-4 weeks in our warm and safe brooder.  At four weeks their feathers have grown in, they have nearly tripled in size and are ready for the 'real world'.  Out they go into the moveable pasture pens at the farm where bugs and grass make up a huge part of their daily fare.  Everyday the chickens are moved to a new square of fresh, green pasture and are also given a corn free, soy free, non-GMO, hormone and antibiotic-free feed consisting of small grains (like wheat and sunflower).      
     Our feed is a purely grain (NEVER animal by-products), ration supplemented with a pro-biotic to ensure that they receive adequate protein and nutrition for sustained healthy growth.   We DO NOT use antibiotics, believing that proper, proactive management is the best defense against sickness in the flock.  In the past sickness or weakness with our birds has been addressed using essential oils, nutritional yeast, liquid chlorophyll, and apple cider vinegar.  It's amazing how our small flocks can be treated so effectively with natural remedies.  At nine weeks they are ready for the table.  We do the butchering ourselves as a service to you and to further our ownership over every step of the process.  We have nothing to gain in cutting corners in the health and safety of our chickens and take the up most care in delivering an excellent product.

     Last year, 2014, we experimented with a non-GMO, soy free, corn free grain.  We gave it a good go finishing 2 and a half batches on the non-GMO feed.  Sadly the mix we used was not adequate in nutrition for the birds and the delays for customers as we waited and hoped for the chickens to reach a good eating weigh was frustrating and impractical. Thankfully we have found another corn free, soy free, non-GMO feed from a mill in Guntersville.  Our test batches on this feed have done well and we are proud to announce that this years August, September and October batches of chickens will be 100% non GMO!!!  So excited to improve the quality and health of our chickens with no price increase for you!!

PLEASE READ BEFORE ORDERING!!! 
      We work for you!  You are contracting with us to raise your food.  As part of that agreement we ask that you pay a $5 deposit per bird to help us cover some of the preliminary costs (i.e. buying the chicks and first load of feed) of growing your chicken.  The $5 purchase price listed below is your deposit. The remainder of the price is due on pick up day once we know the final weight of the chicken.  Your deposit is also your request for us to personally process your chickens for you.  The FULL amount of this deposit goes towards your final pick up price on delivery day.  Deposits for chickens not claimed on delivery day will be retained.  Chickens not picked up on farm within one week of processing will become available to customers on our waiting list. 
     Our chickens are processed on delivery day (can't get much fresher than that!) and will come to you whole, packaged in a heavy grade plastic bag suitable for freezing.  After processing they average a weight of 3.5-5.5 pounds.  We charge $3.50 a pound for excellent, nutritious chicken.  Josh, our three little kidos and I get 3 meals from a 4lb. chicken, 2 for the meat and an excellent soup stock from boiling the bones. We raise chickens only 5 months a year (June-October) while the pasture is growing.  Some of our customers order extra in September and October to put in the freezer to hold them till next June.
PICK UP   We strive to make pick up as easy as possible for you.  Pick up location for Madison is at 1088 Hughes Rd at Trinity Baptist Church.  Pick up for Huntsville is on 515 Pratt Ave at Creative Healing.  Pick up time for both locations is from 6-7pm.  We will send you a reminder e-mail a week before pick up but please put the pick up dates on your calendar!  FOR LINCOLN COUNTY CUSTOMERS>> Please order chickens on the date you prefer and leave a note that you'd like to pick up on farm.  We'll schedule a time for your pick up and save you a trip to Huntsville. :)

TURKEY. TURKEY. TURKEY!!!
Excited to be offering pastured turkeys this year!  Delivery will be November 17th at 6pm in Madison at Trinity Baptist Church on Hughes Rd. Cost is $3.50 a pound with the expectation of 12-20 pound birds. Asking a $20 deposit to cover the chick cost and first month of feed. Make it the best Thanksgiving ever with a local, non-GMO, pastured bird!  ORDER BELOW.

                          Thank you for your order!  We're excited about raising your chicken.  Please contact us with any questions you might have.

Our little flock is growing!  Sheep are a real pleasure to care for and such an asset to the farm and the pasture and soil management. We hope to be offering natural raised lamb in the summer and fall of 2015!  Check back soon for more info and prices!