The beauty of a well raised chicken no longer escapes me. Our free-range broiler chickens are great at foraging for grasshoppers in the pasture and enjoy naps in the afternoon sun. We decided to raise chickens after learning how grocery store chicken is produced.

A standard grocery store broiler is a breed called Cornish Cross. This white feathered chicken is manufactured to grow quickly and live its short (6-8 weeks) life confined indoors with no windows. They never get to experience dewey pastures or hunting for bugs. We just couldn’t support this type of factory farming, so we set out to grow our own.

At Sugar Hill Farmstead we raise Rainbow Rangers (pictured above.) Originating from France, this breed is great at foraging and grows at a moderate rate. Our customers, like the French chefs, rave over the flavor of these free-range pastured birds.

What is pasture raised? Here’s how we define pasture-raised.

Our broilers rotate throughout the pastures following the cows, sheep, and pigs. They take their clean-up crew job very seriously. We supplement them with certified organic Non-GMO feed imported from Modesto Milling. Our animals get the best feed available in the United States to ensure they’re getting all the nutrients they need. The broilers have a house that moves with them, but the door is always open so they can move in-and-out as they please.

You will receive our free-range pasture raised broilers in your Sugar Hill Farmstead Meat CSA membership. We hand harvest our birds to ensure humane handling and they experience no transport time. Once you taste the difference in our truly free-range pasture raised chickens, you won’t want to eat any other kind.

Our Chicken Bone Broth and DIY Chicken Stock packages (available to CSA members only) are also made with free-range organic, Non-GMO fed chicken.