Why buy our Chickens?!
Our decision to go into chicken farming started with repetitive confusion and frustration due to the way the food is labeled in the grocery store. Free range, free run, cage free, grain fed, canadian farmer.. What do any of these mean? I started to dive into these and turns out none of these labels are certified and it's just fancy marketing lingo.. So marketing companies want me to pay more for a product that has a flashy label on it? How do I know how the chickens are raised? What do they feed them? Do they spend any time outside? I looked for the answers to these questions and became more and more frustrated and grossed out by our food industries.
Let me give you a quick overview of the current state of industrial chicken farming today.
The majority of chickens raised in North American factory farms are subjected to crowded, unhealthy conditions inside large, windowless buildings. They are constantly exposed to fecal contaminants and are unable to engage in natural behaviors such as scratching, pecking, and foraging.
They even debeak these chickens to prevent cannibalism, something that you don't need to worry about when chickens are given adequate space with areas to peck and forage freely.
This confinement leads to a host of welfare issues for the birds. Including poor health, stress, and disease, making the birds heavily reliant on antibiotics, growth hormones and other questionable feed additives to stay alive and maintain productivity undermining the quality of the meat.
Furthermore, during the processing of the birds in conventional systems they can receive as many as 40 chlorine baths.. How much of that is permeating the meat? They also use irradiation to reduce bacteria on the meat. This causes reductions in vitamins, changes in fatty acid composition and protein denaturation
Factory Farming focuses on one thing only PROFIT
I don’t know about you but that was enough for me to not want to buy a factory farmed chicken and support those practices ever again.
This is what led us to where we are today.
We created Leach Family Farms with the goal of raising the highest quality happiest animals for our family and our customers while sharing the entire process. I want you to be able to connect with us and your food so you know exactly what you’re getting. Food is more than just protein,fat and carbs; connection to our food can lead to not only physical nourishment but emotional and even spiritual nourishment.
What Is Our Pasture Raised Poultry Model?
In contrast to industrial farming, our poultry program requires more labor and care but leads to healthier happier birds, higher-quality meat, and a more ethical sustainable production system that regenerates the earth rather than poisoning it .
We believe that our chickens are worth more than just the profit they create, and they deserve to be treated as such. We believe that the consumption of animal protein and animal welfare don’t have to be adverse to each other.
That’s why we will house our chickens in an open air moveable coop where they have 24/7 access to fresh air, sunshine and are moved daily to fresh pasture so they are not eating, sleeping and breathing in their own feces.
They have unlimited access to grass allowing them to peck and forage, as chickens were meant to do. Because of this they obtain a wholesome, nutrient rich diet of insects, plants, small mammals, worms, nuts, and seeds. They will be supplemented with a non-GMO, glyphosate free freshly milled pre and probiotic rich feed, that is made by LOCAL ALBERTA FARMERS, to ensure that they’re receiving optimal nutrition.
What does this mean for you?
This means you will be getting a superior product that you can feed to your family with peace of mind. Plus, by buying from us, you’re supporting farming practices that improve soil health and help a small family business grow.
We will be sharing the entire process on social media and you are also more than welcome to come out to the farm and see everything with your eyes–We’d love to have ya.
