Before World War II, most poultry was raised in this fashion, resulting in “farm-fresh” quality and the juicy plump birds that your grandmother remembers, a far cry from the mass-produced tasteless birds and eggs found in today’s supermarkets and Wal-Mart shelves. On modern poultry factories, the birds are kept confined, often in cages so crowded they literally can’t fall over if they die and fed large amounts of medications, usually antibiotics that leave residues in the meat, to keep them alive. The birds are fed a “balanced” ration of grains that include animal by-products, animal fats, and appetite stimulants. These living conditions and diet result in meat that is high in fat and low in essential nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids.

 

Your body does not produce disease fighting omega-3 fatty acids, they must be obtained through food.  These essential fatty acids are found  in poultry that consume grass and other greens as part of their diet. Poultry raised on pasture consume over 30% of their calories from grass, clover, alfalfa, and other greens!!!!

 

An independent study funded by the USDA Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education (SARE) Program found that compared to modern raised chickens, pasture raised  chickens had 21% less total fat, 30% less saturated fat, and 28% fewer calories. The pasture raised chickens had essentially no fat in the breast meat, but had 50% more Vitamin A and had significant levels of Omega-3s, where factory raised chickens had none.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We raise our poultry the way your great-great grandfather did...allowed to roam cage-free, foraging for insects, scratching in the dirt under a bright sunny sky, all natural with no growth hormones or antibiotics, resulting in extraordinary flavorful birds and eggs, full of Nature’s nutrition.

 

Our chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, and game birds are raised with the best of care, provided Purina’s Sunfresh Recipe Feeds and locally mixed farm co-op grains and plenty of clean water, grass, sunshine, and fresh air.

Common Labeling Misconceptions on Supermarket Purchased Poultry– Don’t be Fooled!!!

 

· “ Free Range” birds may have acess to the outdoors, but their “range” usually is cement or dirt with no acess to greens and grass.

· “Cage Free” usually refers to 10,000 or mre chickens crammed into a mega chicken house without the light of day.

· “Natural” as defined by the food industry is meat that has not been treated with chemicals during processing...even factory chickens qualify under this definition.

Why Pasture-Raised Poultry?

 

The following are some highlights from the web site

http://www.eatwild.com/ 

 

Chickens and turkeys are good foragers. When chickens are raised on pasture they can get as much as 30 percent of their nutritional needs from insects, grass, clover and other greens; turkeys are better grazers and can glean as much as 50 percent of their calories from pasture. As a result, their meat and eggs are high in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin A, folic acid, and carotenoids. Poultry birds also need high quality protein from grains in their diet.

The Health Benefits:

¨ Less fat, fewer calories: A recent study, funded by the USDA, tested chickens raised on fresh green pasture and compared them with chickens raised in confinement houses. The pasture raised chickens had 21 percent less total fat, 30 percent less saturated fat, and 28 percent fewer calories. The breast meat tested so lean that the USDA could classify it as "fat free". The meat also had 50 percent more vitamin A and 100 percent more omega-3 fatty acids.

 

· More Omega-3 essential fatty acids also called good fats. There are two families of essential fatty acids (EFA) omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Studies suggest that if your diet contains roughly equal amounts of these two fats, you will have a lower risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, allergies, obesity, diabetes, dementia, and various other mental disorders. People with ample amounts of omega-3 fatty acids in their diet are less likely to have high blood pressure or an irregular heartbeat. They are also less likely to have a heart attack. Research also suggests that a diet rich in omega-3s may help reduce the risk of cancer. However, only 40% of Americans consume adequate levels of omega-3s. Since omega-3s are formed in the green leaves of plants, animals that graze on grass have much higher levels of this fatty acid.

 

· More natural CLA Conjugated Linoleic Acid or CLA is a type of fat that may prove to be one of our most potent cancer fighters as well as a “fat-burning” property, which helps the body convert fat to lean muscle.

 

· More beta-carotene -Found in fresh grass, this vitamin helps reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular   disease.

· Higher Vitamin E Vitamin E is an important antioxidant, which boosts the immune system and may help decrease the risk of heart disease. Grass and clover contain high amounts of vitamin E. As a result, pasture-raised meat, milk and eggs contain more vitamin E. Switching to the meat, milk, eggs and dairy products of grass-fed animals is one way to restore the vital nutrients to your diet.

Improve Soil and Decrease Fly/Parasite Population:

On Thimbleberry Farm, we practice rotational grazing with our Icelandic sheep and horses. This program promotes soil health and increased productivity without chemical fertilizers and herbicides. Incorporating pastured poultry to our farming operation has organically improved our soil . The chickens and turkeys, pastured behind the sheep and horses, peck insects and larva from the manure. As they scratch, they scatter the dung piles, spreading the natural fertilizer and adding their own highly concentrated nitrate rich manure. When the livestock are rotated back into the paddock, new grass is growing where the manure piles used to be and there are fewer flies and parasites to harass the sheep and horses.

Humanely Produced: No animal cruelty!!! Rather than spending their lives crammed into wire cages in a factory environment, our poultry is reared among the grass, insects, sun, and fresh air!! Happy Poultry produces healthy meats!!

Environmentally Friendly: Producing poultry in a pastured environment, without the use of enormous fans, lighting, etc as in a factory farm, and using locally produced/mixed grains reduces the use of fossil fuels for electricity and transportation.

Animals were meant to live and grow naturally, outside with fresh air, sun,  and grass and not in confined housing, with their feet never touching the ground and force fed hormones and antibiotics. For more information on grass-fed products visit:

http://www.eatwild.com/ , http://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs, or http://www.localharvest.org/

 

Please contact us for more information about our farm and farm products. We will love to hear from you and share the tale of Thimbleberry Farm. Thank you for supporting our northern Michigan family farm. Come watch us Grow!!!

Here on Thimbleberry Farm, we invite you to come see your poultry raised in the great outdoors, on nearly eighty acres of sun kissed fields, and blessed by the  pure Northern Michigan breezes coming off both Great Lakes Michigan and Huron!!

 

Clucking, gobbling, and quacking happily as they root through the fields and barnyards, these poultry are given the best of care, ensuring the finest birds for your dinner table!!  Come taste the difference of a stress-free natural raised “happy” bird!!

“Happy Birds Make Healthy Meat””

Or...go directly to the Fowl of your choice….