Chicken called Pasture Raised IS NOT Always Organic

AT Turning Ranch, we raise our chickens on chemical free pastures and with "better than organic" (not certified)  chicken feed. Chickens  unlike cows which are ruminates need more grass to live on. Chickens are omnivores and eat meat and vegetables (or grains).   

Some of our customers assume that all pasture raised chickens and eggs are organically fed. This is not true.

Chickens in the warm months of the year eat about 20% of their diet from the pasture: grass, worms, and bugs. 80% of their diet is a carefully balanced chicken feed. The majority of the our feed is grain but we also feed meat scraps. In the winter months the percentage of the diet from the pasture decreases, so we increase meat and feed. Our farm keeps the laying hens on pasture, but increase amount of feed to supplement the decrease in green pasture. We sometimes add alfalfa and other hay to the pasture to help "green up" the diet. Please note: Some other farms pull their laying hens off the pasture and houses them in a confinement setting all winter and still calls the eggs pasture raised.

 On pasture based farms that do not use organic feed, approximately 70% of the chicken's diet is chemically produced grain (GMO). The chickens or eggs are not organically produced and it is not even close. Organic feed costs about twice as much as conventional feed. For us to get the same profit margins as these farmers we would have to charge you significantly higher prices.

Be alert to some of the following terms:

"Natural local feed" usually means chemically produced grain, possibly even genetically modified grain. (GMO)

"Grown without hormones or antibiotics" does not mean the grain is organic. The grain can still have pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

"Free range" means the chickens have access to the outside. It can also mean that a door is merely left open on a large confinement house to a dirt yard.

"Free roaming" means the chickens are packed together on the floor of a large dust and ammonia filled confinement house.

On some farms the land is certified organic but the chickens are fed feed with chemically produced grain because it is half the price. It is important that you are an educated consumer. Do not assume that chickens or eggs are organically fed, just because they are on pasture.

Any questions, Please email us at info@TurningRanch.com