There are many benefits to raising chickens on pasture, as well as other benefits for the end user who eats pasture raised meat.

Whatever your reasons for making the switch from factory-farmed chicken to pasture-raised, you’re doing yourself, the environment, and the animals a great service by doing so. There are many benefits of pasture raised chicken.

At Hidden Holly Farm, we care about the life of the chicken, the environment, and the health of our consumers. Pastured poultry is better for the chicken, environment, and the consumer. Hidden Holly Farm chickens are happy chickens. 

Pastured chicken is sustainable and ultimately better for the environment. Raising chickens on pasture has been going on for thousands of years. So, raising animals on pasture is nothing new. The chickens benefit from grazing the land foraging for natural nutrients and the land benefits from the chicken’s effect on the pasture. The birds are healthier as they supplement their diet from grasses and bugs; at the same time soil health is improved. The chickens are moved across the pasture, so they have fresh grasses, sunshine, natural breezes, and bugs to snack on each day and the chicken droppings are naturally spread across the pasture to nourish the grass. There is less chance of chicken illness, and the chickens are cleaner due to being moved to fresh pasture daily.

Hidden Holly farm pasture raised chickens are fed a primary diet of natural feed, supplemented by an instinctive diet rich in insects, worms, legumes, grasses, and seeds found naturally while foraging. The resulting meat is higher in vitamins, nutrients, and essential fatty acids due to the varied diet that the chickens are exposed to during their lifetime. 

Pastured raised chicken is a more nourishing meat than factory farm raised chicken. 

• Chicken meat contains 50% more vitamin A, which supports your immune system, vision, and more, than conventionally factory farm raised chicken.

• Chicken eggs contain 3-6 times more vitamin D, which helps build strong bones.

• Chicken meat has significantly less fat overall, around 30% less saturated fat!

• Chicken meat and eggs have significantly higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids, which serve as a source of energy for your body as building blocks for cell membranes

• There is much less chance of food borne illness since the chickens are much cleaner and healthier

• Chickens don’t contain antibiotic resistant bacteria since the birds aren’t medicated

• Pasture-raised chicken meat tends to be higher in iron, higher in Omega 3, have a lower Omega 6:3 ratio, and be higher in antioxidants (Vitamin E, for example). Pasture-raised eggs have higher Omega 3s, a lower Omega 6:3 ratio, increased vitamin D, and more antioxidants.

A healthier diet is just one benefit of being raised on pasture. It doesn’t take an experienced farmer to guess that a chicken who outdoors with access to sunlight, fresh water, and a pasture to graze on is going to be healthier and happier than one confined to a dark, crowded, dirty space.