Certified animal welfare approved pasture-raised chicken

We raise Freedom Ranger meat chickens from the Freedom Ranger Hatchery. These chickens are hearty, active, and excellent foragers. The chicks are mailed to the farm when they are 1 day old and spend a few weeks in our indoor brooder where they have heat, plenty of space ro run around, and outdoor access on nice days. When they have enough feathers and they're big enough, they move onto pasture where we provide them with moveable shelters and protection from predators in the form of our guardian dogs and electric net fencing. The chickens are not closed into their shelters; the shelters do not have sides and the chickens are free to come and go as they wish. This is why we say we raise them under “open sky,” rather than always keeping them in their shelters. The chickens are processed between 10 and 12 weeks right here on our farm in our state licensed poultry processing facility, one of only two of its kind in the state of Montana.

In addition to the plants, insects, and whatever else they forage on our pastures, the birds are fed a mix of barley, peas, wheat, sunflower seeds, and camelina, all grown in Montana and most by Highland Harmony Farm. Our feed is free of corn, soy, and GMOs and also has an organic poultry mineral, enzymes and amino acids, & organic, sustainably harvested, animal welfare approved fish meal for added protein. The way we raise our chickens means a TON more work, but we can't imagine doing it another way. The result is chicken you can feel good about eating: birds raised slow & well and a product with tons and tons of flavor — the way chicken was meant to taste!

In 2022, our meat chickens became Certified Animal Welfare Approved. Certified Animal Welfare Approved is an independent, non-profit farm certification program and is the only label that guarantees animals are raised outdoors on pasture or range for their entire lives on an independent farm using sustainable, high-welfare farming practices. We are very excited and honored to have this certification. The standards for meat chickens are very strict and include every aspect of our meat chickens’ lives, from where we source them, how they are transported to the farm, what we feed them, how they are housed, and how they are slaughtered. Read more about AWA by clicking here.

HOW TO PURCHASE

Whole chickens are available individually for $8.50/pound. We also offer a CSA-style option which allows you to pre-purchase 50 or 100 pounds of chicken at a discount and pick it up one (or two or three or four...) chicken at a time throughout the season. Finally, we offer cuts (breasts, thighs, wings, drumsticks) in individual packages or as part of a Chicken Variety Box - which saves you some money.

COOKING RECOMMENDATIONS

Pasture-raised heritage breed chickens are much different from conventional, fast growing chickens you find in the supermarket and require a bit of attention when cooking. They naturally have a bit more “texture” and darker dark meat than conventional chickens but cooked properly, yield a juicy chicken full of flavor. Here are our recommendations:

• You do not want to “slow roast” these birds. You want high temperature (375-400F in the oven or grill) for a short amount of time. A 4# bird will cook in 45-60 minutes.
• For a simple roast or grilled whole chicken, we recommend the Spatchcock or Butterfly method. This ensures even cooking and an entirely crispy skin. We put plenty of butter under the skin (you can also add herbs). Here is a link to a very simple recipe. Do not be overwhelmed by cutting out the backbone - it is quite easy once you’ve done it! SPATCHCOCK CHICKEN RECIPE — note the recipe recommends cooking at 500F. We are not that adventurous and generally do 400F.
• Other ways to cook include slow cooking in a crockpot or pressure cooking. I put a whole frozen chicken in the InstantPot for 90 minutes and am left with fall-off-the-bone shredded chicken that I can then add to enchiladas, curries, BBQ sauce, stir fries, or other saucy dishes. You can also pop your chicken in the slow cooker in the morning. If it is too big, consider piecing it beforehand. Many recipes that call for chicken breasts or thighs can use a whole chicken in this way.
• You can cut up a whole chicken into individual pieces (find a YouTube video if you’ve never done it before) and roast with vegetables or marinate in BBQ sauce for the grill.
• Another popular method for cooking our chickens is doing a beer can chicken on the grill or cooking in a dutch oven on the stove or in the oven.