Are your flocks pasture raised?

Our breeding flocks are raised indoor birds for reasons of biosecurity. Large hatcheries and serious breeders are more or less required to raise their birds indoors, since one of the main vectors for a lot of avian diseases is contact with wild birds. Hatcheries and breeders must be able to show by testing that their birds are free of these diseases (so sick or diseased chicks aren't sent all across the country!).

 

However, these aren't factory farm conditions like you see in the meat or egg industry with each bird being allocated a tiny cage that they can't even stretch their wings in. Their areas are spacious by commercial standards. The breeding flocks are not bedded on wire, but on regular shavings like you do at home, and are fed out of the same type of feeders you might use at home. They have private nest boxes to lay in, and so on.

Even though our breeding flocks are kept biosecure, all our personal flocks have access to pasture. That is, the flocks belonging to our employees are regular backyard flocks. Some employees have small flocks of 20 -30 ranging on fenceless acres in the country, while others have microflocks of just a few hens enclosed in tidy runs in suburban backyards. We're proud and slightly mortified to say that we tend to spoil our pet chickens pretty shamelessly. Don't blame us! Our employees get a discount on all the treats and toys. What are we going to do, NOT spoil them?