Beyond Pastured Poultry: Free Range Slow-Growing Poulet Rouge Chickens
We're sick and tired of industrial food producers mincing words. By now we all know that supermarket "organic, free-range" chickens never see the light of day and live short-miserable lives crammed with 30,000 other chickens. Chickens are beautiful creatures that deserve to live a life consistent with what nature ;)
Poulet Rouge Chickenintended. They love dust baths, being free to roam where they please, hunting insects, roosting, having social relationships and eating lots of grass. They get all of this every day of their relatively long life at Nature's Harmony Farm.
Slow-Growing Breeds
We're committed to using slow-growing, rare and flavorful species everywhere on Nature's Harmony Farm, and chickens are no exception. Each broiler, or, young meat chicken, begins it's life hatching on our farm and not in some distant hatchery. After a few weeks in a warm brood house, they join their companions on pasture where they live until about 14 weeks of age. This is twice as long as industrial meat birds, and about twice as long as pasture based farmers that confine industrial breeds like Cornish Cross chickens (Cornish X) to chicken tractors. Of course, giving this amount of freedom makes our chores more challenging and feeding for 14 weeks costs more, but we think the taste is worth it. And we know the bird's life is!
We've developed a style of chicken that we call the Poulet Rouge at Nature's Harmony Farm. The following applies to how all our Poulet Rouge Chickens are raised:
- Birds spend entire lives only at Nature's Harmony Farm;
- Other than first 3 weeks in a warm brood house, birds spend entire lives FREE RANGING on pasture and not confined to small chicken tractors;
- Slow growth heritage breeds;
- No antibiotics ever used;
- No hormones or growth stimulants;
- In addition to insects and forage, they are fed an all-grain diet with no animal by-products; and,
- All are processed on farm.
Label Rouge is a production method in France based on an approved specification that is respectful of animal welfare and protects the environment. Label Rouge traditional poultry tastes better than standard poultry. In France, flavor experts and consumer panels check its superior organoleptic properties every year in blind taste testing sessions. While no U.S. farm (including Nature's Harmony) can operate under the French Label Rouge program, we support the protocol and mimic as many as we can on our farm.
After discovering the older poultry breeds and the Label Rouge program, we wanted to reproduce the same products for our customers. The bird we selected, based on the naked necks in France, is regarded by many as having the best culinary qualities in the Label Rouge program. This bird has a very distinctive taste, a thin, translucent skin, an elongated breast with few feather follicles, a firm texture, and long legs.
Label Rouge Method vs. Supermarket Chicken
There are five main principles on which the Label Rouge protocol is based:
- Hardy breeds, selected for their slow growth, their excellent meat and the way they adapt to free-range breeding methods.
- Free-range or total freedom traditional poultry farming methods the birds are reared in little flocks and given plenty of space, grass and shade.
- 100% plant-based animal feeds,mainly cereals (70 to 75% minimum content depending on the breed), with extra protein supplements (peas, soybeans, etc.).
- The poultry is reared for a longer period (about twice as long as a standard fowl), which means that its meat is much firmer and tastier.
- Safer health and hygiene standards, systematic inspections at all stages of production.
We provide much more free-range pasture than is called for in the Label Rouge program. Our birds are never de-beaked, and live to a minimum of 90 days before processing. The finished weights average 3 to 3 1/2 pounds.
We think you'll taste the difference, but most importantly, the model is sustainable and local. Try one for yourself!
