The Happy Meal

Okay, at first glance the title may seem a bit insensitive. But, in actuality, it's not meant to be callous or cute at all. It's really quite accurate. We raise our own meat chickens for several reasons, but the greatest is because we have a great respect for all life, and we feel a great sense of responsibility for that which is in our charge, as well as what goes into our bodies.

It's not only important that our meat poultry is healthy, it is also important to us that the animal lived well and died humanely. From the time of their hatching, our chickens are raised with love and lots of care. Although we know from the start that they will be processed to feed us, we do not let that hinder us from giving them attention and great treatment. In fact, it encourages us that much more. These chickens are laying down their lives to sustain ours - how could we not give them the respect and appreciation that that act deserves?

Happy chickens? Absolutely! It is not unusual to see one of the kids sitting with the chickens, holding them, petting them and, yes, even singing to them. In fact, it is a daily occurance. Our chickens live a stress-free life. They are grown, raised, and dispatched all on the same property. They do not face the stress and fear endured with commercial poultry farm conditions or when waiting to be dispatched. The stress induced in those circumstances can actually result in several disease processes in the humans consuming the meat.

Because we have a deep respect for our food source, our meat, eggs, and dairy products come from pastured animals (with access to grass and bugs), supplemented by choice feed. Compared with commercially-raised poultry, our fresh and natural products offer more "good" fats, and