Our Chicken

What it means to Grow Pasture-Raised Poultry

 

First Days

Our chickens don’t start out on pasture.

At one day old, they are small, fluffy, and vulnerable.  They begin life featherless, in warm brooders, under heat lambs, protected from drafts, and close to food and water.

Once they replace their down with feathers, and the Alberta weather allows — usually by June — they move outside.

 

Predator Protection

Outside in Alberta means predators. 

Coyotes. Badgers. Weasels. Hawks. Owls. Skunks. Even the occasional roaming dog.  Everybody loves chicken. 

That's why chickens at Nature Gully Farm are protected by chicken tractors — sturdy shelters, half shaded, and half open wire. They can choose sun or shade. Wind or shelter. 

Some predators still “test” the chicken tractors.  So we add a level of security - electric fencing around the pasture. 

Protection matters. Outdoor chickens only work if they have protection. 

 

New Ground

The whole chicken tractor is on wheels, so we can move it every single day.  Their water, feed, and dust baths move with them as they rotate across pasture.

Fresh grass. New insects. Clean ground.

Like chickens were meant to do, they scratch, forage, dust bathe, stretch their wings, and spend their lives in natural light and fresh air — not inside a closed barn.

Protected — but not confined.
Managed for risk — but still living outdoors.

 

Their Food, Your Food

Chickens aren’t sheep though.  So on top of what they forage, they are fed a ration that is locally-grown, high quality, and fresh. It’s also:  

• Made with locally grown grains and pulses like peas, barley, wheat
• Supplemented with essential minerals
• No Glyphosate
• No soy
• no corn

That difference shows in how they grow.

And it shows on your plate.