ABOUT US

While some brands may only meet the minimum for what is required to describe their chickens as “free-range”, we believe that free-range should mean exactly what it implies. So, we give our chickens open space to freely move about pecking the ground, taking dust baths, exploring the grass or simply soaking up the sunshine – doing the natural things birds do.

Our outdoor spaces are at least half the size of the poultry house, and typically as big as the barn itself. When the weather is just right, you’ll see most of the birds outside. To encourage them to venture out, we have sunshades to ease the transition from barn to outdoors (chickens are very sensitive to light), feed and water both inside and outside of the house, and roosts and other enrichments.

Our houses are spacious, with room for birds to move about and exhibit normal behaviours in a low-stress environment open to fresh air.

In the evening we allow our birds inside to roost in the house, where they are warm, dry and safe from predators. We also wait to let a flock outside until they’re fully feathered and protected from the elements, which is at about four weeks of age.

Antibiotics in poultry production have become increasingly concerning as of its after-effects, we have chosen to remove all antibiotics from our poultry raising practices. So, when you buy one of our chickens, you can be assured it was raised without Antibiotics.

We put our effort into building up the bird’s own defense system with a balanced diet, clean environment and the holistic use of nature’s own medicines, such as organic enzymes and probiotics, the natural disease-fighting powers of herbs, and the benefits of fresh air and sunshine.

However, if a flock does become ill, our commitment to the welfare of those birds requires us to treat them appropriately. If our vet prescribes antibiotics as a last resort, then that chicken is given antibiotics and once the prescribed time for medication is over, we ensure that the chicken its given the appropriate time to flush the antibiotics flushed out of its system. The bird is slaughtered only after we’re sure that there would be no trace of Antibiotics left in its system.

Our chickens are raised in a pasture-centred environment. As soon as they can comfortably and safely be out of doors (about four weeks of age), they have unlimited, 24-hour access to pasture areas. The pastures are fenced and covered with netting to protect the birds from predators, and we have elevated outdoor roosting areas, and outside feeders and drinkers. We rotate the pastures so that the chickens have access to grassy areas. Since these birds are outside day and night, we use a heritage breed that is hardier than the typical broiler chicken.

At Countryside Organics, we vow to get your food as natural and healthy as possible and that’s why we raise our chicken free of added hormones. This means the farm chicken are allowed to grow through their natural course without injection of growth Hormones to add weight to them. Eat real, be real!