Local Sources of Free-Range Chicken
Added on June 17, 2010
Finally! We get requests all the time for sources of free-range chicken, and we haven't had a lot of info to share. Here are a couple of sources that we have located recently that may interest you if you are looking for a better source of chicken! (Note: Both operations offer farm-gate sales only, and orders must be placed in advance for whole birds...but the bonus is you get to see where your chicken is coming from when you pick up your order!)
1) We grow local organic "pastured" poultry. That means chicks are out in the sunshine, eating bugs and plants from two weeks old. The field is planted with a mix of seed screenings( flax, spelt etc) from Fieldstone Granary http://www.fieldstonegranary.ca up in Armstrong which is certified organic. Happy chickens, living the way nature intended. Price $4.25/lb for whole bird. $4.00/lb for utility. Our next batch will be ready during the last week of July. Peggy Thompson, Okanagan Poultry Processing, 3150 Balldock Rd, Kelowna, 778-477-4004.
2) Okanagan Grown Free Range Poultry. My chickens are hatched locally, and raised for 9 weeks. They are never treated with any kind of hormone (and no medicated chick starter is used). They are fed a vegetarian essential poultry feed as well as Hen Scratch which consists of corn and wheat. The farm is situated on four acres on June Springs Rd in South East Kelowna. I follow the Free Range On-Farm Food Safety Program or OFFSAP. I have contacted Certified Organic Association, and have a source for Certified Organic free range feed. Lean chicken meat available June 15th, $3.75/pound. Contact: David Scherle, (250) 258-7818.