better for the bird is better for you!

When you think of questions about chickens most people would only have “Why did it cross the road?” or “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” come to mind. Which makes plenty of sense. Because with supermarkets and fast food restaurants being stocked full of factory farmed chickens that are raised far from the light of day to both save costs and hide the conditions they’re kept in, it’s easy to stop thinking about chickens entirely other than when you’re wondering which bucket to buy.

Here at Easter Compton though we ask a different question, “Where are these chickens and eggs coming from?" and more importantly “Are they any good?” and after a little bit of searching we found the answer, and in a twist of fate it turned out to be just across the road and down a bit!

We’ve always prized the quality of our products over everything else and since we know that quality of the product comes from the quality of life it had as an animal we’re committed to supporting our local organic and free range farmers in their efforts to raise them in the most ethical and humane way possible.

Which is why we’d like to tell you about our primary poultry provider (Try saying that five times fast!) Castlemead Poultry; where their chicken are looked after by a dedicated and lovely team, who go to great lengths to provide the absolute best welfare standards possible.

With clean bedding and food readily available their chickens are free to roam all day and are fed only locally grown organic grains and what they forage for themselves in the fields, ensuring they grow at a natural pace without any growth hormones and have time to develop the brilliant flavour and texture of a natural bird. In fact, the only time they ever have to be inside is in their own houses, when they want to. To stay warm and dry in the cold, or bedding down for the night to keep safe and unstressed by hungry foxes.

Of course, we can’t always get enough chickens from the one supplier to meet demand, however you can rest assured that all of our secondary providers are just as dedicated to animal welfare and product quality, but they may sometimes come from fields that are slightly further afield. Still as local as possible! But a little bit more time on the road to account for.

So please bear in mind next time you’re shopping; that by buying local free range produce you’re not only lowing your carbon footprint, supporting small businesses ran by passionate people, and helping to support ethical farming all in one fowl coop- I mean fell swoop.