• A grassy field with a row of shooting targets in the distance, fog near the ground, trees in the background, and a partly cloudy sky at sunrise or sunset.
  • A barred rock hen laying eggs inside an egg storage box, with one egg partially out of the box, and the hen looking at the eggs.
  • A group of chickens pecking at the grass in a field.
  • Inside a greenhouse with numerous chickens and ducks around automated feeders, on a dirt floor with a plastic covering overhead.

Bane Farm Eggs and Poultry

When observing natural systems, you will see that animals and vegetation are not separated — they are part of a codependent cycle.

At Bane Farm, we think farms should reflect natural systems and not become too narrowly focused. The poultry industry is an example of extremely narrow focus. Meat and egg chickens are raised in highly centralized industrial sized chicken houses where toxins in their manure end up in the air and water as a result of the massive numbers of birds all concentrated in the same place. These toxins have to be combated with antibiotics, poisons, and harsh chemicals which then creates more environmental and health problems. In addition, workers in these facilities are typically low wage and subject to repetitive stress injuries.

In trying to follow natural systems as much as possible Bane Farm uses the Salatin pasturing system for our chickens and turkeys. They are out on pasture as long as the grass is growing and moved to a new patch of grass daily, mimicking how a wild flock would move in search of food. This is slightly  different from a purely “free range” system. If the birds are truly "free range" they have no fences and tend to hang around their food source and shelter, which is often fixed. Unless the food and shelter are also moved the birds will end up denuding the area around their shelter pretty quickly, and this does happen in many free range operations.

True pasture raised birds live in portable shelters that are moved frequently. This is important because most of the nutrients they need to produce healthy eggs and meat come from the plants, insects and worms that they eat. Only if they are moved frequently, on pasture, will they get this nutritional benefit — and the benefit is dramatic. Chickens are not vegetarians, they are omnivores. Giving them access to their natural diet in sunshine and fresh air on grass makes a huge difference!

USDA certified labels saying your eggs and meat are pasture raised only requires that the birds have access to pasture. That could be a small patch of barren ground outside a huge chicken barn. Industrial growers have successfully lobbied rule makers at the USDA to loosen pasture raised labeling requirements, so the official certified labels you see on your eggs such as "pasture raised", "free range" (and even “organic”) can be deceiving. 

Your best bet is to buy your meat and eggs from a local trusted source (like Bane Farm) so you know exactly how they were raised!