Our Process

Washoe Valley, Nevada. 

PASTURED POULTRY

This organic and wild-fed pasture-raised bird takes twice as long to raise as the chicken that you buy at the grocery store, giving the meat rich, savory flavor. At 3 weeks of age the birds are put out on pasture in mobile coops, and are moved every day to fresh grass. These birds are allowed to express their "chickeness", with fresh air, fresh pasture, water, sunlight, and a varied diet. Their diet, including organic grains of wheat, oats, barley, pea and sesame (no-corn and no-soy), as well as wild-caught fish meal, wild kelp and fresh forage boosts their immune systems and nutrient absorption. They are humanely butchered and processed by hand on farm under the USDA small poultry processor exemption. 

 

Why we do what we do?

TASTE

Our small flock strategy focuses on quality over quantity. Everything we do takes longer and is more expensive than the producer of the chicken you buy from the grocery store. We go through the effort of putting your food outside, which is a tall order here in Northern Nevada. And why go through all this trouble? Because you can taste the difference.

ANIMAL WELFARE

Chickens are allowed to express their "chickeness" with fresh plants to nibble on and dirt and grit to bathe and feed their gizzard (organ which helps grind their food). They spend their whole life on ranch and the vast majority outside on pasture with fresh air and sunshine without the need for antibiotics or pharmaceuticals. Chickens are given the respect and dignity that all of God's creation deserves. 

SAFETY

Standard grocery store chicken is cooled in chlorine water. This chlorine water seeps into the chicken and accounts for up to 10% of the weight.  At Red Stable Ranch we harvest all of our chickens ourselves on farm without the need for chlorine baths. All our chicken is immediately parted out and vacuum sealed and then air cooled to ensure that all your chicken is in fact chicken. Our management practices prevent contamination from toxins (insecticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, heavy metals), and only USDA Organic (wheat, peas, oats, barley, sesame) or wild (fish meal, kelp) feeds are used.

NUTRITION

Eating more fresh meat and fruits and vegetables is increasingly seen as the foundation which any healthy life is built on, for which I wholeheartedly agree! But what is frustrating is the increasing loss in nutritional integrity of traditionally "natural" products. We rightly view a fresh tomato as having more nutrition than sauce and grilled chicken as more nutritionally balanced than fried chicken. But today's tomatoes and chickens are not those of your grandmother. We are seeing more and more studies indicating that most fruits and vegetables (as well as grain-fed meats) don't have the traditional concentrations of micronutrients, which have negative consequences for health and optimal wellness. One of the reasons that we are chronically sick as a people is because our diets (even if they have fresh vegetables and meats) are lacking micronutrients.  By raising our chickens outside with access to a variety of fresh forage as well as a diet rich in micronutrients (fish meal and kelp) we aim to increase micronutrients in the meat (omega-3, vitamin D, vitamin B12, potassium, magnesium, folic acid). We are working to get our meat tested by a university comparing it to standard production meat to verify the difference. 

GOOD NEIGHBOR

externalities of feed

We choose a no-corn and no-soy USDA organic feed because of the farming practices of those primary feed crops (wheat, peas, oats, barley and sesame are substituted). Corn and soy, especially organic, have some of the highest inputs necessary, meaning more energy and resources need to be used to produce a similar amount of nutrition. Furthermore, the phytoestrogens in soybeans (the protein feed of every single poultry producer I have seen) may be passed through the animal into the meat and serve as endocrine disruptors, leading to lower testosterone in men. 

regenerating insect populations

At Red Stable Ranch we don't use insecticides, herbicides, biocides, or any "cide" of any kind. We like bugs, they are food for our birds. One of the main external goals of raising poultry in Washoe Valley is to increase riparian and insect population densities and diversities. 

regenerating small water cycle 

We now know that even more than temperature concerns from increased levels of carbon dioxide, the disruption of the small water cycle by the development of land into non-green spaces can make weather patterns more extreme and less predictable.  Traditional agriculture, or wild ecology, seeks to maximize green plant cover year round. This means that there are covered soils, and green growing plants that are "transpiring" which means exhaling water vapor through their stomata. This occurs most heavily right before dawn, and is the reason why green healthy grass has a "dew" on it in the morning. The more green coverage of our landscapes the more humidity that gets pumped into the atmosphere which regulates temperature and makes rain less concentrated and more frequent. Conversely, industrial farming methods, whether Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) or tillage based row crops leads to significant periods of time of their year where the soil is exposed and transpiration is not allowed to take place. The chickens increase soil biology and our management practices encourage plant cover year round, playing a small role in helping to stabilize local climate and precipitation. 

 

What is different about buying chicken from Red Stable Ranch?

SEASONAL PRODUCTION

Unlike on-demand supermarkets that give you fresh peaches in March (usually by importing them from the southern hemisphere), raising chickens on the land requires that you bend to Mother Nature's demands.  We start our chickens indoors before the last freeze (just like your tomatoes in the garden), and then by the middle of April they are robust enough to withstand an occasional frost. Our first batch is ready by June, and our last batch sometime before Thanksgiving. Whenever our production schedule allows we offer fresh poultry once a month from June-November and frozen poultry at all other times. 

LOCAL and DIRECT DISTRIBUTION

We are proud to be locals to Northern Nevada and this is our home. We want to optimize local economies, local ecosystems and local nutrition, and this is why we choose to distribute directly, ensuring all of the dollars stay local, and large supermarket chains do not export a majority of the value that we create.  We personally deliver to our red Red Stable Ranch coolers at pickup locations and dates listed on the product page.