Why Pastured Poultry?

I'm sure you're all wondering why it's worth spending double the cost of supermarket chicken for our pastured poultry from The Family Farm.  We encourage you to do your own research, but I'll highlight a few of the biggest reasons for you here, just to get you going...

1.  Health.  Chicken from the supermarket is raised on a grain ration almost entirely made of corn, which is high in energy but low in vitamins and minerals.  According to poultry expert Joel Salatin, "When animals are fed a high energy, low vitamin/mineral diet, they tend to have more saturated fat (cholesterol) in their meat, milk, or eggs, just like people.  When these same animals consume a large percentage of green material, the saturated fat of their animal protein diminishes."

2.  Organic.  We debated whether to give all organic feed or not, since organic feed is nearly double the cost.  In the end we decided to go all the way, both from a health standpoint and to make a deliberate point of supporting local organic farmers.  We will be getting our feed from a local farmer who has been certified organic for over 20 years.  [For pricing reasons, we would consider doing a separate batch sometime in the future that is not organic, but still raised on pasture.  If you would be interested in that, please leave a comment!]

*as a side note, we are not Certified Organic, nor are we seeking certification at this time.  We encourage you to come visit us, see how we raise our animals and get to know us.  We would much rather have our customers trust their farmers, not a government label...but that's another whole story!

3.  Humane animal treatment.  I'm sure you've all heard the stories about how poultry is raised on "factory farms"; overcrowded, reeking of ammonia from their urine, no windows, etc.  Our chickens will be outside in the fresh air all day, every day.  They will have fresh green grass every day and be able to peck at all the bugs, grubs, and worms their little chicken hearts desire.

4.  Local.  You can have the peace of mind of knowing who, where, and how your food was raised, and the satisfaction of supporting a business in your own community.  Our chickens are raised right here in Columbiaville from baby chick to broiler.  They are processed nearby at a local meat processor.  (In the next year or so we hope to begin processing our own as well!)

5.  Taste.  Pastured chicken just tastes different...more "chickenish"!  It's delicious!

Now that brings us to the final question...is it worth it?  For our family, the answer is yes.  We hope you'll give it a try...once you do, we're pretty sure you'll be hooked!

So, what's the main reason you want to try pastured poultry from The Family Farm?  It can be one of our reasons, or a reason of your own!  Leave a comment on this post and we'll randomly choose one winner to receive 10% off your first order!

The Name Game Giveaway Winner!

The winner is...Shawna!  Congratulations!  Thanks to everyone who entered!  Nobody guessed our farm's name, but you all had some great ideas.  I would have to give the "most creative" credit to Matt, who suggested "From the Ground Up".  Sorta like that one...

Since I'm sure you'll all wondering, the name of our farm is...

(drumroll please.............)

"The Family Farm"!

Simple and easy, and it doesn't limit us to a certain aspect of farming, like if we chose "Courser Meats" or something like that.  But best of all, I hope lots of conversations in the near future will go something like this:

"Wow, this chicken tastes amazing!  Where did you get it?"

"At the family farm."

"Oh, I totally didn't know your family had a farm..."

"We don't!  It's the name of the place where we buy our meat.  They have such great products and they're really friendly.  They always welcome visitors, so you should check them out."

"Great!  I think we will!"

Catchy, isn't it?

We Have a Winner! ...and a new recipe!

Congratulations to Kim, winner of the first giveaway on Domestic Reformation!  Kim, please email me at domesticreformation@gmail.com to arrange details for delivery!

And for the rest of you...give yourself a little gift and mix up a batch of these scrumptious waffles:

Oh Boy! (healthy) Waffles


Whisk together:
2 1/4 cups milk (we use whole raw milk...)
1 stick melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 T. molasses

Stir in:

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder

Serve with butter and real maple syrup for a hearty, delicious breakfast!

Skin Care Giveaway from The Farmstead Apothecary!

Time for my first giveaway here at Domestic Reformation!  I really can't wait for you to try these products--they are simply the best skin care products I have used.  Jennifer at The Farmstead Apothecary is giving away a Lavender and Organic Evening Primrose Oil Moisturizer (my favorite!) and a Natural Lip Balm (your choice of scent).  Here's the description of her moisturizer:

Moisturize, hydrate and pamper your dry skin with this lovely face cream, one of our best sellers! 

Lavender is soothing for all skin types and has a wonderful, old fashioned, flowery-herbal aroma. The cold pressed, organic evening primrose oil adds a skin rejuvenating, anti-aging, healing quality to this amazing cream with it's high amounts of fatty acids. But, the best part is, of course, our goat's milk, full of skin softening lipids and exfoliating lactic acid.

This is a wonderful, light-weight moisturizer.  I've never been a big moisturizer fan because my skin tends to be oily and everything always felt so heavy on my face, but this cream is great.  Plus, it smells lovely!  My skin care routine now includes just washing my face with one of her goats' milk soaps and applying the moisturizer.  So simple, and it works.  I can't say enough good things about her products--I have loved everything I have tried.  I  routinely use her shampoo, bar soap, body lotion, and am about to try her Sun Drench Body Butter. Check out her shop on etsy for all her wonderful products!

Now for the giveaway details...here's how to enter.  Please leave a comment to this post for each entry so I can keep track of how many entries you have!  The winner will be randomly selected on Tuesday, August 16.

1.  Mandatory entry: follow my blog and leave a comment telling me you're following.
2.  Become a fan of The Farmstead Apothecary on facebook: The Farmstead Apothecary
3.  Share this giveaway on facebook.
4.  Share this giveaway on your own blog (worth 2 entries!)
5.  Follow Jennifer's blog at www.farmsteadorganics.blogspot.com
6.  Make a purchase from The Farmstead Apothecary on etsy (4 entries!) www.farmsteadorganics.etsy.com

Don't forget to leave a comment for each separate entry.  Otherwise it's going to be really hard to track how many entries you have!

*Disclaimer: I am not getting paid in any way for this review or giveaway, and the opinions expressed are completely my own.  I think for some kind of legal reason I have to tell you that.  Also, sorry mom, but the giveaway is not open to my immediate family.  But I'll gladly share my moisturizer with you if you ever want some:)