Gourmet Chickens
European Style, Slow Growing Broilers
Virtually every chicken sold in a supermarket is of the same breed: the cornish cross. It was developed by industrial agriculture and is ideal for their (not your) purposes: it can be raised very quickly (in as little as 5 weeks), is docile, and eats almost continually. It also has a very short life, can barely stand up when fully grown, and is prone to heart attacks. Add to all this that it is typically raised indoors and never has access to grass and sunshine and you have all the makings of a remarkably bland bird.
In France and Italy, the best chickens are bred for maximum flavor. They raise their finest chickens outside with plenty of sunshine and pasture. And they use breeds that grow at a more natural rate, allowing up to twice the amount of time on pasture for the birds to reach maket size. As a result, these birds are active foragers with strong legs and good health. The more natural rate of growth coupled with continuous access to pasture and sunshine produce a bird with unparalled flavor. If you have never tried a true, slow-growing chicken, then you are in for a special treat. Chicken with flavor!
We grow two types of European birds, one Italian and one French. Both types are true, slow growing broilers that are raised for ~12 weeks to reach market size:
Pollo Lento: "Pollo lento" is Italian for "slow chicken". These birds come from Italian stock that have been bred for life on open pasture. A wonderfully delicious bird.
Le Poulet Noir: Also known as a Gourmet Black, these birds are from breeding stock imported from Burgandy and Brittany and were developed to meet the high standards of the French Label Rouge label.
All our birds are raised on chemical-free pastures and provided 24 hr access to pasture and sunshine once they leave the brooder (~3 weeks of age). We do not vaccinate our birds nor do we use any antibiotics, added hormones, or medicated feed. In addition to pasture, we supplement their diet with non-GMO feed that is raised without pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers.