MOVIN' THE SCHOONER

       Here at Back to Nature Farms, we receive our chicks when they are just 24 hours old and arrive in vented cardboard crate boxes. The next few days are critical to keeping the new baby chicks healthy and off to a great start. That way, they grow well without issues. The new chicks will stay in the brooder for 3 weeks until they are large enough to regulate their own body temperature. The brooder is kept at 95°F with heat lamps for the first few days. Over the next few weeks, the temperature will be lowered until they are acclimated to the outside environment. We transport them outside once they are feathered enough to withstand the outside environment. 

       Once outside, they will then live the next number of weeks in what we call a schooner or chicken tractor. This is a protective home that looks much like a greenhouse, but it sits on a metal frame and can be moved every single morning. They are allowed to explore a new world of pasture grasses and legumes every single day. Raising them on pasture gives them the opportunity to use their natural instincts to scratch, peck, and eat crickets, grasshoppers, and other bugs and insects. They have full access to fresh water and are fed a high-protein, organic feed at all times. 

       Our chickens are so eager and ready to move every morning and look forward to their insect buffet. Our schooner is covered with a tarp, so the chickens are shaded at all times. If they desire sun, they can move to the ends or sides where the tarp does not cover. They really have an easy and relaxing life. They are also moved daily, so they aren't standing in their own feces for any length of time. Would we be healthy if we stood in our own feces like some chickens do and were not allowed to roam freely? We sure wouldn't. Those caged chickens that sit in their dirty space are not as healthy as our pastured chickens.

       We are proud of the way we raise them and love to educate and tell others about what we do to keep these chickens living their best lives. The life of a Back to Nature Farms chicken is worry-free and stress-free, which makes our chickens very happy, very healthy, and very nutritious, and in return, it will taste great and improve your health.