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Free range chicken
Redefining higher standards for free range chicken
Carlow Free Range exceed the strict adherence to the free range poultry requirements laid out by the Department of Agriculture, by applying a set of additional standards which result in the production of a distinguished, unique and premium quality bird.
Without question, these principals go above and beyond other free range producers ensuring that Carlow Free Range is leading the way for a new standard of what it means to be free range.
Carlow Free Range have a stocking volume of 650 birds per house compared to between 20,000 – 40,000 birds for conventional poultry farms. The result is a much more relaxed stress free environment as the birds mature.
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Carlow Free Range stocks less than 4% of that of conventional poultry farms
1. Bird Management
The high frequency of human contact between the birds and an experienced dedicated member of staff is a key component of the Bird Management philisophy at Carlow Free Range.
2. Hands On Feeding
Unlike conventional methods where birds feed for days at a time without any human intervention, Carlow Free Range provides manual feeders, ensuring that feeding is supervised and regulated on a daily basis. Any perceived problems with the birds can be spotted early instilling a ‘prevention rather than cure philisophy’ in the growing cycle.
3. Stocking Volume
Carlow Free Range have a stocking volume averaging 1500 birds per house compared to between 20,000 – 40,000 birds for conventional poultry farms. The result is a much more relaxed stress free environment as the birds mature.
4. Growing Sheds
The sheds for growing the birds are moved to a new location on each rotation to ensure that the next flock of birds have a fresh new pasture area to graze on. This requirement is again unique to Carlow Free Range and the sheds have been custom designed to facilitate smooth and speedy relocation.
5. Controlled Bird Movement
The movement and transition from brooder shed to fattening shed is managed very carefully to ensure the birds are not exposed to outside influences which could impact the growing cycle. For this reason this function is performed with the direct management and supervision of the owners and only Carlow Free Range, in-house equipment is used in the process.
6. Fresh Air
Ensuring the correct combination of warmth, heat and natural air are critical in building natural immunity in the first couple of weeks of a birds life. Carlow Free Range custom built sheds with controlled vents provide the optimum mix of these elements, stimulating a natural open air environment, while mitigating against bacterial infection and boosting natural immune levels.
7. Custom Feed
Carlow Free Range poultry is reared using an exclusive formula feed specifically created for Carlow Free Range based on the unique feed requirements given by Bertram and his team. The feed is a composition of wheat, maize and prairie meal.