Our Farm Practices

Pasture Raised - We strongly believe that animals should be raised in as natural setting as possible and therefore we raise ours out on pasture. Not only does this provide for a healthier animal, but it also helps develop the soil, feeding the plants and wildlife in the process. Chickens instinctively want to forage for plants, insects and other nutritional food sources that are provided in nature. Raising them out on pasture not only provides better nutrition but it provides a better life. We raise our turkeys the same way, out in the fresh air and wonderful year-round sunshine we are fortunate to have here in Florida. Our pigs and cattle are also out on pasture which not only improves their life but also improves the soil. We try to follow the practices of Joel Salatin, one of the pioneers of modern, pastured farming techniques, through practices such as rotating pastures and moving chicken tractors daily to provide fresh grass to growing chickens.

Free Range Chickens - Mature adult chickens on Bad Dog Farm are allowed to free range, which on this farm literally gives them the opportunity to forage all over our property in total freedom. Free range foraging simply provides the chicken a more natural and nutritious diet than feed can provide alone in our opinion. As a result, our eggs have rich orange yolks that are packed with nutrition and flavor.

Premium non-GMO Feed - A healthy lifestyle begins with healthy food. At Bad Dog Farm, we believe that not only are you what you eat, but you are also what they eat, so it is important to know how a farm raises and feeds its animals. Our search for a high quality, non-GMO feed was very challenging requiring lots of reading, web searches, attending farm conferences and asking many questions. Finally, we found a feed company that had worked with poultry nutrition expert, Jeff Mattocks to formulate their feeds and we knew their feed would be right choice for our chickens. When we began using their feed for the first time, we were surprised at how quickly our chickens devoured it. They just loved it!

Attending the 2022 American Pastured Poultry Producers conference this past January, we intentionally sought out Jeff Mattocks who personally directed us to the feed we are using on our farm today.

We made the decision to transition to a premium quality, non-GMO, poultry feed because we believe this move truly aligns with our mission of providing exceptionally nutritious and delicious food for our customers and for our own family.