What Our Customers Are Saying About Creekside Chicken and Eggs....
Our chicks are hatched in the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. The breeding stock of our hatchery originated in France, and current genetics were derived from the American and European old heritage breed of chicken developed in the early 1960s to meet the highest standards of the French Label Rouge Free Range program. This is the same genetic stock used today by most nonfactory farm production models all across Europe.
They are shipped Priority Mail and arrive on our farm when they are 3 days old. They are immediately placed in an open floored coop under heat lights with freedom to roam and explore in the grass.
Once the chicks have matured to a size where they are no longer vulnerable to predators from above (hawks and crows), the doors to the coop are opened each morning to allow the birds to come and go as they please to their food and water source within the coop. As soon as the sun begins to set, the chickens return to the safety of the coop to settle in for the night.
Our broilers are a slower growing breed and excel in a free-range environment with continual access to sunlight, fresh air and growing pasture. In addition to their whole grain diet (containing no GMO corn or soybeans), they love free-range foraging in our pastures and snacking on insects, tender blades of grass, dandelion petals and clover blossoms. We move our open-floored coops through the pasture to guarantee a clean and healthy environment.
Natural light cycles, plentiful forage and exercise ensure robust and tasty birds. The taste of the meat is richer and deeper than other breeds with a succulent flavor and texture - far exceeding typical mass produced meat from birds in confinement. Allowing chickens to do what comes naturally provides an incredible meal for your table.
Another healthy and tasty benefit of Creekside chicken is that we do the processing right here on our farm - thereby eliminating any transportation stress for the birds. When an animal is stressed, certain hormones are released into the bloodstream that alter the pH and result in inappropriate levels of lactic acid. Our ability to process on-site keeps our meat free of those hormones and keeps the pH at optimum levels which enhances the taste and quality of the meat. You won’t find chicken like this in any grocery store!
The body shape of our chicken is more elongated than the conventional compact chicken found in grocery stores with a slightly smaller breast. Processed chickens will stay fresh for 10 days with a refrigerator temperature below 40 degrees (we recommend 36 degrees).
We utilize scalding and plucking equipment that has been specially designed for fast and efficient processing on site. The processed chickens are weighed on a Torrey digital scale, bagged in Ziploc freezer bags and immediately placed in refrigeration.
PLEASE NOTE: Our reservations for 2011 processing are full. We must order several dozen birds above our reservations to make sure we have the proper number of birds at the time of processing. We, therefore, do compile a waiting list if there are any extra birds available at the time of processing. Please let us know if you are interested in being placed on the list.
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Planning ahead for 2012: Our reservation process will be similar to the dates listed below.
May 1: Preorder deadline. This will allow us to get a tentative idea of the number of birds that will be needed for the year. You may adjust this number prior to May 15 if needed.
May 15: Deadline for deposit of $5 per chicken.
August 12: Chicks arrive from hatchery.
October 5-14 (Tentative): Chickens will be processed and ready for pickup. Exact dates will confirmed in late September.
Whole chicken $3.65 / pound
(Weight ranges from 3.5 to 5.5 pounds)
Chicken livers $3.65 / pound
Chicken feet $3.65 / pound
(Click here to email your reservation)
Creekside Chicken Eggs
The natural instincts and behaviors of chickens have been preserved in our choice of the Golden Comet breed combined with our free-range, pastured practices. These girls spend their days free ranging outside in natural sunlight and fresh air, scratching and dust bathing. Their portable eggmobile contains their food and water source as well as the nesting boxes. They lay beautiful extra large to jumbo eggs dense with nutrients surrounded by a strong deep brown shell.
Eggs are collected twice daily and with refrigeration will easily stay fresh for 30-40 days.
We weigh and sort our eggs according to the USDA weight classification guidelines and use egg cartons made of recycled material. Size tells you the minimum net weight per dozen of eggs. It does not refer to the dimensions of an egg or how big it looks. While some eggs in the carton may look slightly larger or smaller than the rest, it is the total weight of the entire dozen that categorizes it as follows:
Jumbo 1 pound, 14 ounces
Extra Large 1 pound, 11 ounces
Large 1 pound, 8 ounces
We sell only clean eggs but do not wash them so as to preserve the natural protective coating that is present on eggs to prevent bacteria from entering through the shell. You may choose to wash the eggs immediately before using them. Occasionally there will be a red speck in the egg. This is completely normal and does not affect the quality of the egg.
Helpful Hint: Boiled fresh eggs do not peel well. Set aside the eggs you intend to boil for 7-12 days, and when boiled these will peel much more easily.
You can taste and see the difference in a fresh egg from our free-ranging chickens. Most of the eggs currently sold in supermarkets are nutritionally inferior to eggs produced by hens raised on pasture (see 2007 Mother Earth News egg testing project).
Compared to commercial eggs, eggs from hens raised on pasture generally contain:
1/3 less cholesterol
1/4 less saturated fat
2/3 more vitamin A
2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
Large to XL Eggs $4.00 / Dozen
(Click here to email your order)
Creekside Duck Eggs
You won’t believe the difference that our beautifully rich Khaki Campbell duck eggs will make in your baked goods - light, fluffy and so delicious. Our ducks are raised on open pasture just like our chickens and do a wonderful job of foraging on bugs and grasses. Their diet is supplemented with a specially developed ration of whole grains, sunflower seeds and Canadian peas that contains no GMO corn or soybeans.
Price is $6.00 / Dozen
