We’re big fans of British meat and we always try to promote independent farmers who use high welfare methods of rearing their animals.
We believe this is right from an ethical point of view, as well as being reflected in the quality of the end product.
We have recently introduced free-range Label Anglais English chickens to our online shop. They are very high welfare, slow-grown chickens that are reared not far from Stonehenge in Wiltshire.
Initially bred to provide a British equivalent to the high quality Label Rouge French poultry brand, Label Anglais chickens are a favourite with celebrity chefs and restaurant diners alike.
Our chicks are moved at 5 weeks of age from their brooding site, where they have been since one day old, to their free-range housing 5 miles away.
Here they live in smaller groups in wooden huts with free access to large grassy areas and banks, and vast outdoor space with shaded areas and dust bowls for scratching.
They are then reared until fully-grown, which is at 80 days old. This is much longer than standard supermarket birds, which live for around 35 days. Letting the chickens grow for longer not only gives them a happier, longer life, but it means the meat is fully developed naturally, and will be more flavoursome and firmer that a younger chicken would be.
The chickens' diet is based on cereals, and supplemented by protein from peas. Natural whole maize and oats from neighbouring farms are fed alongside the whole cereal feed diet, with whole apples introduced at 7 weeks to add enrichment.
Our Label Anglais free-range chickens are delivered into us at Smithfield Market every Wednesday, so if you order online we can deliver to you on Thursday or Friday.
Each chicken reaches you with their giblets in a sealed bag so you can use them to make stock or gravy, or feed to your cat if you prefer (they love them!).
Just don’t forget to remove the bag from inside the chicken before cooking.
For more information please see:
Label Anglais English Chickens
11th April 2018
