So it turns out that when you raise meat well - encouraging a bird to be a bird, the animals are healthier, their meat is more nutritious and flavour richer, and the land they grow on flourishes.

At CloverCroft Farm, our chickens are pastured all their lives (except the hens in winter).  Through the spring, summer and fall they enjoy new turf every day, they run amok in open air enclosures that are secure from predators. Scratching about, eating bugs and clover: diversifying their diet better than a simple grain ration alone ever could, creating chickens free to act like chickens, nutrient rich and healthy. Their movement through the farm contributes fertility to the next years' vegetables crops, as the birds clean up any bugs and weeds left over from the vegetables of year before.  A CloverCroft Chicken is a flavour experience rare in today’s marketplace. See the bottom of this page for more information about the chicken feed.

Whole Birds:  They finish at an average of 3.5-4.5 lbs, enough for a great roasting bird with some leftovers, and a soup/stock as well. 

In Pieces: Boneless skinless breasts (in packs of 2), bone-in Thighs (4 per pack), bone-in Drumsticks (4 per pack), Wings (1lb packs with 8-10 pieces), Ground Chicken (1lb packs), and Honey-Garlic Chicken Sausages.

Chicken Bone Broth: Packed with nutrients and flavour, bone broth is an amazing boost for digestion, skin, and immune system. 1L bottles pressure canned and so are shelf-stable until opened

Stocking up: We offer a 10% discount on orders of $400 or more.

Where to buy? Make an order in the online store that can be picked up at the farm on Thursdays or Tuesdays in Toronto. (Trinity Bellwoods, Cabbagetown, or Islington Village). November to May pick-ups are every other week. May to October, every week.

Chicken Shares: During the Summer and Fall CSA season, save with a CSA Chicken Share: a whole chicken share (5 chickens over 5 months) is $130 (Save $20 over market price), and/or a chicken pieces share $205 (save $25 over market prices). Click the button below to sign up.

FROM THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

Lamb

Nearby to CloverCroft, Tricia Nunan is rising some wonderful lamb ecologically and organically.

Available as whole lamb or half. Cost is $7.50/lb whole, and $8.50/lb + processing costs

Available late mid September to late October

Farmer Ryan can arrange delivery to Toronto pickup locations.

About the Chicken Feed:

Even though these birds are out on clover pasture, they need grains.  There are not enough nutrients in grass and clover alone for them to properly grow (just like we couldn't survive on a diet of only lettuce).

As a farmer I have three choices for buying chicken feed: (a) conventional, (b) non-genetically modified and (c) organic.  Conventional means a mixture of genetically modified grains (mainly corn soy and barley) that have been grown using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.  Non-GMO means that all of the grains in the feed are not genetically modified but that they are still grown using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.  Certified organic means that the farmer and the feed mill have been inspected and that the non-GMO grains are free from synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.

Non-GMO feed costs about 50% more than conventional. Certified organic feed costs 2.5x more expensive than conventional. For a year we tried separate flocks raised with an Organic Feed or a Non-GMO Feed, and let the marketplace decide which they prefer.  The result was overwhelmingly in favour of growing a fully organic product (which makes me quite happy).  

Regardless of their grain ration, our birds live on lush pasture the entire lives.  They soak up the sun, they eat clover and bugs and run amok.  This works to diversify their diet from just grains, and results in a finished product more flavourful, and much higher in nutrients than any grocery-store chicken can lay claim to.