All Chickens are NOT the same. The typical grocery store chicken (ie. Cornish Cross) is NOT a Heritage breed. It is simply a Frankenstein Chicken.
It was created to bulk up quickly (42 days from start to finish!), so Big Business could do the least amount of work and obtain the greatest profit.
And buying that same Cornish Cross from a small family farm isn’t any healthier for you, as it produces the same unnatural chicken without the health benefits. Plus, those farmers still support Big Business, because they have to buy those chicks (these birds are incapable of living long enough to breed themselves).
HEART ISSUES
Since these Frank-en-Chickens are bred to grow super fast, the chicken’s muscles actually outgrow the organs and supporting skeletal system, so many of these die of congestive heart failure before their butcher date.
OBESITY ISSUES
The other problem is their obesity. Big Business wants to fatten them up as quickly as possible. But since all that fat literally weighs them down, they have lameness and broken legs, so they can’t walk around like a normal chicken.
Frank-en-Chickens were bred to have an insatiable appetite that makes pigs looks like they have manners. They will literally eat themselves to death, so they have to have their food removed every 12 hours to slow them down.
SUDDEN DEATH ISSUES
Sudden Death Syndrome (or Flip) is when a chicken suddenly flips on its back and dies for no apparent reason. Frank-en-Chickens (or Cornish Crosses sold at the grocery store) experience this more than Heritage breeds.
ALLERGENS AND GMO
Today, 99.99% of all poultry feed has soybean meal as the main ingredient with corn being the second ingredient. Soy and corn are two major allergens.
In addition, the majority of soy comes from GMOs. And we still don’t know what the long-term effects will be on our bodies and health.
Soy blocks the intake of vitamins and minerals, especially in chickens.
MEDICATED FEED
Medicated feed was developed mainly for cramped commercial chicken houses to proactively prevent disease outbreak. In an outdoor flock, it is rarely needed.
Most commercial chickens are raised in cramped indoor living conditions, so they are forced to use medicated feed in order to keep chickens alive.
SHORT LIFESPANS
Due to all the health issues Frank-en-Chickens experience combined with Big Business wanting to make profit at the expense of the animals AND your health, these chickens will never be able to live their best chicken life.
When you buy a grocery store Frank-en-Chicken, you are supporting inhumane animal treatment AND encouraging more unnatural variations of our food.
HENDRICKS FARM HERITAGE CHICKENS
We raise a variety of Heritage Breed Chickens from egg to full-grown chicken right here on the farm, so we know exactly what went into each chicken.
Each chicken takes up to 168 days (6 months) to raise up to full size.
They Free-Range in chicken tractors through our wooded pastures.
They lounge in the shade or bask in the sun depending on the season.
They search for bugs and insects in the leaves and feast on greenery.
They have access to Non-Gmo, Soy-Free, Non-Medicated chicken feed.
They have No Vaccines, No Antibiotics, No Added Hormones, and NO Junk.
They live their BEST CHICKEN LIFE, which means they become the Healthiest chicken possible to nourish and heal your body!
Plus, they develop mouth-watering flavor. No more bland “tastes like chicken”.