Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1041839
45 farm406 Cornish Cross chicks drink from a nipple drinker water line that allows a droplet of water through when the chicks bump the red cup. The chicks peck at the water to drink it, explains McLean. He says the water line is gravity fed from barrels of water they fill with a pipe from an on-site well. "We used to haul five gallon buckets and climb a ladder to pour it in," says McLean. Christopher Green transports 720 pounds of chicken feed in five-gallon buckets at feeding time. The chickens are fed a grain mix of corn and soybeans. and pens enclosed with electric poultry netting. "We move the pens daily with a tractor until it is time to process them, at about eight to 10 weeks of age," explains McLean. "Chickens are definitely omnivores. They eat all the insects and will even eat a mouse." The chickens are also fed a diet of corn and soybeans purchased from a local farmer and ground on site. "Most people don't realize soybeans can be grown here. Soybeans are an excellent feed source for chickens," says McLean. "We experimented with alternative feeds, such as oil seeds like canola and flax. We had feed trials with small groups of chickens but we found the animals performed better and our clientele was happier with a more conventional diet." The pasture-raised chicken tastes different than conventional chicken, says Green. "Our customers say the flavor is different – that it tastes like the chicken that their grandmas made," he explains. "We have created market loyalty. We sell our chicken to restaurants, grocery stores and through direct sales." McLean and Green grow Cornish Cross chickens for the best shape, color and flavor as desired by their customers. "Cornish Cross is a standard meat breed," explains McLean. "We tried Freedom Ranger chickens – an alternative meat breed, but our customers prefer the Cornish Cross chicken because the package looks like what they would expect. The Freedom Ranger produced less breast meat, gray fat and had red feathers that would show up if you missed a pin feather." In addition to producing pasture-raised chickens, the business partners manage one of Montana's two state- inspected poultry processing facilities. The Montana Poultry Growers Co-Op processing facility is located near Hamilton, Mont., and employs people from all walks of life including those with special needs. Every Wednesday, McLean, Green and their employees process 350 to 400 chickens under the watchful eye of the state inspector.