We have a passion and desire to produce the very best organic, free range, soy-free chicken that is Healthy for the Earth, and Healthy for You. So this is the cross-road we came to 18 months ago! So where to from here?
We decided that we would have a go at producing our own ‘Old Fashioned’ breed chickens for meat. Our daughter, Jacinta (12 years old at the time) came with us to pick out the first of the Kinmana Farm Indian Game hens and roosters. We also got her to choose the Sussex and Plymouth Rock parents, and she started to breed her own “old fashioned” meat birds that we’ve been using for our own farm table meals! These birds have strong legs, firm muscle tone and fat covering. They make wonderful broth and stock. And they have the wonderful, traditional chicken flavour!!
Next, we wondered how to breed enough chicks to hatch and grow in small batches to be able to raise them for our customers. We had listened to our customers…. they told us that our chicken tasted better than “other organic chicken”. But this still wasn’t the answer for us! They also told us that the old fashioned taste was there…. that was the clue we needed!! Old fashioned!! YES!! So, we went searching for “old fashioned meat chickens”, and guess what? We found some amazing people in our search!
This is when we found Sommerlad Poultry! A homeschooling family near Tenterfield, NSW, Michael and Kathryn along with their children and team, have been behind a quiet revolution. They have invested heavily in preserving the artisan knowledge of breeding heritage meat chicken strains that thrive in Australian conditions. We visited the Sommerlad family and saw first-hand their careful stewardship of the animals and land.
Our Chickens Welfare is our Top Priority
The feed we give them access to is 100% soy-free, and blended on-farm from seeds and grains grown right here on Kinmana Organics’ farm, Marama.
100% certified Organic, no antibiotics, no GMO, no growth promotants.
Chickens are omnivores, which means their natural diet consists of a mixture of foraged seeds, insects, invertebrates and plant matter. We try to replicate this in the chicken ranges on Kinmana Organics’ farm, giving them access to our fruit tree orchard, tagasaste and saltbush plantations.
The Sommerlad chickens are grown 84 days from hatching, and have reached maturity before slaughter. They enjoy the outdoors every day, scratch and peck for bugs and grubs, flap their wings and run, dust bath and are very well adapted to our cold winter and hot Summer conditions. Their legs are strong, their muscle is firm, and we know you’ll agree that the taste is outstanding!
It takes more time, more feed, more space and more work to produce a Heritage-bred meat chicken. This is why they cost more!
We won’t compromise on cheaper feed, smaller areas or less quality! We’re sure you’ll agree that the taste is worth every cent!