A few readers may remember that when we visited the Fulton Valley Farms processor in December, Fulton — while totally transparent in their processing operations — informed us that for “biosecurity” reasons we couldn’t go visit the chicken farms themselves. That was frustrating, since we really want to know what “free-range” chickens means to Fulton Valley Farms.
Well, we were lucky to meet Sandra Ouellette on our trip to Brandt Farms, and Sandra now represents Fulton Valley Farms — a decision she made only after visiting the farms herself and verifying that they met her standards for humane and thoughtful treatment of animals. Plus, she took pictures. She graciously gave her permission for me to share the photos with you. Here are a couple that I thought give a good sense of the operation.
Apparently the chickens also have access to the outdoors, however, according to Sandra, when she was there it was so hot — Fresno in the summer — that neither person nor poultry had any interest in being outside. In any event, it looks to me that the chickens really do have room to walk around freely, even inside. Similar to Brandt, it’s not pastoral, but it’s obviously a step up from the minimum standards of factory farming.
Thanks for providing further info on Fulton’s operation. Never purchased this chicken before, but we have acouple whole breasts in the oven right now. Fulton is proud that their birds are not “gassed” for packaging, but But how are they prepped for slaughtering? I’ve recently reade an article in our local paper about the macro-processing plants and the brutal treatment the birds are subject to. The article talked about this other way in which the birds are sent to twilight sleep before entering the slaughtering phase, but I can’t recall if the O2 is removed from the “antiroom” or if there is a gas introduced.
Hi Sitah,
If I recall correctly, the birds are placed on a conveyor upside down, and then stunned unconscious with an electric shock while hanging from their feet — they get sprayed with water first to make sure the electricity conducts. Then their necks are cut open by a blade.
Jay