Circle C Farm FAQ’s

What do you feed your pasture raised Cows and Lambs?

 LOTS AND LOTS of grass! THAT'S IT! Grass fed and grass finished.

We are fortunate to have wonderful native grasses and legumes that are full of proteins year round, which allows for the natural meat flavor to have a soft, not gamey, profile. Our livestock enjoy a Serengeti Pasture Rotation Model, which allows for the larger livestock to graze on the pastures and to enjoy the different varieties of grasses, followed by the smaller livestock.  This way all of our animals are contributing to the natural fertilization process of our farm land.

What do you feed your pasture raised Chickens, Hens, Turkeys, Ducks and Pigs?

They enjoy grasses, bugs, grubs, weeds and flowers. Our meats are corn free, soy free and wheat free (gluten free). They are provided supplemental feed that consists of Organic Brown and White Rice, as well as Milo also called Sorghum.

  Our poultry are on grassy pastures in their mobile coops 24/7.  

  From a nutritional composition standpoint, sorghum is comparable to wheat (without containing gluten) in that it is high-complex carbohydrate, high-protein grain (1/2 cup supplies 72 grams of carbohydrate and 11 grams of protein) and also an excellent source of fiber (primarily insoluble fiber), vitamins B3, B1, and B2.

Do you use or treat any of your pastures with chemicals, herbicides or fertilizers?

 NO, we do NOT! 

The beautiful thing about our Pasture Rotation Management program is that by watching the heights of the different grasses, the livestock are rotated accordingly based on what the pasture needs or can handle at that time of the year. 

See, each different species eats differently.  They eat down different heights of the grass stalk or flowers, they all leave a different type of “foot print” as they graze, so by watching the pasture and actually looking at the ground and the height of the grasses each day in a particular field, then we determine or make a decision as to when they need to be moved on to the next pasture or field.

We don't need to use or put chemicals on the pastures because the rotation of the animals takes care of the fertilization process naturally. 

Do you use antibiotics, hormones or other growth stimulants? 

 NO, NEVER, it is just NOT necessary!  We DO NOT, EVER!

We have worked for many years to identify breeds that are successful on our land and within our ecosystem here in south Florida.  We have spent a GREAT deal of time, energy and money to make sure that we have a natural balance between the earth/land and the breeds that we have chosen, or have created in the case of our sheep flock.  We created our own Private Breed of sheep as a result of trial and error in the live death process of living here in South Florida.

That being said, we are fortunate that our cattle, pigs and sheep are happy, healthy and function very well as a result of natural selection and from our attention to our pastures and having closed herds and flocks.

Our poultry are the same way.  We do not need to artificially provide a way for them to be “stimulated” in their growth process.  Our poultry are on fresh ground daily and because of that they don’t need to be "maintained" chemically, because they are or don’t get sick to begin with.  

When you have a truly pastured or grass fed farm and the livestock are allowed to roam freely, as nature intended, then you don’t need to "treat" any animals in order to have them survive, thrive or grow.

What do you do if the chickens, ducks or turkeys do get “sick” while on the pastures?

Well, truthfully… we are out and about every day throughout the course of the day with the livestock.  If one of our poultry shows signs of not being “well” then we note that, watch them for another 24/48 hours or so, max; and if they are not showing signs of natural immunity rebound, like you and I would if we were to get a cold or something, then they are humanely euthanized.

We will not let an animal intentionally suffer and we will NOT administer any medication to our poultry.

Does your Chicken, Duck and Turkey REALLY TASTE BETTER than ‘others’ and why?

 ABSOLUTELY IT DOES!!!!!  Our poultry are out on our pastures enjoying the warmth and sunshine eating the way that they were meant to be and what they were meant and designed to eat.  They are not vegetarians; they were designed to eat grasses, bugs, grubs, flowers, weeds and whatever they find out there in the fields.  You and I might not think that an ant moving along is a delicacy, BUT they do!

That natural activity helps develop a flavor profile that is second to none!  Our poultry meat is soft and flavorful, naturally. 

The meat is actually tasty without seasoning and spices, YES, all by itself, we promise!!!  If you want to add seasonings and spices, go for it; but you don’t have to.  By adding any seasonings and spices, you would be further enhancing the already amazing flavors that our pasture grass fed and grazed chicken comes with naturally.  Be careful not to over season it, our meats do not need to be heavily seasoned. 

When you look at our poultry, you will actually see the layers of the meat; you will see the beautiful pink color of the meat and the soft yellow colored fat from the bird being out on pasture eating those grasses and flowers.  THAT is what you WANT!!!!

I am used to buying my chicken, turkey and duck in the store or on line somewhere else, your meats are corn free, soy free and gluten free, so I am afraid that yours is going to taste different and I am not sure about that.  I don’t want to buy it and be disappointed because it doesn’t taste like the ‘store’ bought chicken or the other commodity poultry meat(s) that I get from another store or online site(s).  Will I like your chicken, turkey and duck?

You will LOVE LOVE LOVE our chicken, turkey and duck!!!!  The flavor is amazing, the texture is like no one else’s and you will NOT be disappointed.  If you are, call Nicole and tell her that! When you see grass fed on other sites, it doesn't mean grass finished! Our Animals Live on the farm and are 100% grass fed and grass finished! All our animals are pasture raised! 

We have converted sooo many people over to our chicken, turkey and duck because it actually has flavor and taste.  When our poultry are on the pastures grazing, they are soaking in the rays, eating and relaxing, they are scratching and pecking the ground, like they are supposed to.  They are not restricted to inches of space in order to eat, drink or sit and lay.  Our pastured poultry live a very comfortable life and that is reflected in the meat structure and flavor.

GIVE IT A TRY, WE PROMISE YOU WILL LOVE IT!

Remember, when you cook our poultry, cook it low and slow and use a fat like butter, marrow, bone broth or anything you desire.  Cooking at a lower temperature, does not necessarily mean longer, just at a 15-25*F lower temp, so that you do not dry out the meat, it is a bit leaner, but that is what leans itself to the flavors that you are getting and the incredible health benefits of our poultry.  Indirect heat on the grill and no more than medium on the cook top or range.

Does your Beef, Lamb and Pork TASTE BETTER than ‘others’ and why?

YES, that does too!  When an animal lives on pastures its whole life and grazes naturally, then it has the ability to develop complex flavor profiles naturally.  When on pastures livestock don’t have a need nor are they in a position to have to ‘fight’ for food. Our livestock live and graze our pastures 24/7.  This is what gives our meats their amazing flavor and it why we have individuals and families that eat our meats on a regular basis.  The nutritional values are higher in grass fed and grass finished or pasture raised meats.  There are plenty of studies out there supporting this, so I will not start quoting those.

I will tell you that we have many many people that have tasted our red meats, in addition to our poultry, and have converted 100% to our meats.  They LOVE the flavor of our meats, the way that they feel from eating our clean meats and they know exactly where the meat comes from.  They know that commodity meats raised on or in feed lots for the “finishing” process is not healthy for that animal and they know that it is NOT healthy for them.

Does your meat taste ‘gamey?'

NO, it does not!  Our pastures are full of amazing lush natural grasses and those grasses lend themselves to the soft natural flavor development in the meat.  NONE of our meats have a gamey or ‘off’ taste or flavor at all.

Do your poultry have complete access to grass or are they in a house or coop and only have a “door” to go through “if they want?”  I see on other site that they are “free range,” but what or how do they live at Circle C Farm?

Our pastured free to roam pasture raised meat chickens, ducks and turkeys are on our 130 acre pastures and have 24/7/365 access to as much pasture grass as they want!  They are in mobile coops, BUT our coops are actually mobile buildings, not tractors, they are 21’ x 30’ buildings.  We move them every 2 days to so that the poultry have additional access to new grass under foot along with the pasture. 

By that we mean, that the poultry can go anywhere they would like at anytime.  Chickens are more likely to stay closer to the coop than ducks and turkeys are.  Chickens will typically stay within about 50’- 75’ of their coop/house.  Whereas ducks and turkeys are more likely to explore the entire pasture that they are on, no matter how big it is.  They just have different patterns of behavior.

SO, in order to ensure that the ground below them maintains a very low “feed (grass) over feces” ratio, we move them to new ground every 2 days.  This allows the “farm love” that the poultry leave behind as a matter of natural digestion to remain on the ground in that location and fertilize the grasses in that location.

Once the coop is moved and the poultry are on virgin ground, the “farm love” that they left behind begins to break down and the ground absorbs it and within about 2 weeks you will see new fresh emerald green grasses come up where the coop was previously.

It is an amazing transformation to watch.  Such a natural way to graze the livestock and have them give right back to the earth the way it is / was intended to be!

What do you do if one of the chickens, ducks, turkeys, cows, sheep or pigs get “sick” out in the pastures?

Well, very rarely does that actually happen.  Yes, that is the truth.  Not saying that as the cold and warm or hot “fronts” come and go they don’t have an occasional cough, much like you or I would, but we have chosen not to administer antibiotics to our livestock.  Typical cough from those types of changes will go away for them, like it does for you and me.  So, why give them something if they don’t need it?  So we don’t.

Remember, we rotate our pastures and visually observe all of our animals daily, because they are on fresh pastures, the likelihood of them getting “sick” is virtually none, there is nothing to stimulate any illness.

Now if a life or death situation were to happen and administering a shot of an antibiotic would solve the problem and the animal could then go on and live a very fruitful and happy life like you and me, then if we needed to, we would, BUT then that animal would NOT be harvested for consumption off the farm.  We would wait out far beyond the defined “withdrawal period” for the medicine and humanely harvest that animal for our own private family consumption here on the farm.  You would not get that meat.

I can honestly say that do date, that has never happened, but that is our “Plan” should it ever occur.