Frequently Asked Questions
faqs
We’re basically soil farmers. We are using natural and as-old-as-time methods of grazing our animals through an area to trim the blades of grass and provide the ground with essential nutrients (aka manure), which it can then absorb while it rests (means no animals are on it) and create more food for the living ecosystem in the soil – think worms and extremely tiny microorganisms which help keep the soil healthier, stronger, and ALIVE. When you farm regeneratively, you are regenerating soil and earth matter and helping to sequester more carbon in the soil (where it belongs) and less in the air.
Yes, our tractors are open on the ground floor so they can do as a chicken naturally does: scratch and peck the ground looking for all sorts of goodies. They are also provided with shade on one half of the tractor and sun exposure on the other half. We utilize chicken tractors for a few reasons, with the biggest reason being predators. Living in a more rural area that is teeming with wildlife also means it comes with predators and prey. Most wild prey have a natural ability to go into flight mode and have a fighting chance. Meat chickens do not come with that same ability, unfortunately. In our vicinity we have aerial and land predators in all sizes that love chicken as much as we do; and after you have suffered the loss of raising them up only to lose nearly half in one 5-minute session of a pack of coyotes hunting, it seems prudent to make the choice to protect them. Chicken tractors also help with the ability to manage our chicken area a bit more. Meat chickens are not like laying hens, which like to travel more. They are more sedentary and perfectly content to move from the food and water and decide to take naps in between. They have more than enough space to all move around freely within their tractor and are provided fresh water changes three times a day, and their grain food twice a day. Because meat chickens poop a lot, A LOT, we move them once a day to give them fresh bedding and scratch area every day, until their final 1-2 weeks where they are moved morning and afternoon, which helps encourage them to move more and stay off their waste.
Well, you can check out our online store and see what we have available in stock. If you are local to the Union County, OR area, we make deliveries at least once a week. We also attend the La Grande Farmers Market every Saturday from May 21 through the third Saturday in October. One weekend a month during the market season we are also in the Portland, OR area and offer pick-ups while we’re there. A few times we make a trip down to Sonoma County, CA.
We can now ship to California, Washington, Idaho and Nevada.
We do offer shares of our larger animals from time to time. If you’re interested in learning more, you can shoot us an email at info@pahlowranch.com or head over to the contact page and send us a message through the form. We offer Whole and half shares of our beef and pork when available, and whole shares only on our lamb.
We love to share with people what we are doing! If you are in the area and want to come by, call ahead and make an appointment; we do sometimes have to leave paradise here to shuffle kids to and from, make deliveries, and explore some fun off the ranch too!