Interested in how we raise our animals at Cunningham Pastured Meats? Read below to see how we raise each animal from birth to harvest.
Our Premium Beef comes from younger cattle on Cunningham Ranch. They are usually between 2-3 years of age and are generally steers, however, heifers that did not have a calf then go into our Premium Beef program as well since they are under 3 years of age. They are raised by their mothers where they get unlimited mothers milk and high quality grass. Between 6 months of age and one year we wean the calves from their momma’s and they eat high quality pasture. We use low-stress handling techniques on our cattle and they are harvested on-farm so they do not have the stress of being hauled to town. They never receive any grains, antibiotics or hormones.
The Family Affordable Beef comes from our breeding stock at Cunningham Pastured Meats. If a cow does not have a calf or loses a calf she goes into our Family Affordable Beef program to get fat to be harvested. Since they are typically over 4 years of age they do not have the same premium qualities of younger cattle, which is why they make good ground beef and roasts. They are on either range grasses or pasture grasses throughout the year and are only given stored hay if needed during the winter. Once again they never receive any grains, antibiotics or hormones.
Our lamb comes from our small hair-sheep flock. The lamb is typically between 9-12 months of age when they are prime for harvest. From the moment they are born they are on grass, weeds and leafy plants. Lambs are typically twins, triplets and sometimes quadruplets! Almost all our lamb for harvest are castrated male lambs, the females are typically sold as breeding stock or kept for our small herd. We are extremely “hands off” with our lambs, so besides castrating the males they receive no treatment. They do not receive any grain supplements, vaccinations, antibiotics or hormones. We love our lambs! They are robust and easy to raise, not to mention extremely delicious!
Pigs are a new addition to Cunningham Pastured Meats. In the past we have found a few pigs from a trustworthy supplier, but quality pig producers are very difficult to find and maintain, so we have decided to start raising some pigs ourselves. Our pigs are given a diet of barley, peas and raw milk and plenty of pasture to roam and root around. We do not give them any GMO feeds, hormones or antibiotics. Pigs are rotated to new pasture frequently to limit damage due to rooting. Pastured pigs are much more difficult to raise then conventional pigs, which is why we are starting slowly and hopefully will learn how to raise them properly without too much pasture destruction.
Pastured Chickens are also a new addition this year as well. For the first 3 weeks of these delicate birds life they are raised inside under a brooder, but once they start to grow their adult feathers then they are moved outside to movable pens on pasture. Chickens are moved daily to fresh pasture. They are fed a non-GMO feed mix, barely, peas, milk and meat scraps. In conventional chicken operations it is common practice to feed a steady diet of antibiotics the chickens entire life. Since we do not give any antibiotics we have a slight mortality rate among these chickens, but the strong one’s make it to butcher and taste amazing! There is no comparison to a chicken raised on pasture compared to a confinement raised bird.