Polderhoen chicken

Polderhoen

Polderhoen chicken

The chicks of the organic Polderhoen chicken are raised in the Netherlands (Flevoland) with special organic feed, rich with herbs and grains. The animals have the space to forage around and they grow up at their own pace. The chicks grow up in their natural habitat.

Therefore, these Polderhoen chickens have firm meat and an old fashioned delicious taste. Scheria, the initiative taker of the Polderhoen chicken, guarantees an organic free-range chicken that has lived in an animal friendly way and with the greatest care for the environment. Skal Bio Controle monitors the reliability of organic products in the Netherlands and they perform the inspections. On www.skal.nl you can find more information about this organisation and the process.

The Breed

The Polderhoen chicken is a special breed, a totally different breed than the normal chicken. It is a French chicken, the Hubbard to be exactly.

This chicken is selected because it is a slow-growing and strong breed. Therefore, this breed is suitable to be kept in an organic way. In comparison, a normal chicken weighs 2.2 kilogram after six weeks, while a Polderhoen chicken weighs 1 kilogram after six weeks and 2.6 kilograms after 11 weeks. The chicken is given the time to grow up and this is better for both the chicken as the meat. The meat of the Polderhoen chicken namely has more flavour and a firmer structure than normal chicken meat. The slaughter age of the Polderhoen chicken is 70 days (normal 35 days).

 

The three-star chicken

The Polderhoen chicken is kept in an organic way and therefore it has a much more animal friendly life than the normal chicken. The chickens have a warm stable, chicken poles, opportunity to take dust baths and of course the freedom to forage around outside. Outside the animals can go into the shade and forage for food. The Polderhoen chickens are kept in a more animal friendly way than the free-range chickens. An organic chicken lives longer, gets organic feed, has more space and can forage around outside. This chicken friendly and high-quality life is awarded with the three stars Beter Level Keurmerk (quality mark) of the animal protection authority.

Antibiotics

Lately the poultry industry is in the news a lot for the excessive use of antibiotics. Due to this excessive use bacteria and viruses can become resistant to antibiotics. This means that these diseases cannot or can hardly be fought with the available antibiotics. This is a bad thing and the organic poultry farm shows that it can be done differently. By selecting a strong breed, the right feed and the correct living conditions the Polderhoen chicken builds up a natural resistance against diseases. Due to the high natural resistance, the chickens remain healthier and there is relatively less loss of chickens compared to the normal chicken. Therefore, it is possible to keep the Polderhoen chicken healthy without using antibiotics.

For more information and the sales outlets also see our website  polderhoen.