Anyone who likes the idea of grass-fed beef should also be fond
of the pastured chickens Paul Hain raises in Tres Pinos in San
Benito County.
Anyone who likes the idea of grass-fed beef should also be fond of the pastured chickens Paul Hain raises in Tres Pinos in San Benito County.
Hain, whose main line of work is running his 80-acre organic walnut orchard, said he entered into the pastured poultry business at the urging of friends Julie and Joe Morris, and Joe’s father.
“Joe’s dad had been bugging me over the last couple of years to raise some chickens, because man doesn’t live by beef alone,” Paul said.
Hain sells his poultry for $2.50 a pound directly to customers who place their orders in advance. The chickens are picked up at his Tres Pinos ranch on the same day they are harvested, where they are cleaned and dressed, but not cut or frozen, he said.
Hain read a book on raising pastured poultry in moveable pens and began the business last year. He raised 200 chickens last year and has plans to triple that – or more – this year.
“We invested $1,000 in equipment and ended up with 30 or 40 chickens in our freezer and $500 in the bank,” said Hain, who added the business turned a profit during its first year of operation.
And the chickens are the perfect complement to his organic walnut orchard, he said.
After the chickens, which he acquires as day-old chicks, are a few weeks old, they are moved from a brooder to moveable pens placed throughout the orchard.
“They have total access to fresh air,” Hain said.
The chickens feed on legumes Hain grows as a cover crop in his orchard.
“The legumes feed the walnut trees, feed the chickens and provide beneficial insects that help with natural pest control,” he said.
The legumes not only help the chickens grow, but cause the chickens to leave behind a valuable gift.
“The chickens eat the legumes and leave behind a tremendous amount of manure that feeds the legumes and walnuts,” Hain said.
His chickens, which eat organic feed from Modesto Milling until they are old enough to eat the pasture-grown legumes, are never given antibiotics.
Hain is also in the process of becoming certified as an organic chicken producer.
“We have a lot of customers in Monterey and Santa Cruz who like organic, even though our production model is beyond organic,” he said.
Hain’s chickens are harvested from May to August, when they are between 6 and a half weeks old and 8 weeks old.
“We just raise them seasonally; we don’t try to do it when it’s wet and cold,” he said.
The chickens weigh between 4.5 pounds and 5 pounds, as compared to factory-raised chickens which Hain said “never get outside 2.5 pounds to 3 pounds.”
Hain’s company, John Hain & Sons, accepts orders through June and customers are invited to visit the ranch and help harvest their chickens, if they like.
“It’s very humane. We try to reduce the stress on them as much as possible,” Hain said.
After the chicken is placed in an inverted cone, its throat is slit. Because the chicken is upside down, the heart pumps out most of the blood. The animal is then scalded in 140-degree water to loosen the feathers before a drum picker removes them.
“We cut the heads and feet off and take out the guts and make sure they’re squeaky clean,” Hain said.
The end product is better than a factory-raised, typical grocery store chicken, Hain said.
“Our chickens are more tender, have more flavor, and they’re larger, healthier birds,” he said.
Details: John Hain & Sons is located at 608 Bolado Road in Tres Pinos. To place an order, call (831) 628-3390.
