Heart Healthy and Ethically Raised: Why Pastured Poultry is the Ultimate Choice for Health-Conscious Consumer

Updated Sept. 4th, 2025

When people ask if pasture‑raised chicken is “healthier,” the fairest answer is: it often is, but it depends on diet and management. Pasture access plus a balanced feed can improve fat quality and micronutrients. Results vary by farm, season, and feed. That transparency matters.

What “pasture‑raised” means at Wormuth Farm

Our broilers live on grass in movable shelters and are rotated daily. They forage and exercise outside. They also eat a locally milled corn‑and‑soy feed because pasture alone cannot meet a broiler’s protein and energy needs. That is how you raise strong, healthy birds without making claims we can’t back.

Nutrition, without the hype

• Eggs vs. meat are different. The strongest data is in eggs.

• Meat shows improvements, but it depends on feed. Pasture access by itself can make a modest difference in broiler meat’s fatty‑acid profile. Bigger shifts happen when the diet includes omega‑3‑rich ingredients (e.g., flaxseed) alongside pasture.

• What you can expect. Farms that combine pasture with smart ration design tend to produce chicken with a lower omega‑6:omega‑3 ratio and more antioxidants like vitamin E than standard commodity chicken, but exact numbers vary.

Our own lab work: In our 2024 comparison, Wormuth Farm pasture‑raised chicken thighs showed substantially lower total and saturated fat than select conventional samples. We published the methods and results here: Why Our Pasture‑Raised Chicken Thighs Are the Healthier Choice.

Why feed still matters

Chickens are not ruminants. They gain most calories and protein from feed. Pasture adds exercise, variety, and phytonutrients, and supports better welfare, but the bird’s fatty‑acid profile largely tracks its ration. The honest route is pasture access plus an appropriate feed, not pretending grass alone does the job.

Animal welfare you can see

Pasture systems let birds range, peck, dust‑bathe, and move. That’s better living than stationary confinement, and it shows in behavior and, many customers say, in taste. We prefer to let visitors see it in person rather than oversell it.

Taste (what customers tell us)

We don’t measure “superior taste” in the lab, but many customers and chefs describe our pasture‑raised chicken as richer and more “chicken‑y,” with crisper skin when roasted and a firmer, juicier bite. We think daily movement, outdoor air, and fresh forage contribute to those differences.

Cooking tip For safety, cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165°F. Dark meat (thighs/drumsticks) becomes especially tender if you continue to 175–185°F to melt collagen; keep it juicy by salting 1–2% by weight and avoiding overcooking breast meat.

The bottom line

• Pasture improves welfare.

• Nutrition can improve, especially eggs, and meat when feed is tuned.

• Results vary by farm; we publish our data when we have it.