Frequently
Asked
Questions
Rosa’s Ridge answers your questions about our pasture-raised meats, ethical practices, hormone-free approach, and commitment to quality, gluten-free, and nitrate-free products in sustainable farming.
General Information
An animal that is pasture raised means that it has spent a majority of it’s life on pasture within a rotational grazing system, allowing the animal to forage and graze on pastures within a clean and low stress environment.
Although they may receive a significant portion of their food from foraging on pasture, they may also receive a blend of grains, depending on their species, to ensure optimal health and wellbeing.
Rotational grazing concentrates cattle, sheep, goats, pigs or chickens onto a smaller area of land for a much shorter period of time.
This eliminates selective grazing so that the animals eat a range of plant species, promoting plant biodiversity and animal health.
Paddocks are then rested for a significant amount of time for the soil to properly metabolise the evenly distributed fertiliser deposited by the animals, and for the plants to fully recover before being grazed again.
Pasture raised and free range systems differ from farm-to-farm which is why we stress the importance of knowing your farmer to know your food. There are a few main differences to note though:
- Free range systems often set stock their animals in a single area for the entirety of their lives whereas pasture-based systems implement rotational grazing which means that animals are constantly moving to fresh, clean pastures and bedding their whole lives.
- In free range systems the manure build up is far greater over time than pasture raised systems which decreases soil fertility and plant biodiversity, and increases the risk of animal infection and sickness which requires vaccination from disease and routine medications to manage.
- Free Range systems often use sheds with concrete floors whereas the animals in pasture raised systems are usually housed without the use of sheds, using portable and floorless shelters that protect them from harsh weather and predators.
- Free range stocking densities are greater than pasture-based systems.
- Because of the confinement within strict temperature-controlled sheds seen in most conventional free range farms, the animals are not able to express their natural behaviours.
Our pasture raised chickens are able to scratch and forage for grasses, insects, seeds, fungi’s and micro-organisms, additionally they’re able to sunbake, dustbathe, perch, flap and run directly on clean pastures.
Likewise, our pasture-raised pigs are able to root, wallow, forage, run, play, sunbake and farrow directly on clean pastures naturally.
All of our products across all ranges are gluten free and use natural ingredients.
Orders & Delivery
All orders are processed within 2-7 business days, excluding weekends and holidays. You will receive an order confirmation email once your order is processed.
Please email us if you do not receive an email confirmation.
Yes, we offer delivery services primarily from Augusta to Bunbury and some locations in Perth.
Please use the postcode calculator to see if we deliver to your area. We do not offer interstate or international shipping.
As a small family-owned business, we currently do not offer order tracking.
However, your delivery will arrive on the day stated in your order confirmation email, typically on a Thursday or Friday between 09:00am – 6:00pm.
Orders can be collected from our farm by appointment or from the Margaret River Farmers Market every Saturday between 07:30am – 11:30am.
Please select your preferred pick-up option during the online ordering process and bring your order confirmation email when collecting your order.
If your order arrives damaged, please email us with your order number and a photo of the item’s label and condition.
We handle these issues on a case-by-case basis and strive to find a satisfactory solution for our customers.
Our Produce
While our chickens eat a significant amount of different species of plants, they are omnivores and also forage on insects, bugs, seeds, fungi’s, and micro-organisms.
They are also offered a seasonal blend of grains that is GMO, hormone and medication free.
While our pastures are completely spray free, and we do not use routine medications or vaccinations, we are unable to source the quantities or varieties of organic grains that our chickens need for a nutrient rich diet.
At this stage, organic grains are largely grown outside of Western Australia which would double our feed costs due to transportation, in turn increasing our meat prices.
Adding to the decision not to source certified organic grains, the organic industry also now allows for up to 25% non organic inputs without effecting organic certification.
While we continue to source the very best of WA grains, it’s our mission to provide nutrient dense pasture-raised meats to as many people as possible, sourcing certified organic grains would hinder this.
Our chickens eat a range of insects, bugs, plants, fungi’s and micro-organisms as they forage and live their best life on pasture.
Naturally, as omnivores, they eat a range of plants including seeds and so we offer a seasonal grain mix that is GMO, hormone and medication free.
Our chicken feed is also soy and corn free and is bolstered by additional protein, vitamins and minerals including kelp meal to ensure they are receiving all the nutrients they need to thrive on pasture.
Our chickens are not free range, they are pasture raised. This means that they are continually raised directly on pasture from the day they graduate out of the brooder at 3 weeks of age.
They are then moved to fresh pastures every single day, with at least 37% more room than Australian organic, free range chicken standards.
This means that our chickens live more of their lives on pasture, with more room to move, than free range chooks do.
They also have constant access to vitamin D from the sun and are free to fully express their chicken-ness; foraging, scratching, dust bathing, sunbaking, flapping and perching within a floorless, non-temperature controlled system, creating a more natural and seasonal meat that is rich in flavour and nutrients.
Our chicks come to us vaccinated as day-old chicks. This is a requirement by law due to bio-security concerns and the movement of livestock.
Once the chicks are delivered to us, we do not give our chicks any further routine medication or vaccinations in their feed or water due to our holistic approach to animal health and well-being.
The use of hormones and steroids for all poultry was actually outlawed in Australia more than 50 years ago.
The selective breeding of broiler chickens has created a bird that converts feed to muscle more efficiently than 20 years ago, and the climate controlled environment seen in conventional broiler sheds makes this process much faster.
We use the same breed of chicken, the Ross 308 chicken (one of two commercial broiler breeds available), that the conventional system uses but raise them in an entirely different way, using holistic and regenerative principles within a pasture-based farming system.
Our chickens are naturally slow-grown and are harvested at 8-9 weeks of age giving our chickens more time on pasture to develop a richly flavoured meat full of vitamins and minerals.
This is in great contrast to conventional, shed-based broiler farms which harvest their chickens at 4-6 weeks of age.
Frozen Meat
Our chicken is snap frozen right away after it has been cut and packaged to ensure our customers receive the highest quality of meat full of vitamins and nutrients.
This also enables safer storage and delivery of products to our customers.
Our chicken is snap frozen right away after it has been cut and packaged to ensure our customers receive the highest quality of meat full of vitamins and nutrients.
This differs from the fresh meat you see sitting on the shelves of supermarkets that continues to degrade in quality and nutrient availability as each day passes, making it more susceptible for harmful bacteria to develop.
The safest way to defrost food is in the refrigerator, as the food will not have to pass through the Temperature Danger Zone (5ºC – 60ºC) where bacteria can easily thrive and multiply.
To defrost food in the refrigerator, ensure that the temperature is below 5°C and that the items being defrosted are placed on the lowest shelves to prevent any drips or splashes from contaminating other foods.
If you are using the fridge method, make sure you allow for several hours for your food to defrost and at least 24hrs for 2.5 kilo’s of meat.
We personally like to defrost our packaged meat in a sink full of cold water where, depending on the size of the cut, it can take 30-60 minutes to defrost allowing us to cook it sooner.
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