There's a question we get asked a lot. Why herb fed? It's a fair one. So we thought it was about time we told the story properly because behind every bird we raise is another farm, another family and a fair bit of history.
Where it all started
Just down the road from us, in Sand Hutton, sits Herbs Unlimited. It was started by Edwards Aunty Alison - Edwards mums twin sister, if you're keeping track - and these days it's run by her son Philip, Edwards cousin. So when people ask if Herb Fed is a family business, the honest answer is it's actually two.
The herbs themselves
Herbs Unlimited grows everything from lemon verbena and basil to mint, thyme, oregano and tarragon - with parsley, lettuce and red chard thrown into the mix too. What lands with us isn't the prime crop. It's the trimmings, the surplus, the bits that have simply gone past their best or have been picked in excess but are still completely good. We're talking three to four tons a week, off-cuts that would otherwise end up on a compost heap.
We didn't want to waste that. So we don't.
Why it matters to the birds
Our flocks get free access to these herbs alongside their everyday feed which is additive free cereal milled locally. And here's the bit you might find very interesting - the chickens are fussy! They pick and choose what they fancy, working their way through the pile like they know exactly what they're after.
Pecking through herbs all day isn't just something to do either. It keeps them occupied and stimulated, which makes for a much happier, healthier bird. The herbs themselves add extra nutrients on top of what they're already getting from their feed, so it's not just enrichment, it's nutrition too.
And the taste?
This is the part people are always surprised by. Despite the diet, our birds don't actually taste herby. What you get instead is a depth of flavour that's hard to put your finger on but impossible to miss once you've tried it. It's the reason people come back to us.
A partnership we're proud of
This isn't a supply chain we stumbled into. It's family, it's local and it's sustainable in the truest sense - using something that would otherwise go to waste and turning it into something genuinely special. Two farms, a few miles apart, doing things a bit differently.
That's the herb connection. And it's why our birds taste like nothing else.
