At Rawck Ranch we believe all animals have a purpose aside from being just plain fun to have around. We choose to raise specific animals for the purposes they serve, not only for our nutrition but also for the health of our land and soils. We love and care for every one of our animals to ensure they live the best, happiest, and healthiest lives.
Our Animals
Our Management System
Our management system is simple. Follow nature. We choose to follow nature as best as we can as opposed to forcing nature to do what we want. Instead of trying to force our animals to live in a way that may make our chores faster or lives easier, we try (to the best of our ability) to let the chickens be chickens, the cows be cows, and the pigs be pigs. We do the same with our pastures. Our animals work in concert with our pastures and soils, each benefiting the other. This method of management requires zero use of any manmade and/or non-natural chemicals.
There are more “official” terms for the methods of agriculture that we practice. The most well-known is Regenerative Agriculture. At the root of these practices is one simple thing – follow nature. We do our best to do just that and we believe it results in much healthier soils, healthier animals, healthier food, healthier humans, and a healthier planet.
Aside from being the coolest cows ever, our Dexter Cattle play a vital role in regenerating our pastures and soils. Our Dexters are 100% grass-fed and grass-finished. We do not use any chemicals in our pastures (herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers, etc). Our Dexters are the fertilizers and weed killers for our pastures. We rotate our herd to new grass every 7 days so our Dexters eat just enough of the grasses to stimulate new growth while trampling and stomping the weeds that they do not eat. Throughout this process, they are giving valuable nitrogen and nutrient producing micro-organisms back to the soils that will strengthen and enrich its fertility. In turn, this produces a richer and greener pasture for our Dexter cows.
Learn more about Rawck Ranch Dexters and why we chose them for our primary breed.
Forest Pigs
We raise our pigs in the woods (“the forest”) and allow them to root, dig, eat bugs, and make mud holes just like they do in the wild. Allowing pigs to roam and forage is key to a natural and healthy diet. This results in a nutrient dense cut of meat that is tender and full of flavor. You can’t find pork like this at the big grocery stores.
We supplement their natural diet with an organic mixed feed containing grains, seeds, and corn. Feeding organic ensures our pigs eat clean, naturally grown food.
We move our pigs to new forest regularly. This allows the pigs access to a refreshed buffet of nature’s pig food and also keeps them away from their manure. Keeping them away from their manure avoids contact with parasites so the pigs don’t need any dewormers. With the pigs in a clean environment, there is also no need for vaccines or antibiotics.
Pasture chickens
Laying hens
Who doesn’t love a rich orange-yolk farm fresh egg? We certainly do. We raise laying hens for the “you just can’t beat it, farm fresh, orange yolk, gimme some more of those” eggs. Aside from the delicious and nutrient-dense eggs, our layer hens play another important role here at Rawck Ranch. Our chickens live in what we call a “Chickshaw” (a rickshaw for chickens). With this style of coop design, we are able to very easily move our chickens to new fresh, clean grass on a weekly basis. This way, our laying chickens always have new forage of grasses, weeds, bugs, and clean ground away from their manure. Their manure isn’t all bad though as it provides the best natural fertilizer you can find. Moving our chickens this often also “moves” and spreads their manure across our grasses – nature’s version of Miracle Grow.
Broilers
Here at Rawck Ranch, broiler chickens serve as the majority of our protein consumption. Chickens are by far the fastest growing animals we raise and its a good thing too. We eat a lot of chicken and need to keep our freezer stocked. Like the laying hens, we move our broiler chickens often for the same reasons as our laying hens. They get fresh forage, grasses, weeds, bugs, and clean ground – spreading their “love” (manure) about evenly in our yard and garden.