Day 9: House of Raeford
Written by: Andi
Our second stop for the day was House of Raeford Farms, where we got to visit the processing company itself! We first toured their feed mill, where we learned about all the different nutrients that go into chicken feed. They are an antibiotic-free facility to help keep their chicken safe for consumers. Their feed is made up of about 95% corn and soybeans, with the remaining ingredients being amino acids, vitamins, and minerals to give the chickens everything they need to grow.
This feed mill goes through about 10 million pounds of corn every single week to supply their facility and several others. Up to 50 trucks come through the mill every day delivering ingredients and transporting feed to keep production running nonstop. Their broiler chickens take about 65 days to reach market weight, and there are around 9 million chickens on their property alone! A majority of their birds are sold to companies that supply restaurants and other commercial customers.
One thing I found really interesting was learning about the genetics behind the chickens they raise. They use a breed called Aviagen, which allows them to select birds based on the genetics that best fit what their customers are looking for, whether that’s larger or smaller chickens.
The houses where the chickens are raised are very well managed, with carefully regulated environments designed to keep the birds healthy and comfortable throughout their lives. It was really cool to learn about the amount of care and management that goes into raising poultry on such a large scale. Thank you so much for having us!
This feed mill goes through about 10 million pounds of corn every single week to supply their facility and several others. Up to 50 trucks come through the mill every day delivering ingredients and transporting feed to keep production running nonstop. Their broiler chickens take about 65 days to reach market weight, and there are around 9 million chickens on their property alone! A majority of their birds are sold to companies that supply restaurants and other commercial customers.
One thing I found really interesting was learning about the genetics behind the chickens they raise. They use a breed called Aviagen, which allows them to select birds based on the genetics that best fit what their customers are looking for, whether that’s larger or smaller chickens.
The houses where the chickens are raised are very well managed, with carefully regulated environments designed to keep the birds healthy and comfortable throughout their lives. It was really cool to learn about the amount of care and management that goes into raising poultry on such a large scale. Thank you so much for having us!
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