Mt Barker: Leading the Pack for Free Range Chicken

Mt Barker Chicken is a WA owned business that has the only RSPCA-approved free range chicken farm in Australia. Mt Barker’s General Manager Mark Rintoul said the company had been committed to providing free range poultry since their creation 15 years ago. “We have a simple outlook on free range farming – our chickens are left to forage and roam freely outdoors in chemical free pastures during the day and are sheltered from predators at night,” Mr Rintoul said. “All of our animals are naturally grown with no antibiotic growth promotants and are fed a special diet of West Australian natural grains.
Mt Barker is the only independent chicken farmer and producer left in WA and despite some free range chicken coming in from the east in a partly frozen state we have very strong customer loyalty. We deliver 6 days a week to all our WA customers; this guarantees our produce is always fresh.” As well as treating the animals in a humane way, independent Curtin University sensory research has shown that people can taste the difference between Mt Barker free range chicken and average chicken meat.
The eating experience is also superior without the water injection process that is sometimes used by other companies. Mt Barker Chicken sets the highest possible standards of free range to ensure its animals are given a happy and stress-free environment. “Not only does this translate into a more ethically sound business, but also into a better quality and better tasting product,” Rintoul said. To gain RSPCA approval, farmers must meet the RSPCA Scheme Standards set to ensure high quality animal welfare.  This is currently the highest industry standard available.