Free Range Meat.
Here at Pages Poultry our animals are kept to the highest of standards. Simon Oxby (my partner) and I keep pigs, sheep, cattle, geese and ducks for the purpose of well cared for, free range meat products. Some can be seen grazing at Pages Poultry and the rest are kept at a smallholding near Rugeley where they roam in 21 acres of grassland and 4 acres of woodland.
RARE BREED PORK
We currently have 3 breeding sows - Gloustershire Old Spot - Dotty, 2 Berkshire – Emma and Lily and a Gloucestershire Old Spot breeding boar - Bart
The pigs are brought up in their natural habitat rooting around in the woodland. They love nothing more than playing hide and seek around the trees. Their diet consists of good quality pig feed balanced with a lot of fruit and veg......Very happy pigs.
The pork boxes are usually around 30lb of meat plus sausages but vary from pig to pig. All the joints and chops are bagged into portions and labelled ready to go in the freezer. Your meat can be collected from Pages Poultry the day it arrives back from the butcher FRESH or can be collected frozen by prior agreement.
DEXTER BEEF
We own a small herd of Dexter cattle, currently 7 adult females and 1 calf at foot. The Dexter breed is the smallest British breed of cattle. It is a dual-purpose breed, with the average weight of a cow being some 300 - 350 Kg's and standing 92cm - 107cm at the shoulder. There are two recognized types, short legged and non-short, both of which have their equal merits. The breed comes in three colours, predominately black, but also red and dun. The breed is early maturing. Beef of excellent quality and flavour, with good marbling, is produced. The meat is very popular with the consumer because of its outstanding flavour, small joints and minimal waste.
SHEEP
The new venture.... We have just purchased a small flock of Zwartble Sheep. The Zwartbles breed has many outstanding characteristics, including: Easy lambing, prolific and milky ewes, they are excellent mothers, have a fast growth rate and are naturally tame.
The meat from Zwartbles sheep is very lean and sweet. Additionally, the milk is a rich and healthy alternative to that of other breeds. Zwartbles are a docile and friendly sheep, and they a naturally polled (i.e. have no horns).
GEESE and DUCKS
Anyone who has already visited Pages Poultry will have seen, we keep a large flock of geese and ducks free ranging around the grounds each year. These birds are grass fed part of the year and corn fed the rest. The geese are a mixture of traditional white Embden Geese and African geese. The ducks are mainly cherry valley ducks. Some are sold as breeding birds or pets but the rest are for our Christmas table.
