Pasture Raised

At Stiebrs Farms, the health and welfare of our hens will always come first.

As fall wild bird migration has increased, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) activity has also begun appearing around Washington State. Following guidance from our State Veterinarian to reduce the risk of interaction between domestic poultry and wild birds and help prevent the spread of disease, we have made the decision to temporarily suspend outdoor access for our pasture-raised hens.

Our hens are healthy. This is a preventative biosecurity measure designed to help keep them that way.

Wild birds, particularly migratory waterfowl, can carry and spread avian influenza. Temporarily bringing our hens indoors helps reduce their potential exposure to wild birds, their droppings, and other environmental sources of the virus.

We know that outdoor access is an important part of our pasture-raised program, and we don't make the decision to restrict it lightly. During these periods, we also make an extra effort to provide our girls with additional enrichment and natural elements from the outdoors to encourage their normal behaviors and keep them active and engaged while they are safely inside.

Protecting the health and well-being of our flocks must take priority during periods of elevated disease risk.

We will continue to closely monitor wild bird activity, HPAI activity in our region, environmental conditions, and guidance from state animal health officials. As soon as conditions allow us to safely restore outdoor access, our girls will be back outside enjoying their pastures.

Thank you for your continued patience, understanding, and support as we navigate another period of heightened HPAI risk. These decisions aren't always easy, but they are made with one thing in mind: doing what's best for the health and welfare of our hens.

For now, the girls are staying safely inside—with a little bit of the outdoors brought in to them. ♥

We look forward to seeing them back out on pasture when conditions are safe again.