Norfolk Free Range

Norfolk has raised poultry for generations — long flat fields, open skies, and farmers who understand that good birds need room to move. Norfolk Free Range began on a family farm near Fakenham when we decided that the fast-growing hybrids filling supermarket shelves were not the future we wanted. We chose slower breeds, built mobile arks, and accepted that profit would follow welfare rather than the other way around.

Our chickens and turkeys live on pasture for much of their lives, scratching, dust-bathing, and ranging under Norfolk light. They sleep in dry, well-ventilated houses moved regularly so grass recovers and disease stays low. Feed comes from a local mill we trust, and we never use growth promoters or routine antibiotics. If a bird is unwell, it is treated individually; healthy flocks are the goal, not medicated shortcuts.

Turkeys remain our proudest seasonal work. Bronze and Norfolk Black crosses grow for months rather than weeks, developing the fat and flavour that make a proper Christmas table. We dry-pluck and hang where appropriate, then prepare birds for customers who plan their feast with care. Chickens supply us year-round — versatile, honest, and raised to a standard we are happy to show anyone who visits.

We publish cooking guidance with every festive order and employ local staff year-round so skills stay in the county rather than disappearing when summer ends. That continuity matters as much as any welfare certificate on the wall.

Today we supply Maxwells with poultry that carries our name and our values. Norfolk is often called England's larder; we believe that title carries responsibility. Our birds are not marketing claims — they are the result of daily work, open fields, and a family still learning from each season's successes and mistakes, year after honest year on the same Norfolk land and the same open fields.

Values: Free-range, high welfare