Luke & Jess Micallef

Luke & Jess Micallef, Camden Valley Farm NSW

Free Range Chicken Farmer

Luke and Jess Micallef, and their boys run a small regenerative farm on the edge of Camden in Sydney's South West.

Operating 100 acres in the area Luke and Jess milk a small dairy herd of mainly Jersey cows and supply us with Pastured Chickens each week. The chickens are grown on farm from three weeks of age and are free to roam the paddocks during daylight hours. They are protected by Maremma dogs and are put back into their coups at night for warmth and some extra protection from the local foxes.

The chickens love to follow the cows and eat all the insects left behind. Their feed is supplemented with a grain-based ration that includes corn (10%) and the chicken show a soft yellow colour.

Luke says ‘The cows and chickens work together in a wholistic system. We rotate both groups around the farm. The chickens feed the soil as we move the coups around the paddocks. The grasses then grow aided by the nutrients from the chickens, and the cows benefit from the better quality grasses’