Locally-Grown Pastured Poultry Raised in Northwest Arkansas

Little Portion Monastery Farm

What a treat visiting Little Portion Monastery Farm! The farm is located on the grounds of the Little Portion Hermitage of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, a community of both married-with-children and celibate sisters and brothers dedicated to living a life of service, work, prayer and simplicity.  The farm is gorgeous, nestled in the mountains and surrounded by wilderness. As we drove in, we passed a deer lying down in the woods and looking at us as if we were friends – the peace of the place was reflected in the deer’s trusting calm.  Everyone we met was so friendly and kind – what an idyllic place for animals to live.

Little Portion Farm raises chickens for both meat and eggs, as well as ducks, turkeys, and pigs.  We have been eating their chicken and singing their praises ever since we discovered their pastured poultry in the cooler of Ozark Natural Foods, and we couldn’t wait to get a peek at their operations.  We had a great tour with Richard Ims, who handles marketing, sales and delivery, as well as lots of hands-on animal care. 

We met up with Richard in the beautiful new building that replaced one they lost to fire several years ago. The atmosphere was relaxing, quiet and cool, with simple décor and religious art surrounding a enclosed courtyard (cloister) with beautifully landscaped features for reflection and solitude.  We chatted for a while about the farm’s practices and then went out to see the animals. We passed by the meditation garden and vegetable gardens, 

and then we saw the infirmary coop. Chickens who are sick or not growing well are brought to stay in the infirmary where they can have personal attention, a quieter environment and extra TLC.  The infirmary is a spacious coop surrounded by wild chickweed (yes, it is called chickweed because chickens love to eat it) and a high fence for protection.

The highlights of the tour were the two brooder houses. The baby chicks are super cute, but I have to say the ducklings get first prize for cuteness!  The amount of space that the birds have in these brooder houses is one key to how they stay so healthy. They have lights they can go under to get warm, and plenty of fresh water and food in 

several locations around the house. Even with 600 chicks arriving every 2 weeks, the brooder felt spacious and uncrowded and smelled fresh. Keeping the litter on the floor healthy and free of pathogens is an art that Richard and Clay Colbert have been perfecting for years. The bedding is inoculated with compost tea in order to introduce beneficial bacteria which keeps pathogens at bay – just the same way that taking beneficial probiotics keeps the bad bugs at bay in our digestive tracts!

Four people work full-time on livestock care and production. Several years ago, Clay Colbert pioneered the pastured poultry project and Richard, who at the time was working full-time in the vegetable gardens, saw what he was doing and wanted to get involved.

Clay is a bit of an animal husbandry nerd, constantly studying and reading the latest research to improve the formulation of feeds, creating balanced feed formulations for each species and stage of life. He creates alternative recipes to account for fluctuations in price and availability of ingredients in order to keep the end price as low as possible. GMO-free grains are raised on a local farm and delivered to the farm twice a week, then mixed to different protein levels and with different vitamin and mineral supplements depending on the stage of life and type of bird. No steroids, animal by-products, or antibiotics are added. Little Portion also makes their feed available to the public. They mark it up just enough to cover their labor. Prices vary depending on cost of raw materials - on the day we visited it was going for 26 cents per pound.


Unlike cows and other ruminants, chickens cannot survive exclusively on greens; they need grains for energy and protein. Chickens were originally forest-dwelling birds, foraging in the leaf litter for seeds and insects and roosting in the trees. In the past, on the older style diversified farms, they would clean up the leftover grains in the fields after harvest.  Feeding some grains while the birds are on pasture recreates the diet they were intended to eat: the diversity of green plant foods provides a wide range of vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids; insects provide protein, and the grain fills in any remaining gaps. This diet, combined with fresh air, sunshine, and the ability to interact with each other, dust-bathe and exercise, keeps the birds healthy and eliminates the need for medications so prevalent in commercial meat. It is also vastly more humane than the stinky, crowded, windowless chicken houses we are all too familiar with in this part of the country, and allows the animals to enjoy their lives before they give theirs to sustain ours.

Animals are moved daily to fresh pasture in movable pens referred to as “Salatin pens.” Little Portion’s methods are directly influenced by Joel Salatin, the godfather of pastured livestock.  Salatin has pioneered the movement to raise animals on their natural diets, in their natural environment: on pasture, and in natural successions that enhance the health of the animals and the land while producing food that is highly beneficial to human health.  Salatin’s methods provide a revolutionary alternative to confined animal feeding operations (CAFO’s) that are detrimental to the health of animals, people and the planet. Pastured meat contains healthier nutrient profiles – Omega-3’s rather than the Omega-6’s that are already overabundant in the American diet, CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which is being studied for cancer prevention and weight management, and higher levels of many vitamins and minerals – and is also free of antibiotics and much less prone to contamination than meat from animals raised in confinement. Little Portion’s chickens have 21% less total fat, 30% less saturated fat, and 28% fewer calories than their factory-farmed counterparts. The meat also tastes better, has a better texture and loses less weight in cooking than conventional chicken.

To learn more about Joel Salatin, click here.

Another lesser-known benefit of choosing pastured poultry is the reduction of greenhouse gases by a process called sequestration. Grasses and legumes such as clover in well-managed pastures pull carbon dioxide from the air and return it to the soil as carbon. Soil fertility is also improved and waste-management problems are avoided.

Part of Little Portion’s mission is to provide the best meat at the lowest possible price to the consumer in order to get healthy food to as large a segment of the population as possible.  They also donate literally tons of chicken to local food pantries and soup kitchens. This is such an important mission because much of the food available to the needy is low in nutritional value.

Like all activities at the Hermitage, farming is part of an overarching mission of love and care for all of creation. The animals are both the inspiration for, and the beneficiaries of, a life of love, care and service.  The positive spirit and love given to the animals are a huge part of what I respect so much about Little Portion.  The farmers appreciate that animals can be sweet and funny and entertaining and that they don’t intellectualize like we silly humans do! As Richard says, they are “in-spiring” – dwelling in spirit and helping connect their caretakers to the grace found in the natural world.

We are very blessed to have Little Portion here in our region, raising animals in a way that is humane to the animals and uplifts the health and spirit of the both the farmer and the consumer. 

All farm products can be ordered and picked up on the farm, including chicken, eggs, pork, duck and turkey.

Chicken and eggs are available at many local stores.


Visit Little Portion's website for more information:
www.littleportion.org