Waitoa Chicken | From Farm to Plate

Waitoa Farms

The Waikato is the first region south of Greater Auckland and is known as one of the richest pastoral areas in the world. With a huge fertile basin created by the Waikato River the area is rich in agriculture and farming.

Waitoa free range farms were established in these lush green, rolling valleys in 2007 and were born out of a desire to offer nutritious, quality chicken.

The Farmers

Their team of dedicated farmers are committed to raising healthy, free range chickens with Waitoa’s farmers working daylight-till-dusk to ensure every aspect of the chickens' care is provided for. They are passionate about farming and growing good quality produce, and this shows. Take Dave for example, he even has cameras in his shed so he can watch the animals anytime from his house or phone.

All Waitoa free range chickens carry the SPCA Blue Tick showing they have been independently audited and meet the highest animal welfare standards in New Zealand.

By purchasing Waitoa, consumers support Kiwi farmers who provide their animals with a better quality of life.

The Waitao Chickens

Waitoa free range means once fully-feathered, the chickens can roam outside on their range during the day and are kept inside at night to keep them safe from predators.

State of the art technology also monitors the birds’ needs round the clock so if their access to water or feed is interrupted, or temperature is not at the optimal point, the team are instantly alerted.

The birds are kept in the exact environment they need to be in to thrive.

Care, innovation and a passion for best practice poultry farming has seen Waitoa grow to be one of New Zealand’s most successful free range providers.

SPCA Tick Of Approval

The SPCA Blue Tick is an Accreditation Scheme independent from the food and farm industry and is the only 100 percent independent animal welfare accreditation in New Zealand. 

This accreditation is more stringent than the free range standards under the Government’s Code of Welfare minimum standards. This means, when choosing Waitoa, customers can be assured the products they are buying have been farmed to the high animal standards of the SPCA Blue tick.

To be assured you have purchased a quality free range chicken, look for the Waitoa free range labelling with the SPCA Blue Tick certification logo - a third party trusted certification mark you can trust. All Waitoa free range chickens carry the SPCA Blue Tick, and they are extremely proud to be part of this programme and highly trusted New Zealand brand.