Chicken Omega 6:3 Ratio

We have six years of Omega 6:3 data on DS Family Farm grassfed beef, so this past year we decided to test our No Soy – No Corn, GMO free Pasture Chickens. The first thing to remember is that a chicken is not a herbivore like cattle. Chickens are omnivores, yes, just like humans. Traditionally, chickens were kept around a farm to clean up kitchen scraps. Scraps of meat to veggies, along with grass, bugs and small critters are all fair game for a chicken!

A chicken can consume a wider range of items than a human since they have two stomachs. First a glandular stomach, similar to ours, is an area where chemical digestion occurs. Second, chickens have a strong muscle called a gizzard, that they fill with small stones. Mechanical grinding and mashing of the food occurs here. The gizzard allows a chicken to eat seeds/grains. During the non-growing season, when insects are not available, mixed grain rations are the common feed for chickens.

Green = Omega 3 fats

Previously we have explained that our world is awash in Omega 3 fats. Where ever you see green growing vegetation, you see omega 3. Plant chlorophyll is a great source of omega 3 fats, but these fats are highly perishable and do not persist very long. When we harvest grassfed beef directly from green growing pasture, the omega 3 fats are present and the omega 6:3 ratio is very low as our beef do not consume any grains.

Seeds = Omega 6 fats

Since omega 3 fats are highly perishable, plants use omega 6 fats, stable fats, for long term storage of energy in their seeds. When cattle are fed corn, consuming omega 6 fats, corn fed beef will display a higher omega 6:3 ratio. Our pasture chickens, supplemented with plant seeds (oats, barley, peas) consume these omega 6 fats as part of their diet.

Pasture Chicken Omega 6:3 Ratio Results

As you can see, DS Family Farm Pasture Chickens consume grains (unlike our Pasture Grazed Beef). So we would expect our chicken meat to test with a higher Omega 6:3 Ratio compared to our beef. Midwest Lab Fatty Acid test results testing our chicken:

2020 Pasture Chicken Breast Omega 6:3 Ratio = 5.6 : 1

At the time of writing this post, we have not researched what typical grocery store chicken tests for O 6:3 ratio. This seems like a very good ratio considering these chickens ARE feed grains. This ratio is well below grocery store grain feed beef that we previously researched and typically has an O 6:3 ratio of ~14:1.

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