Petaluma Poultry is one of the largest chicken producers in California. It is fully owned by the national agribusiness company Perdue Foods and it supplies from at least 13 chicken factory farms in California. Petaluma Poultry sells under consumer brand names including Rocky the Free Range Chicken and Rosie the Organic Chicken and supplies chicken to other brands including Trader Joe's Organic Chicken.

Petaluma Poultry markets itself as entirely “free range” and claims their chickens “have open space to move about freely, both indoors and outdoors” except for the first 4 weeks of their lives. They don't mention that they slaughter chickens at just 6-7 weeks old or that due to avian flu, they are currently not allowing birds any outdoor access. Some Petaluma Poultry farms are certified by Whole Foods' “Global Animal Partnership,” but investigations since 2018 have revealed widespread neglect and abuse at the company's farms.

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) has investigated several Petaluma Poultry factory farms and the company's slaughterhouse in Petaluma, CA, which slaughters over 10 million chickens each year. Investigators documented chickens who were unable to stand or walk to access food or water, birds with splayed legs, open wounds, and animals suffering from infectious diseases.

Three veterinarians who reviewed DxE's 2023 findings from a Petaluma Poultry farm on Hunter Lane in Santa Rosa and from the company's Petaluma slaughterhouse concluded that there was substantial evidence of criminal cruelty, citing diseased birds left to starve and dehydrate, mortality rates more than twice the industry standard, and evidence from the slaughterhouse indicating birds were being scalded alive.

Earlier footage from 2018 at McCoy's Poultry, a contract grower for Petaluma Poultry, also showed collapsed and dying animals. Sonoma County Animal Services referred the case to the Sheriff's Office for a potential animal cruelty prosecution after veterinary exams of birds from the factory farm found wing and joint injuries, open sores, reovirus infection, and deep necrotic wounds exposing muscle and bone.

Ask Petaluma City Council to take action against Petaluma Poultry at helpthechickens.com.

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In an article titled, “Perdue's Petaluma poultry plant struggles to eliminate bacteria that can make people sick,” the Press Democrat reported that testing at the Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse found Campylobacter and Salmonella rates roughly four times higher than state or national averages. Both pathogens can cause human foodborne illness. DxE contends that the company's “no antibiotics ever” policy, while appealing to consumers, may contribute to higher disease rates among birds.

A worker at the slaughterhouse sued the company after police uncovered a hidden camera filming her and other women in the restroom. Perdue Foods and Scott Fitzpatrick, the company's "Live Production Manager," are facing a lawsuit alleging multiple labor law violations.

You can see the locations of Petaluma Poultry's California factory farms in the map below.