Red Lea Chickens Pty Ltd commenced as a fresh chicken operation in 1957. It was started by John Velcich on a family property in Blacktown and is still located at its original site although quite a few modifications and extensions have occurred over the years as the Company has grown. Red Lea is still family owned and managed.
John's belief that "Fresh Is Best" has formed the basis of Red Lea's production and it is now regarded as "The Better Tasting Chicken".
Over the years the demand for chicken products has grown and the Company now employs over 600 people from the local area and processes in excess of 300,000 chickens per week.
Our delivery vehicles are easily identified and you will often see them on the road delivering our complete range of fresh poultry, gourmet chicken products and poultry smallgoods.
Red Lea Chickens has its own breeder rearing farms which are located at Menangle, Tamworth, Wellington & Cooranbong. These breeders provide the broilers which are then placed onto Contract Broiler Grower farms and the birds are reared to about 56-60 days of age before being transported to our factory site at Blacktown for processing.
Processing is done via an automated system. All chickens are processed in accordance with Government regulations. This covers plant hygiene, quality assurance, humane handling and regular inspections by State authorities. Red Lea Chickens has a HACCP system in place to ensure quality & freshness of product.
Red Lea Chickens produces more than 100 product lines that are sold on to Wholesalers, Supermarkets, Butchers, Restaurants, Hotels and Clubs. Red Lea also have 42 Retail Outlets of their own that sell direct to the public. These specialty Gourmet Chicken Shops have been described as a "Food Lovers Delight" selling both fresh & cooked chicken. (Click here for shop locations.)
More than 60% of the products produced by Red Lea have been value added. The value added products give variety and ease of preparation to the consumer. Red Lea is always developing new and tastier products in their gourmet and smallgoods range as a means of keeping in touch with changing consumer needs.
Our policy at Red Lea Chickens is to take pride in our product to give you "The Better Tasting Chicken"