Me at and my chickens at age 10
Hi there. My name is Scott Sechler, and this is my chicken blog. Some people buy into businesses and others build them. Well, I’ve worked with and around chickens for almost my entire life, so I’ve learned a thing or two throughout the years. I’m proud to have grown Bell & Evans into the family business it is today, and I look forward to passing the reins to my children someday.
My chicken “career” began when I was 7 or 8 years old when my dad bought me my first flock of chicks. Prior to them arriving, I spent days cleaning and sanitizing the chicken coop where they would live. I wanted to make sure that the chicks would be comfortable. As I raised those and future flocks of chicks, I came up with my own techniques for keeping them healthier and happier by feeding them clean grain and continuously improving their living space.
I bought my first truck to haul chickens when I was 16, and I started to sell my chickens in Canada. The processors there wanted specific sizes of birds, and the other suppliers seemed to bring them everything except what they actually ordered. Not me. I delivered what my processors ordered, and I delivered the quality they expected. Eventually, I was taking my chickens into Canada every day of the week.
My experience in the poultry market led me to acquire Farmers Pride Inc. in 1984, and two years later, Bell & Evans in 1986 from the third generation of retiring Bells, and from that moment on, we moved forward, full steam ahead!
Don’t get me wrong… there were skeptics who challenged my techniques. At a time when everyone else in the chicken industry was using methods to reduce costs and increase profits, I was focused on raising quality chickens. I was cleaning and disinfecting my chicken houses between flocks and by the ‘90s was raising birds without antibiotics, long before my competitors. Even my own dad wondered how I’d make any money when I was investing so much into the chickens. Eventually, all of my hard work paid off and my problem became keeping up with demand rather than generating it. Our customers chose “The Excellent Chicken” over commodity chicken and continue to do so ‘til this day.
Me in one of my chicken houses circa 1980s
At Bell & Evans, we’re a family-owned business and quality is STILL our top priority. We take great pride in raising our chickens humanely and delivering healthier, more flavorful chicken to you. I can’t wait to tell and show you how we do this.
Welcome to Scott’s Chicken Blog.
great product. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, the only chicken my wife will buy
Thank you, Howard!
I really like your Bell l& Evans Fully Cooked Grilled Chicken Breasts. I often can’t get them because stores in Minneapolis are out for long periods at a time…Whole Foods, Lunds & Byerlys etc. Do you intend to continue selling these?
Where can I buy fully cooked Grilled Chicken Breasts in Minneapolis area? The stores are often out.
Lately, this is item has frequently been out of stock because of the high demand. We are making changes so that by February our Retail Partners, Whole Foods and Lunds & Byerlys, should be able to keep it in stock.
We were loyal customers and then after our local Whole Foods being out for a month, we recently bought a box and the recipe is changed. What happened?
Hi Karen, which item did you purchase? We haven’t changed the formulation on any of our items.
It makes me sad that you would change the product to lesser quality just to meet sales demands. You are company that we respect and are the only one we go to for chicken tenders, etc. along with all of our friends.
Hi Karen, Don’t be sad! We didn’t change our product formulation at all. We just changed co-packers. Same family-owned company since 1894. Same great product. Same excellent formulation.