Chicken farmers are enjoying increased demand for their product, and those offering free-range as well as standard, such as Peter Coleman of Devon's Creedy Carver Chickens, are well placed to benefit.

We were in pig production until the 1990s, when margins became too small, and in sheep and cattle until BSE and foot and mouth messed up the market, which is when we concentrated on free-range chicken and duck.

We originally bought 25 birds to rear in pig houses for our own consumption after being impressed with free-range chicken at a dinner party in 1980. Friends who tasted the ones we reared asked us to produce some for them, which is when we realised there was money in it.

Butchers heard about our chickens and asked us for them, and we went out selling to farm shops, hotels and restaurants. We now rear and process 4,000 chickens and 1,000 ducks a week.

This is a family business run with my wife, Sue, and son, James, and we specialise in providing birds for small businesses in the south-west and some London outlets. We also sell direct through our website.

Our customers want something a little different from what the supermarkets offer, and we can spend more time preparing the birds and improving finish and presentation.

We offer four types of chicken: standard 40-day farm fresh, 10-week barn-reared on straw, 10-week free-range, and 12-week slower growing traditional free-range. Around 60% are free-range, 20% barn and 20% standard.

Slowing down the growth rate by reducing the density of the food ration makes a significant difference to the flavour and texture of the meat. We use no growth promoters or antibiotics and no genetically modified ingredients, and we rear birds to the highest welfare standards under the RSPCA Freedom Food scheme.

I had been approached by Channel 4 to set up a comparison trial between intensively reared and free-range, but said no because I knew it would be critical of the intensive industry, which is simply a product of customer demand for cheap food. But as it turned out, the television programmes have done a wonderful job for the whole industry. Quite a few farmers are now pleased to be in chicken compared to other livestock.

Since the programmes aired there has been a significant upturn in demand for chicken. Existing customers have increased their orders by about 15%, with a swing towards free-range. We have gained around 20 new customers, with more being added each week, and trade in free-range duck has also increased.

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