Am I still free ranging?

[shane68]

I have been free ranging my birds from the start. They have their housing that is fenced in for safety at night. I open the door and let them out in the morning and they run all day. The problem is all the poo in the yard and on my porch. What i would like to do is fence them in. I want the fenced area to be big enough to be considered to be free range. So the question is, how much space do they need to be considered free ranged birds. I am willing to spend the extra money on fencing, i just want the birds to be safe and the yard to be poo free.

 

[Catfish267]

That is a really good question. Are chickens still considered free range if they are in a large fenced in area?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

There are no requirements regarding the number of square inches or the number of square miles that you must allot per bird to have "free range" chickens. If they only ranged on Wal Marts' parking lot, then they are still be considered "free range" chickens.

In fact they can spent every minute of their lives in a commercial chicken house, and as long as the hen house door is left open at sometime during the day they are still "free range" chickens.

 

[Happy Chooks]

There are no requirements regarding the number of square inches or the number of square miles that you must allot per bird to have "free range" chickens. If they only ranged on Wal Marts' parking lot, then they are still be considered "free range" chickens.

In fact they can spent every minute of their lives in a commercial chicken house, and as long as the hen house door is left open at sometime during the day they are still "free range" chickens.

This is correct. Technically, free range means they have access to go outdoors - whether or not they actually do so. What most people think of when they envision free range (birds on nice green grass) is called "pastured".

If you want them on grass, then your area needs to be pretty large or the chickens will make it bare dirt.

 

[shane68]

Thanks, didn't know that. I bought a 100' fence and wrapped it around the chicken house. I guess thats 625 square foot for 5 birds. I woud assume that is enough. As always the folks on here are very helpful.