Free-range chickens?

[lovinlife]

I think it matters to the buyer what "free range" means. I expect free range hens to be allowed to get out of the enclosure and eat all the bugs and plants they want. My hens have a very large run that they are kept in at night. During the day, from sun up to sundown, they are allowed to run all over my 10 acres and eat all they want. If they were kept in the run, I would not say they were free range. There is a difference. I can see the difference in their yolk from when they are free ranged and pen kept. It does matter. I like what TajMahal said, USDA has belittled what free range means.

Organic eggs in the grocery store are not necessarily free range. All that means is they are fed organic feed. Their living conditions are not necessarily the same as free ranged birds. At least not my birds.

I think that if you are offering eggs from hens kept in a run on a farm that you could call them "farm fresh" eggs. I would not call them free range. There is a difference.

I appreciate Peck Johnson's post from United Egg Producers. No egg you buy in the grocery store can begin to compare to free range eggs that are fresh out of the hen and never refrigerated.

Start raising chickens and you'll see what we mean.

 

[PepsNick]

People usually refer to "free range" as outside, freely, with the fencing of your yard being the only barrier. But really, they just need to be able to to have outdoor access. I sell my eggs as free range and mine just have a very large run, which is being expanded to take up around 1/4 of my yard! Do to hawks, they can't really be let out around the yard often.

 

[UlrikeDG]

Quote:
Free-run chickens?

Of course, then you have chickens with movable pens who may not have 80 acres, but who do have fresh pasture every day. And what about people who have a lot less than 80 acres, but whose chooks are free to range within a smaller area? My backyard is a full half-acre, for example. Would you consider that free range? Where do you draw the line? Is it only free range if there are no chicken-proof fences?

 

[95yj]

15 chickens in a 16x16 run... there will be no vegetation left within a week, it'll be mud and chicken crap...

 

[mkearsley]

Quote:
We had our 3 birds in a "movable" pen that was 4'x12' (4' of the 12' was enclosed with wood, the rest is only caged). When I put the young chicks (still to young to know they were all boys) it only took 2 days for them to graze the grass nearly to dirt, and that was with supplemental feeding with crumbles. After that, the "movable" pen became a fixed pen with an open door. We have nothing green in the pen, and I'm planning on putting a bunch of course sand in it to make it a bit better, but I can't imagine how nasty it would be if they didn't have the door open to the outside. Their nesting area is so full of manure by the end of the week, I have to give them new straw every weekend, & that's just with 4 hens sleeping in it.

 

[SunnyCalifornia]

I don't think you should use any of the "commercial" terms, as they are just that...so "commercial"! I'd market them with a more special name than one that's currently being used.

Especially if you have Australorps! They are just a fabulous breed of chicken.

Now that I'm 7 months into having my own egg producers, I fashion myself as a legitimate "egg snob" LOL.

I think snails, bugs, worms, grass, and sunshine make a big difference in the chicken. Scientifically, it may not make a difference in the egg, but by my own observation, it definitely makes a difference in the attitude of the chicken. And using that same logic, a happy chicken will lay the best eggs. No its not scientific, however I do find a strong correlation, I have pretty happy chickens (most days), and I have the BEST tasting eggs in the world...that I've tried so far...

Your coop and run sound fabulous, but I do encourage you to let them out to "do their thing" as often, and as long as you can. It is as much for your enjoyment, as it is theirs. They can be such clowns, and so personable!! Nothing better than chillin' with the peeps after a long day. I don't have 80 acres, I have about 5000 sq feet in my back yard. I'm a worry wart with very large local hawks, so I don't let my chickens out unless my kids or I are supervising, along with my dogs. They get anywhere from an hour, to 3/4 a day of free ranging each day, depending upon my schedule. I do the best that I can.

 

[shchinchillas]

I consider our first set of chickens "free range". They come and go as they please all day long until it gets darn and the other animals are put away and penned up. At this time, the birds are back in the barn and shut in as well. They are "let out" first thing in the morning, but most times they hop up to the broken window and out by themselves.

Our 2nd set of chickens are "learning to free range". In other words on nice days, when we are going to be down the barn for a while they have access out of the main "chicken house". They put themselves away after a few hours. These guys will also be left out free range. We got them late last year, so they didn't get to learn the rules to free ranging as winter hit not long after they were out of the brooder.



To me free range is not being penned up at all. Free range would mean they have free access to the land. Our guys choose to remain close to the barn, or between our house and my fiances mothers house(normally because she tosses them treats daily...) However some days they'll venture further into the pastures, or into the hay fields for some good bugs.

 

[lolita117]

Quote:
That is what I've considered, I'm probably not going to use the term free-range, but the more I think about it the more I know I will be letting my girls out (with proper supervision - my dogs would gobble them up just as fast as a wild animal- the dogs will be penned up, tied, or took on a riding trip somewhere when my girls will be out) I got 6 chicks yesterday and I got 2 ducks too, I just couldn't resist. I'll probably do exactly what you said. As my schedule permit, my girls will be let out each day, for a certain amount of time. Thanks so much for your suggestion.

 

[emsdial911]

Quote:
I agree, free range should have no confinement fence what so ever. Letting them look for bugs and grubs and whatnot is the natural way. Mine come in at night on their own I shut them in for protection overnight and let them out in the morning. I leave the door open they come and go as they wish. I have a huge field the like to explore. They will love it when the weather turns warmer, the field is where my kids and I hunt worms for fishing and they are huge.

 

[Laigaie]

Everyone here seems to agree that "free range" is completely free--no fences at all. How large does the fenced area have to be before the fences don't matter? In my city, we're not allowed to have our fowl "running at large", but our backyard is just shy of an acre. With only three hens, they never seem to go much further than about fifteen feet from the coop. For them, it doesn't really matter that they aren't fenced in. They're not going anywhere anyway.