Free-range chickens?

[SavageDestiny]

As a customer I would consider that false advertisement. Confinement away from natural diet found on range/pasture is the setup you describe as the area you will use will soon be denuded of grass and available insect/worm life. I don't know about other folks but I don't buy free range eggs because the birds have a lot of space to live in, but rather the more natural diet they consume.


I agree.


The definition of range, in this regard is this: An extensive area of open land on which livestock wander and graze.

Then one would have to determine what is "extensive" relative to the size of the animal and the stocking rate being used. If I had 100 chickens on half an acre, I would consider that confined living as soon all the natural graze and forage would be gone and they would just be birds eating from a feeder on a prescribed area of bare soil.

If I had, say, 15 birds on a half acre of really good pasture and forage, I'd say I might still be able to call that free range as long as they were still deriving most of their diet from the pasture.

I would consider a perimeter fence a safety precaution for a range/pasture/grazing area and it all depends on how many animals are inside that fence and how much of a natural diet they could glean there before it could truly be called "range".

I don't consider chickens let out of a run to forage for a few hours free ranged nor do I think a large area that is overstocked is free range either~that's just a super big run/pen. I also don't consider birds in a tractor as having "fresh" pasture or any freedom of movement. The area beneath their feet is depleted of bug life in mere minutes and the grass may or may not be the type they would/could eat and it quickly becomes spoiled from feces and trampling...I don't call that "fresh" beyond a few minutes time.

I guess it's all relative to what a person feels is "free" and "range"....to me, free is coming and going at will and the ability to spread out from the living area into areas that have adequate forage. Range, to me, is a large enough area that can provide the majority of their dietary needs in warmer months and can supplement it even in colder months.

Playing devil's advocate a bit here.

What about if chickens have very large areas to roam, but the environment itself isn't exactly nutrition filled? Where I eventually want to have my chickens, it's all sagebrush and juniper trees. We live in a desert, so pasture isn't exactly common here. So, say I had 10 or so chickens in an acre or so of land like this:






In fact, that's the exact area I want to set up their run. It will be big enough you can't even see the other side of the fence from the coop... but isn't nutrient dense. So could that be considered free range or not, since there's not much there?

 

[averycatherwood]

I remember reading that United States standards for "free range" chickens means that they just have access to the outdoors. However, this could just mean for like half an hour a day. This is just a way to cheat the consumer and making them believe these chickens our happy. My four hens have a 25 square foot coop and an 80 square foot run and they are perfectly happy. Just let your customers know that your hens are healthy and happy. That is enough right there for me to buy eggs from you.

 

[Beekissed]

Playing devil's advocate a bit here.

What about if chickens have very large areas to roam, but the environment itself isn't exactly nutrition filled? Where I eventually want to have my chickens, it's all sagebrush and juniper trees. We live in a desert, so pasture isn't exactly common here. So, say I had 10 or so chickens in an acre or so of land like this:






In fact, that's the exact area I want to set up their run. It will be big enough you can't even see the other side of the fence from the coop... but isn't nutrient dense. So could that be considered free range or not, since there's not much there?

I'd say if you don't overstock it, they'd find a surprising amount of reptile and insect life there and perhaps even adapt to the available greenery there as well. I'd start with a breed more native to that land or a land similar and one that forages actively. Then I'd watch the flock and see what, if anything, they are gleaning from the land. You can feed in the evenings only, so this gives them incentive to hunt and also gives you an idea of how much they are getting...if they come to the coop and supper with full or partially full crops, they are finding something out there. If not, you might have to create some habitat to attract the native wildlife to the area, if possible.

Then you have to gauge if what is out there is sustainable and available to the amount of birds you are stocking for many months out of the year. You can do that in the same way....judging daily consumption and general body condition, how actively they are foraging and how far they range out to get said forage.

You can build habitat by piling rocks and brush in some areas that will attract reptiles that are shade lovers, collecting free manure from local ranchers/farmers who keep stock in barns and are willing to give it away. Pile it, confine it to a pen/bin and let it sit long enough to attract insect/worm life...which also attracts lizards and other small predators to eat the bugs. Then let the chickens at it on occasion. Start deep litter in your run and coop for the same reason...bugs attracted to feces and a cool place to consume it. Pile into the run all sorts of native brush, debris, etc until it's deep...then water it down on occasion, if you can afford a little water there.

Keep rabbits and produce your own manure as a moist attractant to your run litter and then bury it under the deep litter where the bugs can access it without being exposed. Bring them in and the things that hunt them will follow...the bugs are forage, as are the things that hunt them and are food for your chickens.

Takes a little effort but can give the chickens a more healthy, natural life and you might even be surprised what they turn up to eat. Sure will keep the baddies away from your place as they eat scorpions too.

 

[SavageDestiny]

I'd say if you don't overstock it, they'd find a surprising amount of reptile and insect life there and perhaps even adapt to the available greenery there as well. I'd start with a breed more native to that land or a land similar and one that forages actively. Then I'd watch the flock and see what, if anything, they are gleaning from the land. You can feed in the evenings only, so this gives them incentive to hunt and also gives you an idea of how much they are getting...if they come to the coop and supper with full or partially full crops, they are finding something out there. If not, you might have to create some habitat to attract the native wildlife to the area, if possible.

Then you have to gauge if what is out there is sustainable and available to the amount of birds you are stocking for many months out of the year. You can do that in the same way....judging daily consumption and general body condition, how actively they are foraging and how far they range out to get said forage.

You can build habitat by piling rocks and brush in some areas that will attract reptiles that are shade lovers, collecting free manure from local ranchers/farmers who keep stock in barns and are willing to give it away. Pile it, confine it to a pen/bin and let it sit long enough to attract insect/worm life...which also attracts lizards and other small predators to eat the bugs. Then let the chickens at it on occasion. Start deep litter in your run and coop for the same reason...bugs attracted to feces and a cool place to consume it. Pile into the run all sorts of native brush, debris, etc until it's deep...then water it down on occasion, if you can afford a little water there.

Keep rabbits and produce your own manure as a moist attractant to your run litter and then bury it under the deep litter where the bugs can access it without being exposed. Bring them in and the things that hunt them will follow...the bugs are forage, as are the things that hunt them and are food for your chickens.

Takes a little effort but can give the chickens a more healthy, natural life and you might even be surprised what they turn up to eat. Sure will keep the baddies away from your place as they eat scorpions too.

I'm hoping at least some of them develop a taste for juniper berries and sage, haha. We do have a decent amount of lizards here, and there are a couple small natural rock piles in the area I want the chickens to be. I also plan on doing the deep litter method since it seems to have so many benefits! So glad to know chickens can eat scorpions too, we do have them here and I'd been a bit worried about them, to tell the truth.

I don't mind extra effort. I should also say I don't plan on feeding them premade crumbles or pellets at all- I make food for my dogs and plan on doing the same for the chickens. Premade animal food just grosses me out... I even make food for my betta fish. I plan on growing barley and wheat fodder for the chickens and doing some fermented whole grain mix as well as offering fresh vegetables, fruits, and meat scraps. There will probably be a mealworm farm for them too. Feeding at night so they forage more during the day is a great idea I had not thought about too! Thanks for the tip.

 

[Beekissed]

I think that sounds like a wonderful plan! I hope you show pics of everything once you get it in place because I know many on here who live in a desert climate are at a loss to do for forage where they live and I think it would be interesting to have a whole thread on it so that you folks could toss around good ideas and report on what works and what doesn't.

 

[SavageDestiny]

I think that sounds like a wonderful plan! I hope you show pics of everything once you get it in place because I know many on here who live in a desert climate are at a loss to do for forage where they live and I think it would be interesting to have a whole thread on it so that you folks could toss around good ideas and report on what works and what doesn't.

That area won't be set up for probably a year or so. It's currently my mom's property, but we're trying to get permits and build a house out there. I'm just planning ahead!

I do want to get chickens for my current backyard, providing my landlord agrees, in the next couple months. That will just be a 24x14 area though, not exactly free range. I'll still have to grow fodder and such though, since they obviously won't be able to forage much.

 

[Beekissed]

That area won't be set up for probably a year or so. It's currently my mom's property, but we're trying to get permits and build a house out there. I'm just planning ahead!

I do want to get chickens for my current backyard, providing my landlord agrees, in the next couple months. That will just be a 24x14 area though, not exactly free range. I'll still have to grow fodder and such though, since they obviously won't be able to forage much.

Maybe some grow frames filled with all sorts of green goodies.

 

[SavageDestiny]

Maybe some grow frames filled with all sorts of green goodies.

I do plan on doing setups like that with some herbs and green leafy-type vegetables for them in the yard. I still want to do fodder for them as part of their diet, so I feel like the herbs would be a better choice to have in the "salad bar" as I saw someone call it!

 

[jmmeye4]

Maybe some grow frames filled with all sorts of green goodies.

Those grow frames are amazing, I will definitely be doing this. In your experience how large of grow frames are needed to keep the chickens happy (area per chicken). I have 7 right now and would like to always have a little something growing around their coop.

 

[Beekissed]

Those grow frames are amazing, I will definitely be doing this. In your experience how large of grow frames are needed to keep the chickens happy (area per chicken). I have 7 right now and would like to always have a little something growing around their coop.

I don't know...that would be something a person would have to experiment with and it would depend on stocking rates, the climate, the season and the grasses/greens used. I've never done them as my birds free range all year but after the severity of the winter this year I'm thinking of making them some hoop tunnels in the fall garden that will be planted with kale, turnips, spinach and clover so they can still forage for greens when the snow is on.