Free range/run defined -- is it, or played fast'n loose with?

[amiachicknorwat]

Seems free run, even tho a run is generally outdoors, would mean the chickens aren't all-day confined to battery cages and can run around at times indoors. Free range I'd guess would mean they have daily access to an outside run. This is best guess at how bad it's defined within the marketplace. Like I'm not even free range, given I dont freely go walking onto my neighbour's land uninvited. But do free run and free range both mean access to an outdoor run, and free range means some wider degree of access? Thanks, Nick

 

[Michael OShay]

Technically, free range refers to a method of raising chickens where the birds, for at least part of the day, can roam freely outdoors, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_range). Free run is a more restrictive term referring to a method of raising chickens where the birds are not confined in cages, but are allowed to wander around inside an enclosed structure, such as a barn (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_run). While it's not extensively spelled out in these definitions, I would think (and I think most chicken owners would agree) that chickens that are confined to enclosed runs (rather than a barn) are still free run chickens rather than free range chickens. Certainly the general public's idea of a free range chicken is a chicken that is free to roam without being confined in any type of enclosure as can be seen in the following ad. )

 

[amiachicknorwat]

I figured as much! I bet the public, like myself, doesn't know "free run" merely means allowed to run around but still cooped up indoors. Range/run free/free, I would not have thought there's such a vast difference.