Keeping Chickens Free Range

[centrarchid]

No free range does not mean Organic. I do not certify my chickens, so I do not know the specific rules for Organic eggs.
However one large problem I foresee with organic free range birds is you cannot control the insects. It is the same problem faced by beekeepers. Bees have a range of three miles, so unless you havea giant swath of organic land there is no such thing as organic honey.
I do not know the range of each insect but I imagine most have a large enough range to make organic free range impossible. I have a fully organic farm, so for my own use I am confident in my own eggs and chicken meat that freerange is not a issue for me. That said I do have commercial farmers as neighbors.
I feed my birds (in the winter) left over grains, organ meat, and they always have a non GMO feed available. I buy the feed from the guy we buy our organic seed from, i think it is the gleanings. He sells it for $18 a bag.

The drift I exploit is what makes the organic part difficult to realize. Percentage wise I bet insect drift is less impactful than field bees working a patch of blooms treated with pesticides.

 

[vpatt]

My grandson asked me to keep his dog indefinitely. He is a lab 8 months old. So far things are good. When i let him outside he steers clear of the rooster (my only free ranger right now). This morning he would not go outside because of the crowing. I hope this is a good sign that he will learn they are off limits and i hope having him here will keep old Mr. Fox away.

This saturday i will try to bring H.C. a hen or two and see how it goes.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

The drift I exploit is what makes the organic part difficult to realize. Percentage wise I bet insect drift is less impactful than field bees working a patch of blooms treated with pesticides.

You mean pesticide drift? Yes that is an issue. The certifiers require us to keep so many feet buffer between our fields and conventional farmers fields. And each neighbor signs a contract agreeing not to spray on windy days. But pesticide drift is very hard to keep away from.
We actually have bees (or rather rent space to a beekeeper) that is why I used them as an example. He puts the bees on our clover fields, so most of the pollen is collected at a organic source, by he cannot guarantee all if it.

 

[Tikkijane]

my chickens are outdoor 24/7.. but in a run i'll let them out of the run in the evening when i clean out the run/coop and refill the feeders so 5 chickens roaming the backyard ... for about 40-60 minutes each day so can i call it free range? or maybe not ? they ate most of my grass....

I don't think so. Mine are cooped at night and locked up; they have no run at all. When they are out, they are out.

my chickens are outdoor 24/7.. but in a run i'll let them out of the run in the evening when i clean out the run/coop and refill the feeders so 5 chickens roaming the backyard ... for about 40-60 minutes each day so can i call it free range? or maybe not ? they ate most of my grass....

I wouldn't think so. We don't even have a run. Birds are out all day until bedtime, when they get locked up.

To me that is not free range. Mine are out 12-14 hours a day. I am not sure that is really free range. My turkeys never go inside, they are free range (except during breeding season when I lock them into cages to get the mixes I want.)

I agree. We don't have a run. They are out all day until bedtime, when they are locked up in the coop.

 

[Tikkijane]

the definition of free range is pretty sketchy imo.. since USDA stated that free range is "access to the outside" and that's about it .. ? http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...food-labeling/meat-and-poultry-labeling-terms it's not just here but in other countries as well..

It sure is sketchy. I think it is a fraud to claim a bird that can see the outdoors once in a while is "free range" Just as much as to put 10,000 chickens in a building with no room to move is called "cage" free. And then there is the "official" definition of "organic"....

Agreed. The USDA regs/definitions only apply to commercial producers. It's not even close to the truth.

 

[Tikkijane]

I am going to refrain from weighing in too heavily on this subject, as I obviously feel a bit strongly about it...But yes I agree with you both, these definitions are too weak and tend to allow less then honest farms to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. Did you know you can feed grass fed cattle corn by product?

I wonder if those "cage free" and "free ranged" birds are still debeaked.....

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

I am going to refrain from weighing in too heavily on this subject, as I obviously feel a bit strongly about it...But yes I agree with you both, these definitions are too weak and tend to allow less then honest farms to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. Did you know you can feed grass fed cattle corn by product?

I wonder if those "cage free" and "free ranged" birds are still debeaked.....

I do not know, but I wouldn't be too surprised if they were.

 

[dgibson0604]

Welcome to BYC... UM... You sure do have nice looking chickens... But... some of them are pretty strange looking!

yeah they act like chickens so... Lol
Thanks

 

[BruceAZ]

No free range does not mean Organic. I do not certify my chickens, so I do not know the specific rules for Organic eggs.
However one large problem I foresee with organic free range birds is you cannot control the insects. It is the same problem faced by beekeepers. Bees have a range of three miles, so unless you havea giant swath of organic land there is no such thing as organic honey.
I do not know the range of each insect but I imagine most have a large enough range to make organic free range impossible. I have a fully organic farm, so for my own use I am confident in my own eggs and chicken meat that freerange is not a issue for me. That said I do have commercial farmers as neighbors.
I feed my birds (in the winter) left over grains, organ meat, and they always have a non GMO feed available. I buy the feed from the guy we buy our organic seed from, i think it is the gleanings. He sells it for $18 a bag.

free range chickens-- do you still need to provide them feed ? or they will get enough food just from foraging already ?

 

[duluthralphie]

free range chickens-- do you still need to provide them feed ? or they will get enough food just from foraging already ?

I do not feed mine much, I have a feeder in the coop, however I do not have to add feed more than once a month during summer time. Winter it is every couple days.