what’s the definition of free range?

[cavemanrich]

Generally speaking, free-range means chickens are free to wander around on your property. Most chickens will not wander very far. Mine usually just stay in the back yard, and there is no fence on 2 sides of property. I did have one Polish Chicken that had the limited vision, of only forward. She did wander off on me a few times. Only chicken that did that for me. I did give her haircuts to remove the obstructing feathers from her eye sides.
Does that answer your question?
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[nuthatched]

Free range means on your property, preferably.
Within the confines of a the perimeter fence if there is one.

 

[Carson213]

I'd count a 1 acre run as free range, that's more land than a lot of people on here have.

i think the greater point is that “free range” is arbitrary.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Free range: chickens are free to leave the run and coop to walk around your property in search of grass, insects, the sunny spots, etc.
Having a huge fenced in area in which the chickens can walk around would still be considered free ranging.

 

[aart]

i think the greater point is that “free range” is arbitrary.

It is indeed.
What do you think free range is...and why do you need it defined?

 

[rmurrayslcut]

Haha! I think free ranging can be many things, and it is not limited to people with 100+ acre properties. To me, 'free ranging' is when birds are out in a non controlled environment (as in no shavings covering anything, grass growing, bugs, plants, stuff like that) where they are just fenced in and have a good amount of area to roam

I agree with this definition. Now, "free range" on a carton of store eggs? That's a marketing gimmick.

 

[0die]

here is an interesting thread on free range.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/successful-100-forage-diet-experiment-long-post.1435544/

Accidentalfarm is truly free ranging one of his flocks. He has some interesting observations.

 

[Mrs. K]

Many people on here think that 'free ranging' a couple of hours a day can let them cheat on space in a coop for chickens. That really does not work.

 

[Talavar]

Free range just means they don't live in a fenced in building forever. They get to go out and eat grass, bugs, etc.

 

[Ridgerunner]

i think the greater point is that “free range” is arbitrary.

Exactly. Like many other things it means different things to different people. Some marketing terms are regulated, many are not.

The USDA has defined some marketing terms so people can be assured that those chickens were raised a certain way when they see those labels. If you don't know what the USDA rules are you don't really know what those labels mean. For example, to legally label something "certified organic" they have to go through a fairly rigorous process before they can add that label. The vast majority of people don't really know what is and is not allowed under "certified organic". Many people have their own mythical mystical ideas of what organic "should" be. Those often have no bearing on what "certified organic" does actually allow.

Same thing holds for "free range". We all have our own ideas of what free range "should" mean. The USDA definition is pretty short, chickens have access to the outside. That may mean they spend a good part of their time outside but if they have thousands of chickens in one building with a small door that leads to a 4' x 4' concrete paved area outside it meets the legal definition of free range. Supposedly there are efforts to get that definition changed but I don't think it has happened yet.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has defined the term "free range" only for chickens, not for eggs or for other livestock, such as cattle. So if you see "free range" on an egg carton it is not regulated. It could mean anything. Which to me means nothing.

We throw around terms on this forum that mean different things to different people. When I see certain terms like free range I often ask what does that mean if I think that might be important. When someone says pullet I still might want to know the age. The behavior of an immature pullet can be quite different from a pullet that is old enough to lay, which still meets the technical definition of a pullet.

We can get into all kinds of arguments or disagreements as to what a term means on here. In my opinion that's because they mean different things to different people which means there is no real meaning. We can assume whatever we wish but that doesn't mean it's what the other person is talking about.