What exactly are free range chickens?

[chickenannie]

Hmmm..... well, I was hoping they could be loose when we're out back with them gardening and such,

FYI - free-range chickens LOVE to garden with you which means they won't give you a spare second, if you're digging in the dirt that is. We had to put chicken wire around our garden because our free-range chickens became a nuisance -- diving into every shovel-full of dirt to eat worms and munching on seeds that I had just planted.

I wholeheartedly suggest free-ranging, I just mean they certainly won't be "helping" you to garden in any way! ​

 

[ruth]

Chickenannie's right. When I'm gardening I have to lock the chickens out because I swear they have a death wish. Here I am shoveling or hoeing and they keep sticking their necks under the blade to see what I might be digging up. I too let my chickens free range but keep my garden locked up. The other day they got in when I left it for a moment and they were pulling up and eating all of my little peas that just came up and my lettuce. I was trying to "shoe" them out and bribe them out with treats but they weren't budging - like "nope, this is better and we have you outnumbered."

 

[chickenannie]

Quote:
They are so trusting that we won't hurt them!

Or else just so greedy for treats that they get reckless.

 

[Screebert]

Chickens know that when someone disturbs the ground in any way, there are goodies to be eaten.

 

[chickenannie]

Yeah, we've been letting our chickens inside the garden fence all winter since it's not planting season here yet. They do a fantastic job of composting the mulch layer of leaves and old hay on top of my garden. So many hens, so much scratching, they break it up into tiny bits that are perfect once I start mixing it up with the soil! So actually, they DO help me garden! I'm just worried that they're going to eat ALL the earthworms and leave my garden with none. I have no idea if that's possible!

 

[Kitsune]

Quote:
In the UK free range has much stricter guidelines, with a maximum stocking density of 9 birds per square metre indoors with at least 250cm square of litter area/bird. Perches for the birds must be installed to allow 15 cm of perch per hen. There must also be one nest for every 7 birds or 1 square metre of nest space for every 120 birds. free-range birds must have continuous daytime access to open runs which are mainly covered with vegetation and with a maximum stocking density of 2,500 birds per hectare [10,000 square metres, which equates to 4 square metres each approximately].

So not too bad - I looked into this a while back as I had a similar ide as ruth about what the commercial industry could call free range - is it really that bad in the USA?

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

Yeah its pretty bad here. They are truly not free range. I would love to show videos but we got to follow the rules. Just type in on yahoo "free range industry chickens in USA" something might come up, As for what is free ranging. Like others said. They dont have a run that holds them in. They have access to your whole yard and get to eat them nasty bugs and weeds. Make sure no veggies that they love are present or else you will have a nice green tomotoe vine with nothing on it

Edited: dumb typos. Why cant they correct themselves?

 

[Kitsune]

I just did a bit of cursory research online and it seems the USDA has no guidelines at all on free range, so eggs from caged hens can be sold as free range!?!

I never realised it was that bad!