What"s The Difference

[jaybob54]

I was wondering something about chicken coops. Is it better to have chickens cramped up in a coop or to have them Free Range?? I know It depends on how many chickens you
have to let them free or caged. I have my chickens free ranged because they like 2 enjoy themselves insince I have about 2 1/2 acres. Will they produce better eggs
if penned up in a coop.?? or free ranged??

Home to 2 cats, 2 horses, 2 dogs, and LOT"S OF CHICKENS!!!!

 

[speckledhen]

There is a mid way solution: a coop that has enough room for when they cannot go outside, plus a safe pen attached to that coop for when you aren't there to supervise free ranging. It's not just a cramped coop or free to roam.

My coop is 8x20 and contains 18 birds, soon to be a few more, but can hold about 40. The attached pen is about 2500 sf so plenty of room to roam, but they also get time outside the pen weekly to roam on 2 of our 5 acres as well.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Even free range birds need a coop for roosting and shelter in bad weather.

It's never good to keep them confined ALL the time

 

[jaybob54]

Yeah I agree and I do have a shelter which is a barn and do the eggs taste different???

 

[Judy]

I'm not sure what you are asking. Why would you suspect they might produce better eggs when kept in a coop? Are you thinking of being able to control what they eat, maybe? If that's it, I think my eggs taste better when they are outside more. Their yard is big enough that it has bugs and greenery they can eat, and they have free range time as well, but they stay in during the heat of the day this time of year because it's cooler.

Now if you free range and they start laying in the bushes, you might not get as many!

 

[BoltonChicken]

It is pretty much a consensus that free-range chickens, or at least chickens that have periods of free-range, produce better
tasting eggs than chickens who remain the the coop continually.