What is free-range chicken?
Free range is when chickens have unrestricted access to the outdoors for part of the day. Free-range chickens can fall prey to predators, lay eggs in unusual places and wander out of their enclosures.
At the age ofcostsfashion and processed food, many try to eat healthy by purchasing healthier options. Some go vegan, but an option for those who don't (and which should be healthier for meat eaters) is free-range chicken. However, what are free-range chickens and are there any disadvantages to making free-range chicken part of your diet??
As defined by the US. Department of Agriculture (USDA), free-range chickens are chickens that have unrestricted access to the outdoors for a percentage of the day. This is true whether a chicken chooses to roam freely or not. According to the National Chicken Council, less than 1% of chickens in the United States are free-range.
The eggs of these free-range chickens are marked in many ways, something that is concerning. Simply put, eggs classified as free-range or free range come from chickens that roam freely in an open space or area such as a barn. Free-range or grass-fed eggs come from chickens that have access to the outdoors regardless of the time they spend outdoors. These chicks are fed food, but can also eat insects and plants.
Discrepancies in labeling
The Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) has standards for consumers who purchase products labeled "Certified Humane." The USDA has not placed any restrictions on free range in the US, but so often the term is unregulated. Just having access to open space, which is the USDA standard, leaves a lot to interpretation. Chickens are only allowed to have a hole without the ability to get out with their entire body.
However, under the HFAC system, the freestanding requirements include 2 square feetper bird. The chicken should be outside for at least 6 hours a day, weather permitting.
An HFAC grassland designation requires 1,000 birds per animal on 2.5 acres, and fields must be rotated. However, the chickens must have coops that they can go in and out of at night to be protected from predators and be given protection for up to two weeks a year in case of bad weather.
What are other options for chicken?
Free-range or free-range chickens eat grains, insects and wild plants. However, the quality of outdoor space and access restrictions are not addressed by these brands. Chickens can live in busy neighborhoods. Cage-free is not the same as free-range. It simply means that chickens are not confined in cages and have full access to food and water.
Cage-free farms can still be inhumane. The barns can be overcrowded and do not give the chickens enough space to hunt for plants or insects. An additional tag of walking around the barn would actually be more accurate to describe these chickens.
Additionally, not all free-range chicken is organic. The chicken may be raised outdoors, but not according to certified organic criteria. On the other hand, all certified organic chicken is free-range. This is a clear requirement in addition to all other organic certification criteria.
Benefits of free range chicken
There are some benefits of free-range chicken:
- Free-range chicken meat is healthier. When the chickens are free to roam, they usually have a more natural and healthier diet. They are exposed to more sunlight than other chickens and are more active. This usually results in healthier meat for the consumer.
- Free-range chickens have a broader diet. They can forage for and eat grass, herbs and insects.
- Perhaps due to the diet that these chickens eat, the eggs of free-range chickens are richer. When youtearan egg, free range egg yolk has a different color than a conventional chicken egg. On a free-range chicken, the flower is much deeper yellow or orange in color. It is packed with healthy fats,vitamins, Inminerals, and it could taste better too.
- There are fewer feed costs associated with farmers of free-range chickens. Since the chicks are hunting, this supplements their diet. They will still consume chicken feed, but the cost will be significantly reduced.
For these and many other reasons, many people prefer to buy free-range chickens directly from farmers.
Disadvantages of free-range chicken
For farmers and breeders of free-range chickens, there are some disadvantages:
- Free-range chickens are in the open, making them more likely to fall victim to predator attacks due to the lack of confinement. When raising chickens in an area prone to attacks from multiple predators, a farmer will need more protection through fencing or perhaps a guard dog.
- Keeping track of eggs is also a problem. Hens are trained in nest boxes by leaving them for a few weeks until they decide to lay eggs in that box. That sometimes works, but some free-range chickens still lay eggs in places of their choosing. When farmers find the nest of eggs, they are often too old to eat or sell. Unfortunately, the solution is to contain the chickens by re-enclosing them.
- Free-range chickens will often do their job a little too well. They wander out of their closed spaces. The grass may seem bigger or the insects bigger in a nearby garden. Free-range chickens will stumble outside their own territory, although confining them for a few days can train them to stay within range of their coop.
The only direct disadvantage of free-range chickens for consumers seems to be paying higher prices. The classification system can also lead to the purchase of apparently free-range chickens that are actually raised not much differently than other chickens. The solution to this is to buy directly from farmers you trust.
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References
SOURCES:
CAST-The Science Source for Food, Agriculture and Environmental Issues: “The Impact of Free-Range Poultry Production Systems on Animal Health, Human Health, Productivity, the Environment, Food Safety and Animal Welfare.”
Certified Humane: “Free Range” and “Pasture Raised” officially defined by the HFAC for the Certified Humane® label.
Cleveland Clinic: “Should You Pay More for Cage-Free or Organic Eggs?”
National Chicken Council: “Free Range: If Broilers Are Not Raised in Cages, What Does the Term Free Range Mean?”
UNITED STATES. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE: "Eggstra! Eggstra! Learn all about it."
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