What Is Free-Range Chicken, and Does It Have Any Disadvantages?

Free range is when chickens have unrestricted access to the outdoors for some percentage of the day. Free-range chickens may fall prey to predators, lay eggs in unusual locations, and may roam out of their confined space.

In an age of diet fads and processed food, many are trying to eat healthily by purchasing healthier options. Some go vegan, but one option for those who do not (and which is supposed to be healthier for meat eaters) is free-range chickens. What exactly are free-range chickens, though, and are there any disadvantages to making free-range chicken a part of your diet?

As defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), free range is when chickens have unrestricted access to the outdoors for some 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 US are free-range. 

The eggs of these free-range chickens are labeled in many ways, something that has been a concern. Simply put, eggs that are classified as cage-free or free-roaming come from hens that are free to wander in an open area or space like a barn. Free-range or pasture-fed eggs are from hens that have access to the outdoors, regardless of the time they spend outside. These chickens are given feed to eat but may eat insects and plants also. 

The Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) has standards for consumers who purchase products labeled, for instance, as “Certified Humane.” The USDA has not placed limitations on free range in the US, though, so many times, the term goes unregulated. Merely having access to the outdoors, which is the USDA standard, leaves a lot up to interpretation. Chickens may only have a hole with no way to get their whole body outside. 

Under the HFAC system, in contrast, free range requirements include 2 square feet per bird. The chicken must be outside when the weather permits for at least 6 hours a day. 

An HFAC pasture-raised designation requires 1000 birds per 2.5 acres, and fields must be rotated. The chickens must have housing that they can go in and out of at night, though, to be protected from predators, and receive up to two weeks of protection out of the year in cases of bad weather. 

Free-range or free-roaming hens eat grains, insects, and wild plants. Outdoor area quality and limits on access are not addressed by these labels, though. Hens may live in crowded quarters. Cage-free is not the same as free-range. It just means that hens are not contained by cages and have full access to food and water. 

Cage-free farms can still be inhumane. The barns can be overcrowded and not give hens enough space for hunting for plants or insects. An additional label of barn-roaming would actually be more accurate to describe these chickens. 

Additionally, not all free-range chicken is organic. The chicken may be raised outside but not under certified organic criteria. On the other hand, all certified organic chicken is free-range. This is a definite requirement in addition to all the other organic certification criteria. 

There are some benefits to free-range chicken:

• The meat of free-range chickens is healthier. When 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 are able to search for and eat grass, herbs, and bugs. 
• Perhaps due to the diet these chickens eat, the eggs of free-range chickens are richer. When you crack an egg, the free-range chicken egg yolk is a different color when compared to a conventional chicken egg. The yolk is a much deeper yellow or orange color in a free-range chicken. It is full of healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals, and it could taste better as well.
• Fewer feed costs are associated with farmers of free-range chickens. Since the chickens are hunting, this will supplement their diets. They will still consume chicken feed, but the costs will be reduced a lot. 

For this and many other reasons, a lot of people prefer to buy free-range chickens directly from farmers.   

For the farmers and breeders of free-range chickens, there are some disadvantages:

• Free-range chickens are out in the open, which makes them more often fall prey to predator attacks due to lack of confinement. When raising chickens in an area that is prone to several predator attacks, a farmer will need more protection via a confining solution or perhaps a guardian dog. 
• Keeping up with eggs is also a problem. Chickens are trained in nesting boxes by keeping them in for a few weeks until they decide to lay eggs in the particular box. This sometimes works, but some free-range chickens still lay eggs in locations that they choose on their own. By the time farmers find the nest of eggs, often they are too old to eat or sell. The solution, unfortunately, is to restrain the hens by confining them again.
• Many times, free-range chickens will do their job a little too well. They roam out of their confined space. The grass may seem higher or the bugs larger in a nearby yard. Free-range chickens will stumble outside of their own area, though locking them up for a few days may train them to stay within distance of their shed.  

The only direct con of free-range chickens to consumers seems to be paying higher prices. Also, the classification system may lead to purchasing ostensibly free-range chickens that truly have not been raised much differently than other chickens. The remedy to this is purchasing directly from farmers whom you trust.