How free are free range chickens?

Answer 1

There are two kinds of free-range chicken. The first and the kind I've always had are the ones you think of (and see on the packaging) when someone says family farm. The happy chickens who play in fields and eat lush grass and bugs. The small community of family farms that still survive still keep free-range chickens. These chickens are often traditional breeds many are heritage breeds that have better flavor and are not give hormones and other drugs. Some are kept in barns or sheds at night where they have access to clean water and nesting boxes. These barn/shed are also very clean and have good ventilation to prevent diseases including respiratory disorder in both the chickens and the farmers. During the day they either roam in the lush green pastures with other animals and eat grass, flowers and bugs (which should be the bulk of their diet) and on occasion will get into the garden (at certain times of the year this is welcomed since they will eat the bad bugs and weed a bit). The other free range chickens live in tractors (not those tractors) either full or part times. These tractors are either portable screened in pens or shed/small barns on skids that can be moved around the farms so that the chickens are safe from predators and have access to new grass and more bugs.

The factory farmed chickens are usually the Cornish Game hens that were developed in the 1950's that will reach full market weight in just 6 weeks as apposed to 42+ days for the other chickens. But just like the morbidly obese (these guys look like they're on steroids (and they're on a lot of bad stuff including hormones anyway) they have more flesh but the rest of their body isn't built for it. They will die soon if not killed, and many die before it's time to go to the factory. The factories were the chickens are processed are not the most sanitary despite what the USDA and the FDA say. These chickens were raised in long tunnels, with little room to move, the air is so bad that they can hardly breather (some can't and die) and many can't even walk because of their large size. The tunnels are usually completely closed of from outside air and light and in the case of laying hens they are forced to live in 24/7 artificial light so that the egg production does not drop off. Now to be allowed to say your chickens are "free-range" the USDA requires that they have access to the outside. This does not mean they get nice lush grass this just means that they need to be able to leave the building even if it's a dirt lot. There is no regulation as to how much room they get and usually it is a screen to look through. Now because many of the chickens can barely walk or are dead and have spent their whole life inside they are either to scared or unable to go outside. I would like to note that many of the farmers raising chickens this way are under contract with major corporations and having nothing to fall back on (most don't even break even for the year).

Pastured poultry is now the favored term for the chickens in the first paragraph. As someone who grew up on a traditional New England farm I don't see why our food can't have to best possible life and more importantly a humane (stress free, quick and virtually painless death) and sanitary death.